Best New Orleans Crumb Cake Recipes

THE BEST LOUISIANA CRUNCH CAKE EVER

Steps:

• 1. Preheat oven to 350 Degrees Fahrenheit.
• 2. Sift together cake flour, salt, baking powder and soda. Set aside.
• 3. In a large separate bowl, beat butter until very fluffy (approx. 5 minuets) then add 2 cups of sugar. Continue to beat until light and fluffy (approx. 2 more minutes).
• 4. Beat in eggs, one at a time, making sure that each egg is thoroughly blended before adding the next egg.
• 5. Mix in sour cream and vanilla extract.
• 6. Blend in some of the dry ingredients followed by some of the buttermilk in alternates. This is a way to ensure that the ingredients are being thoroughly blended together -- For example; add dry mixture followed by buttermilk, dry mixture, buttermilk dry mixture -- so on and so forth -- DO NOT OVER BEAT OTHERWISE CAKE WILL BECOME HARD AS A BRICK ONCE FINISHED BAKING!
• 7. Grease a bundt cake pan. I used a non stick angle food spring formed tube pan. If you do not have a non stick pan, be sure to grease your pan and dust with flour! Add in 1/4 cup of sugar to the bottom of pan and about 3 inches up the sides, tapping the pan to ensure even distribution. Leave excess sugar in pan. Sprinkle coconut flakes to the bottom of the pan. Scrape batter into the bundt pan and spread evenly.
• 8. Bake for about 50 minutes to an hour or until a wooden skewer inserted comes out clean (if it comes out wet, bake another 10 minutes or so, if it comes out crumbly, you over baked the cake).
• 9. Let cake cool for about 10 minutes, then carefully remove from pan, making sure that the sugary coconut side is faced upward. Use a knife to scrape the sides if cake becomes stuck. (this step is very important otherwise your cake will continue to bake and will become very dry and completely stuck in the pan).
• 10. Drizzle glaze over the crunchy top portion of cake. Please use my Vanilla Almond Glaze recipe to complete this cake!

CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a spoon, stir in the cake flour one cup at a time, until the mixture forms a cohesive dough, like a very thick and clumpy cookie dough. As you add the last cup of flour, the mixture will be difficult to stir, so feel free to ditch the spoon and use your hands to mix it in. Set aside.
• Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack to the middle position. Grease a 9 x 13-in cake pan.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed, scraping the bowl as necessary, until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition (don't worry if the batter looks a little curdled at this point). Beat in the vanilla and scrape the bowl to make sure everything is evenly combined. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream (half of the flour/all of the sour cream/then the remaining half of the flour), mixing on low speed with each addition, until just combined.
• Spread the cake batter evenly in the cake pan (it will only come about ¾ inch up the sides of the pan). Top the batter with the streusel crumbs, using your fingers to break it apart and form it into roughly ½-inch chunks. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool fully on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares to serve. Cover the cake with aluminum foil and store at room temperature; it will keep nicely for up to 3 days. To keep the cake fresher longer, store it in the refrigerator but bring it to room temperature before serving.
• Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.

NEW ORLEANS CRAB-CAKES

Steps:

• In a big heavy bottomed frying pan saute celery, peppers, onions, scallions in butter and oil. Add oregano, basil and thyme, salt and white pepper. Lastly add parsley and garlic and cook until soft. Leave to cool.
• Finely chop smoked salmon, then flatten it, using the blade of a kitchen knife. Add the salmon to the whipped cream in a large mixing bowl. Add dill and season with salt and white pepper. Add 1/2 of the lemon juice and blend gently with spoon. Add 1 tablespoon of the sauteed vegetables and herbs to the mousse. Fold egg whites into mousse.
• Check the crabmeat for pieces of shell and put in a large clean bowl.
• Season with a handful of bread crumbs, salt, pepper, hot sauce and remaining lemon juice.
• Fold in mousse, taking care not to over mix it. Fold in the rest of the vegetables and herbs and a handful of bread crumbs. Blend it together very carefully with your hands taking care not to break up any of the crabmeat and overwork the mousse.
• Gently work into little cakes and bread them with more bread crumbs. Set aside.
• Heat the butter and oil in a large heavy-bottomed frying pan. Fry the crab cakes until golden brown on each side. Only turn them once after the bottom side is browned.
• Blonde Remoulade:
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon red bell pepper, finely chopped
• 3 tablespoons green onion, finely chopped
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Creole mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon Creole seasoning
• 1 teaspoon capers, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons parsley leaves, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon hot sauce (recommended Crystal's)
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• Chop all vegetable ingredients. Place in bowl and add remaining ingredients. Mix thoroughly then refrigerate.
• Yield: 6 to 8 servings