This crumb donut recipe gives you the best of all worlds – a crumb cake taste and texture in an adorable and portable homemade donut shape. Save yourself a trip to the donut shop by making this special treat at home! Be sure to break this delicious donut in half to be sure all the calories fall out before eating.
A Short History of Crumb Cakes
Crumb cakes are thought to have originated in Germany. The German version, streuselkuchen consists in a layer of a sweet yeasted dough topped with butter-sugar based crumbs. German immigrants brought this recipe with them when they migrated to the United States. The New York version, like everything from New York, is bigger and brassier. It typically consists in a sturdy yellow cake, with a crumb cake topping section that is at least as deep as the cake itself. The cake itself is leavened with baking powder and baking soda, rather than yeast. A hallmark of the New York style cake is that you typically make the crumbs first, then set some aside, and add just a few more things to the crumb ingredients to make the cake. Our favorite LAUSD Old Fashioned Coffee Cake can surely trace its origins to New York, although it is a little lighter on the crumbs than its East Coast equivalent.
Dying to know more abou tthe history of the baked doughnut (aka cake doughnuts)? Don’t worry, we have a short history of their existence posted in our favorite Baked Buttermilk Donut recipe. The best news as that they are a wee bit healthier than the fried versions.
Breakfast Sweets
We are firm believers that, since you never know when fate will strike, it’s best to eat dessert at all meals, including breakfast. So, here are a few of our favorite and most outrageously sweet breakfast sweets to compliment this sinful crumb donut recipe.
Useful Tools for Making these Crumb Donuts
Crumb Donut Recipe
Equipment
- 12-cup donut pan
- disposable piping bag
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup + 1 tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 3/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 large egg at room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F and spray a 12-cavity doughnut pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, brown sugar, sugar, salt and nutmeg. Add the vegetable oil to the dry ingredients and stir together until a crumbly mixture forms that will stick together in large clumps. Set 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture aside in a small bowl or a measuring cup to form the brown sugar crumb topping for your donuts. This should be enough to form a thick layer of crumbs on top of your fluffy vanilla cake donuts.
- Sift the baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon into your crumb topping mixture and stir to combine. Add the remaining wet ingredients (egg, buttermilk, and vanilla extract), and stir until well combined.
- Pour the donut batter into a disposable pastry bag. Pipe donut batter into the donut cavities, filling 2/3 of the way full. Sprinkle the crumb streusel on top of each donut. Bake in middle rack of the oven for 15 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool for 5 minutes in the pan, then remove to a wire rack to fully cool.
Notes
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