New York Crumb Cake

5 from 5 votes

This New York Crumb Cake has a light and sweet cake layer topped with a mountain of buttery crumbs! Dusted with a generous layer of confectioners' sugar, this is a classic crumb cake recipe that will bring you right back to your childhood! This crumb cake is so simple to make, it's ready in just over an hour with no mixer! Best yet, it's gluten free, nut free, eggless and can easily be vegan with a few tweaks!

Prep Time20

Cook Time30

Cool Time30

Total Time1 20

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegan

Servings: squares

Calories: 269kcal

Author: Lee

Ingredients

For the cake:

1.5 cups multipurpose gluten free flour (I use a gluten free multipurpose flour with xanthan gum already in it)
½ cup granulated sugar
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon kosher salt
2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch combined with 3 tablespoons water
¾ cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the Crumb Topping:

1 cup unsalted butter or vegan baking stick, melted and cooled
2.5 cups multipurpose gluten free flour (I use a gluten free multipurpose flour with xanthan gum already in it)
1 cup light brown sugar , packed
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
confectioners’ sugar for dusting

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9x13 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 1.5 cups gluten free flour, ½ cup granulated sugar, 2.5 teaspoons baking powder and ½ teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using a spoon, mix together the 2 heaping tablespoons cornstarch and 3 tablespoons water until thin and watery. It will be thick and tacky at first.
Into the cornstarch water, whisk in the ¾ cup milk, the 2 tablespoons vegetable oil and the 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract until combined.
Pour the dry ingredients into the wet a little bit at a time. Once it gets too thick to whisk, switch to using a spatula.
Using a butter knife or an icing spatula, spread the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth it out. It’s a little difficult because the batter is so thick. The layer will be thin.
Cut the 1 cup butter or vegan baking stick into pieces and place in a heat safe bowl. Microwave in 20 seconds increments, stirring after each time until melted. Set it aside to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining 2.5 cups of gluten free flour, the 1 cup light brown sugar and the 1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon.
Pour in the melted butter and stir with a spatula until large crumbs form. You came also use clean hands to form the crumbs if easier.
Sprinkle the crumbs all over the batter. There are lots of crumbs, make sure to use them all and cover every inch of batter. The crumbs will pile on top of one another; that's normal.
Bake the cake in the center rack of the 325 degree oven for 30 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean.
Let the cake cool in the pan completely before removing from the pan. Once cool, use the parchment overhang to lift the cake out.
Make sure the cake is completely cool prior to dusting, otherwise the sugar will melt.
Dust with the confectioners’ sugar and cut in squares. Enjoy!

Notes

Vegan: Use a dairy free gluten free flour, vegan sugar, vegan baking sticks and a non-dairy milk.

All Purpose Flour: I cannot test this due to celiac disease, but use 1.5 packed cups of regular flour in the dough (252 grams) and ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons of milk.

Making Ahead: If making the night before, keep the cake in the baking dish and top with foil. The next morning, dust with the confectioners' sugar and cut into slices.

Storing: Store the extra squares individually wrapped in foil and then pop them in a zip top bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.

Do not put them in an airtight container. It makes the bottoms of the cake get very wet.

Freezing: Wrap extra squares individually in foil and then pop them in a zip top bag and freeze for up to 30 days. To defrost, leave the squares wrapped in foil at room temperature until soft. It might take 1-2 hours.

Nutrition: The info below is a generated estimate and is not guaranteed to be accurate.

Nutrition