Sometime the best thing you can do is relax with a cup of tea and a slice of crumb cake. This is the type of crumb cake you can distress with completely. You can do the same in any coffee shop but there is just something about homemade coffee cake and sitting in your pajama pants that tops any coffee shop experience. This here is an authentic New York-style crumb cake and by that I mean a crumb cake with an insane layer of crumb topping. It looks beautiful and tastes even better. I love how the cake to topping ratio is almost equal because sometimes there is just not enough of the crunchy sweet goodness that is the topping. The brown sugar topping contrasted the rich taste and moist texture of the cake perfectly.
I’ve been meaning to try this crumb cake recipe for a long time. Now I can say that it was definitely worth the wait.

New York-Style Crumb Cake (adapted from Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito)

For the topping:
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1 1/2 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup unsalted butter, melted and warm
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For the cake:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. sea salt
12 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sour cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla paste

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Position the rack in the center of the oven. Butter the sides and bottom of a 9-by-13-inch glass pan. To make the crumb topping, stir together both sugars, the sea salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add the melted butter and whisk until combined. Fold in the flour just until it is absorbed. Set aside.

To make the cake, sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and sea salt together in a medium bowl. Set aside. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter until it is completely smooth. Scrape down the side of the bowl and add the sugar. Beat the mixture until it starts to look fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds. Add the sour cream and vanilla paste and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating until it is just incorporated.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Crumble chunks of the topping over the cake. Bake the cake for 45 to 55 minute, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Rotate the pan two times during the baking process. Cool the entire pan on a wire rack for about 30 minutes before slicing. Store the crumb cake at room temperature in a tightly covered container.