Cake. Crumb Cake {an international cake of mystery}

The question everyone is asking is what is a crumb cake? Well, it's a cake with crumbs on top. Mystery solved. Well, I suppose not 100% solved as the next question is - is it any good? and the answer is yes. Yes, it is an amazing cake!

I was craving cinnamon the other day. Yup, not really sure where it came from, but I thought I wonder what that means if I'm craving cinnamon and according to the internet it means that I am going to die.

I know an over done joke, but it did say that craving cinnamon might be a sign that my body needs help regulating insulin and then further said it might be a sign of bigger health problems like diabetes and/or liver or kidney failure. Nothing to really joke about, but kind of feel this was a one off thing. I suppose if I start craving cinnamon on a regular basis I will pay a bit of attention.

It's not one of those things you can just eat. Cinnamon is best in baked in cake or cookies. It's a fact. Not that it's good if my body is trying to regulate insulin..... anyway!

Now, this crumb cake isn't the most cinnamon-y baked good out there, but it served it's purpose and fulfilled my craving of cinnamon. Now I have practically a whole cake left... I am sure I can find people to help me eat it!

As you aren't close by to have a slice here is how you can make it at home! Thanks to the boys at Outsider Tart... I've made very little changes to their recipe, but I did things the way I know how to do them.

Crumb Cake

crumb
225g unsalted butter, melted
380g plain flour
225g dark brown sugar
115g light brown sugar
2 tbsp ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Place all the ingredients in the bowl of a free standing mixer and using the paddle attachment beat until they form crumbs of all sizes. Don't over beat; it makes the crumbs tough. Set aside.

cake
525g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp salt
225g unsalted butter, softened
340g caster sugar
3 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
340g natural yogurt

Heat the oven to 180C and line a tray bake tin (30x23cm) with grease proof or baking paper. In a large bowl mix the flour, baking powder, bicarb of soda, and salt. Leave to the side while you beat the butter and caster sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time. I tend to beat the eggs in with a whisk as it gives it a less chance of separating the batter. Fold in the vanilla. Pour in a third of the flour and beat until just combined, follow with half the yogurt again beat until just combined. Follow with flour, yogurt, and last the rest of the flour. Spoon into the prepared pan and spread flat and fill in the corners before sprinkling half the crumb topping on top and gently press down into the batter before sprinkling the rest on top.
Bake for 45-60 minutes in the pre-heated oven. Towards the last few minutes place foil over the top to stop the crumbs from getting too dark and over cooked.
Use a skewer to test if the cake is done.
Cool in the tin before eating.

last notes: As mentioned this recipe was adapted from Baked in America by the David's at Outsider Tart! But in no way sponsored by them please see my contact/policy tab above! I got to meet them once I wrote about it here and if you ever want to know what it's like at their baker then check out this post! My friend made this cake too and shared it here!

NY Crumb Cake!! {guest post}

I've always loved cake! Baking it. Eating it. Discussing it. I like to try new recipes but until recently haven't been that adventurous; inspired by Lisa and all things sweet I thought I'd like to bake a cake a little different to anything I have before.

A few months ago I had the pleasure of visiting Outsider Tart with Lisa (it was her birthday treat!) What an amazing experience - if you haven't been you really should!! There were lots of sweet treats to tempt us and I chose NY crumb cake. It looked amazing and I'd never heard of, let alone tried crumb cake. It was delicious. a sweet, dense sponge with a cinnamon "crumb" topping and icing. Having thoroughly enjoyed the experience I bought the book Baked in America and was thrilled to discover the recipe for NY crumb cake.

It is different to anything I've baked before but the recipe was easy to follow and I followed it to the letter. The only difference being the cake tin. I used a round tin which made a deeper cake which meant it took longer to bake than I expected but the extra wait was worth it! Once baked and cooled I made a simple icing using sugar, milk and vanilla (as recommended in the recipe) and this added the finishing touch. I was extremely pleased with the outcome and will be baking the cake again.

 ~ Lauren

Check out our visit to Outsider Tart!!

Crumb Cake Revisited:

check out the post here!

The Husband of a Home Baker {weekend baking with Janet}

Of all the reasons that I love baking, this reason surprised me as one of my favorites: my husband is a baking critic.

Not only does he keep it real while I'm baking; trying out all the goodies (and the not-so-goodies) but he can also spot a home baked item from first bite AND give a pretty accurate critique. For example he told me that he doesn't eat fondant and that he doesn't like to eat day old store bought cupcakes.

