Classic Crumb Cake
"When I was growing up in Brooklyn Heights, an unbelievably delicious store-bought crumb cake was a special breakfast treat on weekends. I was especially (if not obsessively) partial to the crumb topping, picking off every last bit before discarding the cake and moving on to my next piece. I can’t begin to tell you how that irritated my brothers. In this recipe the cake is every bit as delicious as its topping. The crumb topping is lightly sugared and spiced and prepared first, so that it has time to cool and will be easy to crumble over the batter. When the cake is fresh from the oven, the crumb topping is slightly crunchy—a lovely contrast to the soft, moist cake. Over the next day or so, the crumbs soften and the cinnamon-nutmeg flavor becomes more pronounced...."