When we moved into our new apartment we gained a display case for knick knacks, so for the first time in my marriage or our relationship, I broke out The Collection. I’d never really had a good way to display my various rabbits until now – sure I had placed a few pieces here and there. But my husband really had no idea that I was “one of those” until a few weeks ago. You know, like the guy with hubcaps all over his yard or that lady with the zillion Christmas trees all over her house. I’m in the beginning stages, but I think that I’m young enough that in thirty years Channel 5 will be over at my house asking me, “So what got you started collecting rabbits?” and I’ll reply, with a contented sigh, while holding up a very worn out looking bunny, “I don’t know. I just love them.”
Maybe the reason is because of Easter, though. When I was a kid Easter was one of my favorite holidays. One parent would run outside while I wasn’t looking, deposit a basket of goodies outside the front door, and the other would say, “Did you hear someone knock at the front door? You’d better go see who that is.” Then I’d open up the door and I’d see an Easter basket and probably wonder where the Easter Bunny went (or where my other parent went). Then there was the Easter egg hunt, which my cousin and I proudly continued playing with plastic eggs long into the summer when he was visiting.
My latest acquisitions from an antique store in Massachusetts
These days, we don’t really do anything for Easter (this year I might admire my rabbit collection), but one thing I do attempt to do is to make something good to eat (of course – what else did you expect?). This year I decided to give VeganYumYum.com’s crumb cake recipe an early try, and I have to tell you – even if you don’t celebrate Easter, you should still make this. The cake has a dense, yet moist texture and the crumb is a perfect amount of crunch and sugary goodness. It’s rich, though, so you’ll want to have this with some coffee or tea.
Crumb Cake
Crumb Topping
- 8 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon molasses
- 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 pinch of salt
- 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
Cake
- 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil, or 6 tablespoons vegan butter, softened
- 1/3 cup vegan milk, plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
- 1-2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Put the sugar, molasses, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.
Add in the vegan butter and whisk well with the other ingredients.
Mix in the flour.
If it doesn’t seem to be mixing well, go with the old fashioned method of using your hands.
A thick dough should form, but as in my case, if a thick dough doesn’t form just add in a tablespoon or two of vegan butter at a time until it gets to the right consistency, similar to that of cookie dough.
Let sit to cool for about 10 minutes. It should be ready when after you’ve put together the batter for the cake.
Line an 8×8 pan with aluminum foil (two sheets in a cross formation, leaving excess draped over the edges to help you remove the cake later), and then spray with vegetable oil.
Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Add oil, vegan milk mixture, cornstarch mixture and vanilla extract.
Whisk until smooth, but do not overmix.
Add the batter to the lined pan.
Begin to break apart the crumb mixture into smaller, pea sized pieces. You want to take chunks from the bowl and gently break off the crumbs. Cover the batter evenly with all the crumb mixture.
Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the crumbs are slightly browned and a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean. Grab the aluminum foil and gently lift the cake out to cool for 20-30 minutes on a cooling rack, then serve with a pot of coffee or tea.
I hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend no matter what you do. But if you make some crumb cake, make sure you eat an extra piece for me!
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