This amuses me because before I baked at home, he wouldn't have even known what fondant was!

He's brutally honest, which at first was a hard thing for me to take. Now I know he will not only be honest about the stuff that is not quite right, but also about the stuff that is. Then he showers me with praise, which is one of the unsurprising reasons I love to bake: the satisfaction of making something that is delicious!

I made these Whoopie Pies for my husbands pot luck at work - they are chocolate chip pies with Caramel Italian Meringue filling from Piece of Cake: Home Baking Made Simple by David Muniz and David Lesniak. They were a hit and really, really yummy! ~Janet 

 Whoopies - all boxed up and ready to go! :)

notes: Piece of Cake: Home Baking Made Simple by David Muniz and David Lesniak or Baked in America for the UK version

Outsider Tart, Chiswick {bakery tour}

I have been a fan of the David’s the owners of Outsider Tart since I bought myself a copy of their book 2 summers ago. I have stated more then once my love for their book Baked in America. I even traveled to Oxford to get them to sign it. So it's a bit odd that this was my first visit to the shop, store, café, bakery, all of the above?  

Thursday after my day at Cake Boy (see previous entry) my friend Lauren, picked me up and to avoid rush hour traffic hung out at Outsider Tart for a bit. It was on our way back to Berkshire, not that I needed an excuse to visit!

The day before I had tweeted them @OutsiderTart and asked what I should try as my birthday treat. I had a reply saying I should ask for him (David) when I got there because he was working on an ice cream sandwich.

Before I get to the ice cream sandwich can I just say that if you are planning to visit Outsider Tart you should go on Thursday night because it’s Chili Night and the chili was amazing! It was accompanied by the best corn bread I think I have ever had. Or at least the best I have had since I left Indiana in 1998.

Back to the ice cream sandwich…it was good! It was gorgeous! The vanilla ice cream middle was the perfect balance to the rich chocolate cookie outside. I hope they decide to add it to the menu! 

Thank you so much David for letting me try it out! I hope to visit again soon!!

Book Signing with The David's from Outsider Tart!!

David, me, David

To Lisa- Remember there are no mistakes in baking only things you eat in private! Happy Baking David & David

I can't even tell you how excited (nervous) I was about getting my book signed!! We (my family and friend Lauren) got to Oxford around noon. We then had lunch in the covered market and finished with a Ben's Cookie*!! My husband a chocoholic had the Triple Chocolate Cookie, the girls had a chocolate chip cookie and I choose the peanut butter cookie! Yum!!

Then right at two we made our way to Waterstone's! The girls were happily reading books downstairs in the kids section when they made an announcement that the David's were ready and waiting!!

I waited my turn in line** and hoped my nerves didn't show. You'll soon discover how fruitless that was!! Lauren and my husband wanted me to tell them that I traveled all the way from America to meet them. I was like no that's silly but what I did come out with was "I came all the way from Reading!!" For those of you who don't know how far Reading is from Oxford...it's 30 minutes. Not very far.***There was a little more chit chat and then I was asked if the book was being made out to anyone. I replied with "yeah me" to which I had the response of "...and your name is..."^ Yeah, it's was one of those moments for me. Lauren, bless her, was holding in her laughter!! She was, of course, a good photographer^^  and she agreed that the whoopie pie on sample was very good! Mini Baker and Baby Baker thoroughly enjoyed a sugar cookie! Over all it was a very nice day out and I got my book signed!!

Not only do I think you should get their book, I also think you should visit them at their bakery!!

footnotes: 

*I added a photo of me at Ben's to my about me page! 

**The que.

***I wasn't nervous. I know it might be silly to be nervous. I know they are just people too. It's just that I do get nervous around people I admire and respect. I don't want to make a fool of myself! A bit late for that!! ;0]

^Have I told you I'm blond?

^^See above picture!

Golden Pumpkin Loaf!!

Golden Pumpkin Loaf from Baked in America by David Lesniak & David Muniz (Outsider Tart)

I started my Outsider Tart weekend by baking this pumpkin loaf from their book. It was very good. If I do say so myself! After reading an expat website* it informed me that Waitrose carry canned pumpkin! Knowing that there are several pumpkin recipes I want to try I grabbed 4 cans** to start with.

This is where my first can went with no regrets!! 

This loaf is full of cranberries and walnuts and is very moist. I like it with a thin layer of butter or you could have a layer of cream cheese on it. Once again I'm not sharing the recipe as my list of recipes from this book grows!! I can't urge you enough to go get it!! It's a great book!!

