We weren’t snackers or dessert eaters when I was growing up, so the idea of crumb cake didn’t occur to me until I had my first job fresh out of high school working in a grocery store when I was 17.  They came individually wrapped, and if I kept my eyes open, I could find a few on the day-old bakery rack for 10 cents. But it wasn’t just crumb cakes.   I remember being fascinated by all the packaged baked goods, amazed that the selection was so huge.  It was like being in a strange kind of food Disneyland having my very own income and anything I wanted to purchase at my fingertips.

My mother didn’t keep too many “goodies” in the house beyond what was packed in our lunches, and even then, variety was almost non-existent.  And grocery stores in general were an oddity to me because she shopped at the Navy Commissary, and rarely took us with her.

So when I came across this recipe for crumb cake in an old magazine, I had to try it, remembering my long ago fascination with those oh-so-moist little cakes and the crumbly tops that make a sweet mess each time you sink your teeth into one.

There will be no hiding the fact that you’ve had your hand in the sweets!

Continue reading Glazed Crumb Cake with Cardamom and Pecans