STUNOD Crumb Cake

""Oh, yes. I knew I was weird by the time I was four. I knew I wasn't like other boys. I knew I was more fearful. I didn't like the rough and tumble most boys were into. I knew I was a sissy""

 Robert Crumb 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Crumb

 

Presenting to you all a super easy, super delicious crumb cake. Moist thick crumbs deep into a buttery batter. MADE WITH A BOX CAKE! 

 Yes, you can excommunicate me from baking ...

Many of you have voiced your detest over the box cake. However, I believe it serves its purpose in today's Americana.  I can not foolishly turn away from something soo simple, and so full  raw preservatives. A list of unpronounceable ingredients....surely I will get Cancer. 
There is really nothing easier than whipping up a box cake.  A novice baker can appreciate the ease and simplicity. I ""cut my teeth"" as a teen, on a box cake . I had to start somewhere. Plus, it is cheap! Mistakes can be made!

Cake Recipe History The original origins of Cakes started back over 2000 years ago. The exact date is unknown because it undetermined what ingredients would make up a real cake. Some of the earliest cakes were made from combinations of flour, honey, nuts, eggs, milk, and others flavorings. Soon after these early cakes were baked, fruit was added. Four is the main ingredient that first made cakes possible. The earliest word for cake was "plakous" which came for the Greeks. The word came from the Greek word "flat". Next when the Greeks would make a larger heavy cake they named it "satura". These are the earliest names used in describing cakes. Archaeologists have discovered in Neolithic villages simple cakes were made from crushed grains, then moistened and cooked. These early cakes were likely oat or corn cakes. In later times 1900s, cakes began to be much more complicated. More forms of flour and processed flours, along with leavening agents (for rise) made cakes what they are today. Of course there are now easier methods of baking or not baking cakes, all made possible by box cake mix. Thanks to box cake mix, everyone can now easily conjure up extravagant cake recipes. Even cake making utensils have come far and make baking a cake as easy and baking a cake. Now back to Roman time. During this time the name for cake was "placenta". Another name they used was "Libum" and these cakes were used in religious ways. The Placenta cake was much like a cheesecake on top of a pastry base. For some time the words, bread and cake, were close in meaning and interchangeable in their use. The words, bread and cake come from the Greek and English influence. When people of wealth would make us bread with all the finest ingredients, then they would call it a cake. Early cakes were made with yeast as a rising agent. Later eggs were used as a primary leavening or rising agent. Early cake pans were simply a ring of a pan put on top of wax paper and cooked.  Later pans would have the same round shape and also now have a bottom. And so the modern round cake pan was born. The next big improvement is cake recipes came when baking soda and baking powder were invented.

Over 50 Years of Cake Mix Success
Cake mix, one of the first convenience foods, reflects five decades of American history. Developed shortly after the end of World War II, cake mix was welcomed by consumers who were looking for ways to make cooking, and especially baking, easier and more convenient. By listening to what consumers want, Betty Crocker has made baking fun for many generations!

1940s: It takes almost a decade to develop cake mix. Beginning in 1943, the Betty Crocker labs and kitchens spent four intensive years creating and researching cake mixes. Layer cake mixes were sent to consumer kitchens for additional testing. An unexpected result: consumer testers preferred to add some of their own fresh ingredients in order to make the cake more genuine. Powdered eggs were removed from the mixes, and the cake mix directions called for adding two fresh eggs instead.....Continue reading here  http://www.dvo.com/recipe_pages/cakemixes/Over_50_Years_of_Cake_Mix_Success.html

My cousin Lynn requested an easy recipe for Crumb Buns. I sent it to her. She called it "Crumb buns from HELL""..WHY?..because they require yeast, and way to much work. She was going to be down the Jersey Shore,( STUNOD!) and had no time for all this baking. She wanted quick, and delicious to feed a huge crowd for breakfast. So I sent her this cake recipe....

CRUMB CAKE

1 box Duncan Hines butter cake mix ( do not follow recipe on box!) 2/3 c. oil 4 eggs, slightly beaten 2/3 c.  whole milk    Add box mix and oil, eggs, milk. Mix well and beat. Pour into 12x18 or 9x13 pan. I like a glass dish. The cake stays moister.   Butter dish/pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes; cool slightly.   CRUMBS: 3 sticks butter ( I used margarine)  melted and cooled slightly Its is a lot.. I think you will be ok with 2 ! 4 c. flour 2/3 c. brown sugar 2 tsp. cinnamon 2/3 c. granulated sugar 2 tsp. vanilla Put in large bowl and pour melted margarine over and mix with spoon or fork. Don't over mix or crumbs will be too small.Spread over cake (I put on by hand so that it is spread evenly and all holes filled in). Put back in oven for 20 minutes longer; watch to see that it doesn't brown too fast. Cool, then sprinkle with powdered sugar.

I made a parchment sling ..so I could lift out the cake. I also did not have a big enough pan/dish  so  I used (2) 8 inch square 

crumbs

cooled

served

Bonappetito!!