New York Crumb Cake is amazing as it is. But how can we take it up another notch? Make it Chocolate Crumb Cake. It has all the amazing qualities of the original recipe: the light cake, the buttery mountain of crumbs, the top layer of confectioners’ sugar...except this time both the cake and the crumbs have cocoa powder added. As with the original recipe, this gluten free/nut free crumb cake is also egg free and can easily be dairy free (vegan) by using a non dairy milk and vegan baking sticks.
For more recipes, try my Chocolate Tea Cake, Cinnamon Tea Cake and my Irish Tea Cake.
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Reasons to Love this Crumb Cake
If you like New York Crumb Cake and if you love chocolate, this recipe is a MUST try. I cannot stress enough how delicious it is. My daughter and I are chocoholics; the two of us ate all of these in 2 days time.
Expert Baking Tips
Like the original recipe and unlike most gluten free baked goods that taste best the first day, these babies actually taste even better the second day; making them the night before is an amazing option.
Step by Step Instructions
So where do we begin? We start with the same steps as with the original.
Step 1: Line the Baking Dish
Line your 9 x 12 baking dish with parchment paper and leave a one inch over hang on each side. You will need this overhang in order to get the double chocolate crumb cake out of the pan. Next you need to grease the parchment paper. I use vegetable oil. This step is important because you don’t want the cake to stick.
Step 2: Mix the Ingredients
After you pour the dry ingredients into the wet, you will notice the batter is very very sticky. This is normal.
Step 3: Put it into the Dish
Using a spatula, scoop the batter into the baking dish. It might appear as though there isn’t enough batter, but it’s fine. You just need to really spread it out and this step is a bit difficult because it’s so so thick. Just take your time and yes the layer of batter will appear super thin, which is normal.
Step 4: Make the Crumbs
Now let’s talk about the second best part of these, aside from them being chocolate…THE CRUMBS. You will need a lot of gluten free flour and a lot of butter or vegan baking sticks. Remember, this crumb layer is super thick.
You’ll want to mix everything together with a spatula because you don’t want these crumbs to be super tiny. Sure little ones are fine, but you also want big crumbs too. Some should be about an inch in length. These are still New York Style, after all!!!
Step 5: Sprinkle the Crumbs
The next step, sprinkling the crumbs onto the chocolate batter. You want to sprinkle them all over; make sure you cover every inch. You’ll notice that the chocolate batter is completely covered and you still have tons of crumbs left.
Yes! All of those crumbs go onto the batter later. Yes, they will pile on top of one another. That’s supposed to happen. Remember, this layer is going to be sky high.
Step 6: Bake
Bake these beauties for 30 minutes and then take them out and let cool before trying to lift them out of the pan. Otherwise, you will have a giant mess on your hands. I may or may not know this from experience. Haha!
Step 7: Dust with Sugar
Once cool, lift them out and cover with confectioners’ sugar. When I say cover…I mean seriously coat. Haha. Not a little bit of sugar here and there. A LOT.
Step 8: Cut them Up
Once covered in sugar, cut them up into squares and enjoy. If you’re making them the night before, store them in an air tight container. I actually keep mine under a glass dome and they stay just fine.
Chocolate Crumb Cake may not be something you’ve heard much about but if you love chocolate, you need to make this! I think it’s an elevated version of the original (not that I don’t love the original, because I do…but I am seriously chocolate obsessed). It’s so delicious and just as simple to make as the original. And as I said at the start, this recipe can easily be vegan by using a non dairy milk of choice and vegan baking sticks. Enjoy!
Other Cake Recipes you'll Love
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📖 Recipe
Chocolate Crumb Cake
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1 ¼ cups of gluten free flour
- ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder I used 2 tablespoons Dutch and 2 tablespoons Dark
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2.5 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 heaping tablespoons of cornstarch combined with 3 tablespoons water
- ¾ cup milk of choice
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
For the crumb topping:
- 2.5 cups gluten free flour
- 5 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder I used 2.5 tablespoons Dutch and 2.5 tablespoons Dark
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 sticks 1 cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick, melted and cooled
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9x12 inch baking dish with parchment paper leaving a one inch overhang on either side. Lightly grease the parchment paper with vegetable oil. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the gluten free flour, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt, until well combined. In a large bowl, combine the cornstarch and water with a spoon until it is thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first. Once combined, whisk in the milk of choice, canola or vegetable oil and vanilla. Once combined, pour the dry ingredients into the wet, a little at a time. It will be thick so you will probably need to use a spatula to combine.
- Spread the batter into the prepared baking dish. You will need to smooth it out. It’s a little difficult because it’s so so thick.
- In a medium bowl, combine the gluten free flour for the crumb topping, the cocoa powder, the light brown sugar and the cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter and stir with a spatula until large crumbs form. Sprinkle all the crumbs over the batter. There will be a lot of crumbs, use them all.
- Bake in the center rack for 30 min. Take out and let cool on the pan. Once cool, lift the crumb cake out using the overhang from the parchment paper. Dust generously with the confectioners’ sugar and cut in squares. Enjoy!
John
Nothing crummy about this crumb cake! Two spoons up!
Judy Schell
Love this recipe but I’m not gluten challenged. I know the difficulty gf folks go thru. Can it be made with regular flour?
Lee
Yes it can! Sadly I cannot test it due to celiac disease, but if using regular flour, make sure to use packed cups of flour since the gf flour I use tends to be very thick. Also only use 1/2 cup of milk. Hope this helps!
Arty
What kind/brand of GF flour do you use. I have never used or bought
Lee
Sent you an email!
Rikki
can I make the crumbs a day ahead
Lee
I think that would be fine! Since they have butter, store them in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, in the fridge.