I’m headed to Boston this week for the HOW Design Live conference (for the ninth consecutive year) and so my mom graciously agreed to celebrate Mother’s Day early so I could have Sunday to pack and prepare for the trip. Our family is not too big on gifts, but my mom did have two simple requests: go out for Malaysian food with the family and spend quality time with Rookie.
So, my brother took care of our Saturday dinner reservations and my husband and I brought Rookie over for some playtime with grandma. And, of course, I also baked a sweet treat for my mom to enjoy on the actual holiday.
Similar to the cinnamon crumb coffee cake muffins I made for my grandparents about a month ago, this cake is loaded with cinnamony crumbs, which are layered in between as well as atop the batter. I happened to have some ricotta in the fridge so swapped that in for sour cream, which resulted in a richer, denser crumb. If you prefer a lighter cake, stick to sour cream.
As it turned out, we ended up dipping into the cake before dinner (as a snack) and after our meal (for dessert), but fortunately there was still some left for breakfast the next day. Now, off to Boston – see you in a week!
Recipe adapted from Spice Islands Trading Company.
- 1⅙ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup light or dark brown sugar
- ⅔ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅔ teaspoon sea salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup sour cream or ricotta
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Using a fork, pastry cutter or your fingertips, cut or rub the butter into the flour mixture until you have pea-size crumbs. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9" springform pan with baking spray and set aside. Or coat two 6" round cake pans with cooking spray. Then line bottoms with parchment paper, coat with more cooking spray and set aside.
- In a stand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and beat until combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and beat on low speed until combined.
- Add the sour cream or ricotta and beat until combined; do not overmix.
- Transfer half of the batter to the prepared cake pan(s) and smooth evenly with a spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle on half of the streusel and then cover with the remaining batter. Sprinkle remaining streusel on top of the cake(s).
- Bake the cake(s) for 45-60 minutes or until a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cake(s) cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing ring or cake from the pans.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled cake(s).
