Tracy’s Easy Crumb Cakes

It was while on a break from her career in marketing communications when Tracy discovered and began entering cooking contests.  Family dinners became occasions to taste test her latest creation and determine whether or not it was contest worthy.  Over the years, many were and Tracy found herself a finalist in several national contests.  At the urging of a cousin, she began a food blog during her years as a contestant and since 2006 readers of Rah Cha Chow have been able to get the winning recipes and more directly from their creator!    Tracy’s creations have been featured in Taste of Home, My Recipes – Southern Living and Pillsbury to name a few.  Rah Cha Chow is filled with an extensive recipe index that readers will want to reference over and over.  Tracy also features lovely *Gifts from My Kitchen* that will provide perfect homemade solutions for any gift giving occasion.  This talented cook and Mom of two boys has returned to her career and while not as active in cooking contests as she once was, she still enjoys creating flavorful dishes and beautiful sweets and sharing them on her blog much to the delight of everyone who stops by to visit Rah Cha Chow.  I’m very happy that Tracy is here today sharing her story and recipe with us.  You can follow her on Twitter @RahChaChow

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When I signed up for Frosting for the Cause back in March, I thought it would be fun and easy to make a special treat, remember three amazing women, and write a nice little post about it all.

To be honest, this process has been neither easy nor fun. I’ve been utterly stymied by writer’s block – or maybe you’d call it baker’s block. What to bake to symbolize the three amazing women our family has lost to cancer?

Aunt Mary was easy to conceptualize. An exuberant mother of six, who passed away when her youngest daughter was five years old, her symbol of hope was butterflies. More than 20 years later, many of us still think of her whenever we see a butterfly.

I also had a good concept to represent Aunt Dee, who we lost recently after a 19-year battle with cancer. One of her favorite ways to relax was to build a campfire outdoors. Nobody made a fire like Aunt Dee did. I thought I could symbolize her with something to do with campfires – maybe a variation of s’mores.

And then there was my cousin, Maggie. Aunt Mary’s oldest daughter, she was diagnosed with cervical cancer at the age of 17 and died at the age of 32. I found Maggie to be the most ethereal of the three. Would I do something to represent Guatemala, where she lived for awhile? Something heart shaped, because she was a loving presence to her siblings and her husband of less than a year?

And how would I tie all three of these ideas together?

I was stumped, and I’ve gotta be honest  – spending this amount of time and energy thinking about their battles with cancer put me in a funk.

A day late for my deadline, I still didn’t have an answer, until my 14-year-old son started getting out baking ingredients for this morning’s breakfast. He was making his favorite crumb cake. And I decided that his crumb cake would be my post. Because it’s downright crummy that Mary, Dee and Maggie are not here with us at this celebratory time of year. Yeah, it’s not campfires and butterflies but it’s the best I’ve got today.

So, in the spirit of “if life gives you a crummy situation, make crumb cake,” here’s how to make my son’s easy crumb cake. The recipe starts with cake mix, water and eggs. The mixture is poured into two pans and popped into the oven for 20 minutes. The nice thing about this recipe is that it makes two cakes – one to enjoy and a second one to share!

While the cake is baking, mix together melted butter, flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and vanilla. This is the crumb topping – but it doesn’t resemble crumbs until you crumble it on top of the cake.

Then take the cakes out of the oven – use a pot holder! — and crumble the crumb mixture over the partially baked cake.

After 20 more minutes, the cake is ready to come out of the oven. My son usually eats it unadorned, but for company and blog posts, I like to dust it with a little confectioner’s sugar.

So that I don’t end this post on a down note, I thought I’d tell you about where my $25 donation went. I put it toward sponsoring my cousin, Katie, in an event called “Climb Against the Odds.” Having lost her mother, oldest sister and aunt to cancer, she was part of a group that climbed Mount Shasta in California to support breast cancer prevention. Information about the event can be found here.   You go, Katie! Let’s all climb ever upward in hopes of a brighter future where cancer is concerned.

EASY CRUMB CAKES

1 box yellow cake mix (we used Duncan Hines)
1 1/3 cup water
3 eggs
3 sticks butter
3 cup flour
1 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Confectioner’s sugar for dusting (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Grease two 8- or 9-inch square pans. In a large bowl, beat cake mix, water and eggs until smooth. Divide the batter between the two pans and bake for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, prepare the crumb topping. Melt the butter, then remove from heat. Add remainder of ingredients and mix to form crumbs.  (We do this in our stand mixer.)

Remove the cake from the oven, and sprinkle the crumbs on top. Put back in the oven and bake for 18-20 more minutes or until the topping has darkened a bit.

If desired, dust with confectioner’s sugar when cool.