If you can't remember I made Snickers Brownies, Chocolate Snicker Doodles, Sugar Saucers, the Cinnamon Loaf, and last but not least the Blackout Cake! And now this of course!!

*Although if you google "canned pumpkin UK" it comes up with all sorts of links all saying that Waitrose carry canned pumpkin.

**One link about canned pumpkin said that Waitrose tend to run out! Another reason I bought 4!

Blackout Cake

taken from Baked in America by Outsider Tart

Yesterday, September 30th, my husband turned 30, it was his golden birthday and needed to be marked with style. He's a chocolate lover and so when I saw this cake I had to make it for him. I had a couple of recipes for this same cake and choose the one from Baked in America because so far it's given me great results!

for the filing and frosting: (which is best when chilled over night or as many nights as you need before hand, must be chilled for at least 4 hours so do ahead of time)

960ml/4 cups- milk or equal parts milk/single cream
340g/1 ½ cups- granulated sugar
6 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
6 tbsp cornstarch
175g/1 cup- unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped
60g/ ¼ cup- unsalted butter, room temp
1 tbsp vanilla extract

Combine all the filling ingredients, except for the vanilla, in a large saucepan. Over a med-low heat whisk constantly until the chocolate and butter are melted and the mixture begins to bubble and thicken, about 5-10 minutes. Stir in the vanilla off the heat. In a glass bowl place the cling film directly on the surface of the filling. Let cool before refrigerating for at least 4 hours.

The David’s from Outsider Tart understand that sometimes the filling will be lumpy no matter what you do and for that they suggest you pour it into a food processor until smooth about 30seconds or try and use a hand whisk.

for the layers:

1 ½ instant espresso powder
175g/ ¾ cups unsalted butter, melted and cooled
425g/2 ¾ cups all-purpose or plain flour
260g/1 ¾ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
4 tsp bicarbonate of soda
1 tsp kosher salt
760g/3 3/8 cups granulated sugar
540ml/ 2 ¼ cups buttermilk, cold
4 ½ tsps vanilla extract
5 large eggs, room temp

Pre-heat your oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4
Butter 3 9in/23cm round cake pans and line the bottom with parchment. Dust the sides with flour, tap out the excess.
Dissolve the espresso powder in 8floz/240ml/1 cup of boiling water. Set aside to cool. (Add more water if some evaporates)
Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then turn off the heat.
Sift together the dry ingredients and set aside. Combine the buttermilk (in a large, glass measuring jug) with the brewed espresso, melted butter and vanilla. The varying temperatures of the liquids will make the mixture room temp.

With an electric mixture on medium, beat the eggs well. Add the remaining liquids and mix until evenly combined. On low, add the flour mixture in 3rds, mixing only until just combined. Scrape the bowl when needed. Depending on the temp of the liquid the batter can be thin, divide the batter evenly between the 3 prepared pans.

Bake for 35-40 minutes or a toothpick comes out clean. It’s best to rotate the pans in the oven, front to back/top to bottom etc… Don’t worry about cracks cook in pan for 20 minutes, turn out onto racks and cool completely.

to finish up the cake:
Slice off the domed tops and set aside. Using a serrated knife, slice each layer in half horizontally. If your layers were flat keep one layer and set aside. Use the domed tops or extra layer and crumble until you have a bowl of crumbs, a little bigger then bread crumbs.

Cut thin strips of baking parchment and place 4 on the serving platter this will be to keep things looking nice! ;0) Place a layer of cake on the serving platter, using a small offset spatula, spread a thin layer of filling on top of the layer. Repeat with all the layers. Cover the top and sides, when done, with the rest of the filling. Take the crumbs and press into the frosting all around the cake. Have a sheet of parchment to catch stray crumbs and reuse! Remove parchment strips and refrigerate the finished cake for at least 4 hours before serving so it can set.

I am looking forward to making my husband birthday cakes for many more years to come!! I have at least 2 more birthdays to make cakes for before the end of the year, I'm not sure I'll be able to top this one!!

Not much left if anyone who lives by me wants some please come over and eat some otherwise I'll be forced to have more then is necessary!! Especially as I'm trying to eat healthy in an attempt to loose some weight!! Hope everyone has a great weekend!! If your in England you better be out enjoying this gorgeous weather!!! I had already put all the girls summer clothes away, but it's okay I'd rather dig out the summer stuff then go back to rainy, cold, grey days!!

