More Crumb Less Cake

It's typical isn't it? You make something over and over again and then the time you come to photograph it and write about how amazing this new recipe is on your blog it all goes a little bit wrong. I'm not normally one to start by making excuses but this time just homour me. I promise that I have baked many times before. I promise that normally the cakes and bisucits I bake, while not being perfect looking, are at least photogenic (although I never really had cause to photograph the food I've made before). This time, however, things didn't quite go as planned and as you can see below this jam crumb cake, which I so lovingly poured my heart and soul into turned out a little more crumby than cakey.

Anyway, enough with the excuses. I made this cake on Valentine's Day (yes this is how I spend the day for lovers, on my own, baking and subsequently eating the things I bake. All I need are a load of cats and I have the single stereotype down). Me and my friends were going out that evening to have some anti-Valentine's Day drinks so I thought i would make us a little Valentine's gift to munch on with our gin and tonics (or, more acurately, orange juice as most of them were driving). Unfortunately when we arrived the lovely bar man (that's a sarcastic lovely btw) informed us we couldn't eat my lovingly crafted jam crumb cake in the pub because they serve their own food. He didn't appreciate my pointing out that they don't serve jam crumb cake and that the food they serve there is awful. Anyway after managing to covertly stuff a few cakes down their throats while the bar man was distracted with his highly important glass collecting duties my friends assured my the cakes were very tasty, in spite of their less that beautiful appearances. And, upon bringing the remnants home with me, my mother also told me that they were, in her own words, delicious. Praise indeed. The recipe is from The Crepes of Wrath again (I told you I love her stuff!), I've just converted the measurements from US to UK. Next time I make them I think I'll reduce the crumb mixture as Sydney did only use 3/4 of it and using all of it is definitely too much which makes them a little dry to eat. These are, in my opinion, best enjoyed with a nice cold glass of milk!

Jam Crumb Cake

Ingredients - for the cake
4oz flour
4oz sugar
13/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
3oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled
120ml milk
1 egg
165g jam
For the crumb topping
3oz unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2oz muscovado suger (light or dark)
2oz granulated sugar
3/4tsp cinnamon
8oz flour

Method

1. Preheat oven to 190c and a line a 9x9 square or round cake pan.
2. Make the cake batter first. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt and set aside. Beat together the butter, milk and egg in a large bowl then gradually add the flour mix until just combined. Pour the batter into the cake pan and dollop spoonfuls of the jam over the surface then swirl into the batter with a knife.
3. To make the crumb topping combine the butter, sugars, cinnamon and salt until smooth. Stir in the flour and bland until large crumbs form. Sprinkle the crumbs over the cake.
4. Bake for about 25 minutes, until lightly golden, and allow to cool completely before removing from the pan.

... and this is what happens if you leave a plate of jam crumb cake around for too long in my house!