New Jersey Crumb Buns

  An easy pat-in-the-pan yeasted dough gives the cake its classic tangy flavor and enough structure to prop up the substantial layer of streusel.

Creaming softened butter with equal parts granulated and brown sugar (along with a hefty dose of cinnamon) gives the crumbs a supersoft, cohesive texture and warm, rich flavor.

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• Cooking spray

• 2 cups all-purpose flour (9 ounces; 256 g)

• 1/4 cup granulated sugar (1 3/4 ounces; 50 g)

• 1 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast 

• 3/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume

• 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest, optional

• 1/2 cup (120 ml) warm whole milk (110-120°F)

• 1 large egg

• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces, softened (42 g)

For the Crumb Topping:

• 3 sticks unsalted butter, softened (24 tablespoons; 339 g)

• 1 1/2 cups packed light or dark brown sugar (11 1/4 ounces; 320 g)

• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar (10 1/2 ounces; 300 g)

• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (15 3/4 ounces; 455 g)

• Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

 

Directions

For the Cake: Grease a 13-by-9-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, whisk together flour, sugar, yeast, salt, and lemon zest, if using. In a liquid measuring cup, whisk together warm milk and egg.  

Start mixer on low speed and slowly pour in milk mixture in steady stream. Mix, scraping down sides and bottom of bowl as needed, until dough is uniform and no dry flour remains, 2 to 3 minutes. 

Increase mixer speed to medium. With mixer running, add softened butter 1 piece at a time, mixing to incorporate after each addition. Continue to knead until dough is stretchy and webby, about 8 minutes longer (dough will be soft and sticky). 

 

Using a greased dough scraper or rubber spatula, transfer dough to prepared baking pan. Lightly grease your hands and press and stretch dough into an even layer to fill the edges of pan. Cover pan tightly with a kitchen towel or greased plastic wrap and let dough rise at room temperature until slightly puffy, 45 minutes to 1 hour. 

For the Crumb Topping: Meanwhile, adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 350°F (275°C). Clean and dry stand mixer bowl and fit stand mixer with paddle attachment. In mixer bowl, combine softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon. Cream together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Stop mixer and using a rubber spatula, scrape down sides of bowl. Start mixer on medium-low speed and add flour, a few tablespoons at a time, until incorporated and mixture forms clumps with the texture of soft cookie dough. Scrape dough from paddle, cover bowl, and let sit at room temperature for at least 10 minutes. 

When dough is ready, remove plastic wrap. If dough has shrunk away from sides of pan, gently stretch it back into edges. Use your hands to squeeze and compress crumb topping into large chunks, then break into 1/2- to 1-inch pieces and scatter evenly over dough in pan. (It will seem like way too much, but it’s not!) Using flat hands, gently press crumb layer into surface of cake. 

Notes

The longer the cake bakes, the crispier the crumbs will be on top. The cake layer is quite thin and doesn’t take long to bake through, so err on the shorter end of the baking time for the softest crumbs.

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