I remember very clearly the first time I made this cake. We had just moved to our new place in Brooklyn and I was sick and I was PISSED. Because I hate being sick (who doesn’t?), and it tends to happen to me when I move. I guess you could blame that old intangible enemy stress, which I roll my eyes all the way around at since you can blame anything and everything on it.

And so, I was feeling cooped up and frustrated and unsettled. The walls were still unpainted and we had a sorry excuse for a kitchen table, not to mention all the boxes that needed unpacking, and here I was all sniffly, feeling like I was in a strange place, a place that wasn’t yet home. I needed a remedy, something beyond chicken soup. And then it hit me: I needed to bake something. Because nothing says home like something baking in the oven.

I had had this jam cake in mind for a while, and the only ingredient I was missing was the jam. I ran out to the nearest deli and bought some Smucker’s strawberry jam (all they had). And this was the first cake we enjoyed in our new apartment, sitting at our wobbly little off-kilter kitchen table.

Fast forward a few years: the boxes are unpacked, the walls are painted squash (bright yellow-orange, and highly questionable), and we have a dining room table that seats 6 (8 with the extension in). And, there’s some blueberry jam in the fridge. It’s been sitting there for months. No one knows where it came from. And I knew just how to put it to its best use…

Mmmmm…crunchy, crumbly, buttery, jammy, this cake is perfect with your morning cup of coffee or tea, or your afternoon cup of coffee or tea, or your post-dinner cup of coffee or tea. It’s also great with milk!

Use any flavor jam you like, you really can’t go wrong.

Jam Crumb Cake, from Gourmet, December 2007

Ingredients:

For the cake

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup jam or preserves

For the crumb topping

• 3/4 stick (6 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 1 cup plus 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Directions:

1. Make cake: Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in the middle. Generously butter a 9-inch square or round cake pan, pie pan, or springform pan.
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
3. Whisk together butter, milk, and egg in a large bowl, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined. Pour batter into cake pan. Dollop jam all over the surface, then swirl into batter with a spoon.
4. Make crumb topping: Whisk together butter, sugars, cinnamon, and salt until smooth. Stir in flour, then blend with your fingertips until incorporated. Sprinkle crumbs in large clumps over top of cake.
5. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean and the sides begin to pull away from the pan, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack for at least 5 minutes.

Clarification: If using a springform pan, remove sides and transfer the cake to a cake stand. If using a pie pan or regular cake pan, simply leave it in the pan (I’ve done it both ways, both work fine).