What is the difference between crumb cake and coffee cake?
In a previous post I wrote about New York Style Crumb Cake. Here’s what I said: “There’s crumb cake and there’s coffee cake, and in New York never the twain shall meet. Crumb cakes get their name from their special topping—buttery pea-sized crumbs resting atop a fine-textured butter cake. You can drink coffee with crumb cake, of course, but don’t call it coffee cake, a non-specific descriptive of just about any kind of cake to enjoy with coffee.”
Can blueberries and huckleberries be used interchangeably?
Now that huckleberries are in season where I live, I decided to add some to the cake, and I can tell you, the cake is sensational. Wild Maine blueberries are an excellent substitute for the wild huckleberries that grow in the mountains of western Montana. The crumb layer for this cake is thick, and in some recipes it can even equal the thickness of the cake. I like a ratio of 1 part topping to 2 parts cake, because the cake is also a big part of the show. The cake should be moist, tender, and have a fine crumb. The huckleberries add a welcome tang.