Here’s the short version of why this blog died for awhile: got a new job, got married, got injured, got better, and am, finally, getting back on the horse (he galloped away from me for awhile, the gosh darn so-and-so). Hopefully, laziness won’t encourage me to put another 18-month blogless black hole under my belt anytime soon. May the force be with me.
If anything would bring me out of retirement, it would be this cake. Not that I am throwing shade at the kick-you-in-the-teeth delicious Apple Dapple Cake, but that would be like comparing fraternal twins: same genes, totally different outcome (and one is just as pretty as the other). This Crumb Cake has a shortbread style crust (butter: check), a custardy filling with a pile of sliced apples (heavy cream: check), and a salty crumb topping that will remind you why salt is so very important in every dish (butter, round two: check).
I haven’t seen a lot of cakes like it and hope you’ll love it just as much as I do. Perfect just slightly warm and on its own or with ice cream (cinnamon ice cream would be an excellent choice here, but you can never go wrong with vanilla).
- Crust:
- 2 cups flour
- ⅔ white sugar
- 1 t baking powder
- 1 stick unsalted butter, cold & cut into 16 pieces
- 3 medium apples (I use Granny Smith), peeled & sliced into ¼ inch pieces
- pinch of salt
- Custard:
- 1 cup heavy cream
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup full fat yogurt or sour cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 t vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
- Crumb topping:
- 1 cup flour
- ⅔ c white sugar
- ½ stick unsalted butter, melted
- ½ t cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8" springform pan. Set aside.
- In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder for the crust with a few pulses. Add the butter & pulse until the mixture resembles sand.
- Put ⅔ mixture into the prepared pan & move it around so that more comes up the sides of the pan more than in the middle. Don't press down, leave it fluffy. Place the apples on top without letting them touch the sides of the pan. Sprinkle the rest of the crust mixture on top of the apples evenly (again, don't press down). Bake for 20 minutes.
- Meanwhile, prepare the custard by mixing everything together in a bowl and whisking thoroughly. I recommend starting with the yogurt & mixing in each ingredient thoroughly before moving on to the next. This helps ensure a homogenous mixture with no chunks.
- Pour the custard over the crust when it comes out of the oven, then put it back in for 25 minutes.
- Meanwhile, mix all the crumb topping ingredients together in a medium bowl and put into the fridge until ready to use.
- When the custard-crust comes out of the oven, pour the crumb topping on top, even it out with a spoon, and put back into the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until a knife comes out moist but without streaks of custard on it. The cake shouldn't wiggle or jiggle if you shake it, but it won't be brown.
- Let cool in the pan, run a knife around the edge, and remove the springform. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional), cut, and serve. Nom!