Sugar Cookies!!

taken from Baked in America by Outsider Tart

These were good! I'm not going to post the recipe; as I will be baking a lot more from this book and since there are probably more exciting ones then this one I'll just share some pictures!
Where I know I can probably post a recipe or two I just don't want to end up posting the whole book and then been in a lot of trouble over copyright!
I made them for my husband's birthday. He took them to work with him. Friday or Saturday I'll be posting you pictures of his cake! ;0) My Mini-Baker has also been bugging me to make cupcakes so I'll be posting those too!! Then the following weekend I'll be heading off to London so stay tuned for my reviews!!

Cinnamon Loaf

taken from Baked in America by Outsider Tart

I’m not going to add the recipe to this post (because I'm having a lazy Saturday) if you must have it buy Baked in America by the David’s from Outsider Tart or if you’re desperate you can email me and I will share. :0)

I love to bake and I love to taste the labor of my hard work. I’ve joined a local weight loss group in hopes to shred the weight I’ve gained since having babies and then some! I am hoping to find a balance of eating healthy and my baking habit. All in moderation!! Luckily I have plenty of birthdays and holiday’s to bake for for the next few months to keep this blog in action!!

I had a thin slice of this as my morning ‘snack’ it was deliciously cinnamon! It is a mess, but it does say in the book that it could split and crack. I was a little rough getting it out of the loaf tin! Oops. Since this wasn’t for show or anything I wasn’t upset by the look of it, because taste is what matters!!

Keep the votes coming, as I’ll be making cupcakes for cupcake week!!

Chocolate Snickerdoodles

taken from Baked in American by Outsider Tart

I already have 2 Snickerdoodle Cookie Recipes on this blog and wasn't sure I was going to post the recipe, but felt they were too good not to share!!

2 1/4 cups plain flour

1/2 cocoa powder

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat the oven to 200*C and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a small bowl whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time beating after each. Stir in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture in slowly and mix on a slow speed until flour mixture is just combined.

Make the dough into small or big balls. Make the sugar mixture (I used just cinnamon and sugar) by stirring all the ingredients together in a bowl and rolling the cookie dough ball in it.  

Place the dough ball on one of the baking sheets and gently squish it down with the palm of your hand till it is about 1 inch thick. Bake for 12 – 15 minutes and let cool for a few minutes before removing from the pan.

On a last note next week is National Cupcake Week I will be making cupcakes!! Please vote on the side which cupcakes you'd like me to make!! Also if you'd like to make cupcakes and guest post here please let me know!!

Snickers Brownies

Snickers Brownies:

taken from Baked in America, Outsider Tart

225g , plain flour
¾ tsp, baking powder

½ tsp, bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp, kosher salt

175g, peanut butter (crunchy or smooth)

unsalted butter, softened

115g, unsalted butter, softened

225g, sugar

225g, light brown sugar

3, large eggs

¾ tsps, vanilla extract

175g, salted peanuts

250g, semi-sweet chocolate chips

mini marshmallows

50g mini marshmallows

Pre-heat oven to 180*C/350*F/gas mark 4

Whisk together the dry ingredients. Set aside. Cream the peanut butter, butter and both sugars until smooth. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Slowly beat in dry ingredients until just combined. Fold in remaining ingredients. Spread evenly in a prepared pan. (I don’t have a “brownie” pan; which is usually about 12x9x2in/30x23x5cm) So, I had two pans for these.

Bake for 40 minutes (I didn’t adjust the time even though I used smaller pans as they were thicker. Just watch them)

For the topping:

225g, sugar

120ml, double cream

60g, butter

60g, salted peanuts, chopped

Combine sugar and 4fl oz/120ml/ ½ cup of water in a heavy saucepan. Whisk to dissolve the sugar and then bring to a medium simmer.As the mixture heats brush with a wet pastry brush to remove any crystals that have formed, do not stir. Shake the pan to mix it, but do not stick a spoon in there and stir (direct instructions from the authors!)

Once the mixture takes on a caramel color, watch it closely (very important as it burns very easily!)  You want a deep amber color. Could take up to 20 minutes. Bubbling will slow down as it finishes.

Remove from the heat and slowly whisk in the cream. Add a little, then a little more, you’ll see why!! It’ll save you from having to start over and cleaning up a big mess!

Once it settles down whisk in the butter until creamy and smooth. Cool and then pour on top of brownies then sprinkle on the chopped peanuts!!