Cast Iron Crumb Cake

Cast Iron Crumb Cake with lemon and cardamom

Baked in a well seasoned cast iron skillet this crumb cake is bright with lemon zest and cardamom and comes together in about 45 minutes including cooking time.

This past week, as I edited photos for an outside project, I was watching Girls, which made the outside project take twice as long as it should have, made me miss my 25-year-old body but absolutely nothing else about my twenties except, perhaps, those years in Brooklyn. It was good to be in my twenties and live in NYC, I remember just after the move sitting on a rooftop looking out towards the Manhattan skyline, it was either very late or very early depending on whether you had slept or not, we had not, but I felt infused by the hum, amazed how much more seemed to be happening in predawn NYC than any time in the land of lawns and dark skies. Surely there must be songs about this.

My stepfather grew up in Queens and what he missed the most was Crumb Cake. You could not get crumb cake in Portland, there were things called crumb cake , but name only. So for birthdays or special occasions I would go to the neighborhood bakery (Brooklyn, but close enough) and buy crumb cake and ship it to Portland. The guy behind the counter thought I was crazy. “You wanna do what?” but it made my stepfather happy.

After I left New York and it became possible to find almost anything on the internet my Mother eventually found a recipe for New York Crumb Cake (perhaps this one from Martha Stewart? or this based on Cook’s Illustrated?) that she made on a regular basis. So missing Brooklyn and (always) missing my Mom I developed a craving for the crumb.

I have no loyalty to the original recipe, I am just the messenger, it is spring after all, Daffodils and sunny days so I added a generous portion of lemon zest to the crumb and a bit of lemon juice to the cake. And cardamom because, well, I love cardamom though straight up cinnamon would also be grand.

Cast Iron Crumb Cake with lemon and cardamom

ingredients

For the Crumb Topping

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick), melted and still warm
• the zest from 1 large lemon
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar (65g)
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar (65g)
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour (200g)

For the Cake

• 1 1/4 cups cake flour (140g)
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g) I used vanilla sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup lowfat yogurt (or buttermilk)

directions

To make the Topping:

1. Melt the butter and add the lemon zest.
2. Combine sugars, spices, salt, and melted butter in medium bowl.
3. Add flour and stir until the mixture comes together in a cohesive mass. Set aside.

To make the Cake:

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
2. Lightly butter a well seasoned 10 1/2 inch cast iron skillet with butter and dust with flour, shaking out any excess.
3. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt
4. In the bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until thoroughly combined, add the egg, combine; add the vanilla, yogurt, and lemon juice, combine. (You can do this by hand, just make sure the butter is soft and the egg and yogurt are not ice cold to make combining easier)
5. Slowly mix in the flour and stir by hand until thoroughly combined.
6. Transfer batter to cast iron; use a spatula or other utensil to spread the batter into an even layer, making sure it reaches the edges of the pan. A handful at a time crumble the topping into pea and bean sized crumbs evenly over the batter, ever so lightly pressing the crumbs into the batter. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.

Storage: The cake can be kept at room temperature for up to four days, well-wrapped. It can also be frozen for up to two months

Note: I used cake flour- well mostly cake flour, I was 2 ounces shy- because I had some that was languishing. Most recipes say substituting AP is fine, others (Cook’s Illustrated, I’m talking to you) say this will result in bitter disappointment. I’ve also read that cake flour is easy to make if you have AP, a sifter, and cornstarch.

Cast Iron Crumb Cake

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 35 minutes mins

Total Time 45 minutes mins

Course Bread, Breakfast, Side Dish

Ingredients

  

For the crumb topping

• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter 1 stick, melted and still warm
• the zest from 1 large lemon
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar 65g
• 1/3 cup dark brown sugar 65g
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
• ½ teaspoon groung cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 3/4 cups cake flour 200g

For the cake

• 1 1/4 cups cake flour 140g
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter 3/4 stick, cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100g I used vanilla sugar
• 1 large egg at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup lowfat yogurt or buttermilk

Instructions

 

To make the Topping:

• Melt the butter and add the lemon zest. Combine sugars, spices, salt, and melted butter in medium bowl.
• Add flour and stir until the mixture comes together in a cohesive mass. Set aside.

To make the Cake:

• Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and pre-heat oven to 325 degrees.
• Lightly butter a well seasoned 10 1/2 inch cast iron skillet with butter and dust with flour, shaking out any excess.
• In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda and salt
• In the bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until thoroughly combined, add the egg, combine; add the vanilla, yogurt, and lemon juice, combine. (You can do this by hand, just make sure the butter is soft and the egg and yogurt are not ice cold to make combining easier)
• Slowly mix in the flour and stir by hand until thoroughly combined.
• Transfer batter to cast iron; use a spatula or other utensil to spread the batter into an even layer, making sure it reaches the edges of the pan. A handful at a time crumble the topping into pea and bean sized crumbs evenly over the batter, ever so lightly pressing the crumbs into the batter. Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.
• Storage: The cake can be kept at room temperature for up to four days, well-wrapped. It can also be frozen for up to two months

Notes

Note: I used cake flour- well mostly cake flour, I was 2 ounces shy- because I had some that was languishing. Most recipes say substituting AP is fine, others (Cook’s Illustrated, I’m talking to you) say this will result in bitter disappointment. I’ve also read that cake flour is easy to make if you have AP, a sifter, and cornstarch.

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