Part of me picked this recipe because the name Cinnamon Flop makes me giggle, another part of me picked it because who can turn down cake for breakfast, and the more mature part of me thought it would be an amazing addition to any Mother’s Day brunch. But seriously though, who can turn down cake for breakfast? It says it right there in the recipe that, “Served warm, it makes a delicious breakfast bread.” Bread might be stretching the truth a bit too far. It’s cake, let’s be honest.
Reasons for choosing it aside, the Cinnamon Flop was delicious! The crust was sugary and it had the perfect amount of cinnamon. The cake was moist and fluffy. My Mom would love it. Unfortunately, she is half the country away.
As with any old recipe, there is a bit of trial and error involved, but that is why I am here: to make the errors for you so that your Cinnamon Flop is perfection! My oven is evil, and it does what it wants. Kind of like my cat but with worse consequences. As a result, the edges of my Cinnamon Flop (just can’t say it enough!) burned. Even the work of my overzealous oven couldn’t spoil the beautiful texture of the cake.
Cinnamon Flop – An Old Fashioned Breakfast Cake
Description
A Cinnamon Flop is a moist breakfast cake with a brown sugar & cinnamon crumble topping. It is a decadent addition to any brunch!
Ingredients
Topping
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 4 tablespoons softened butter, unsalted
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon (I use Saigon, because in dishes like this, it makes a difference)
Dough
- 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 egg, well beaten
- 1 cup milk (whole is better!)
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 425°. Grease 8-inch square baking dish.
Make the topping first: Work brown sugar and butter together with your fingertips until well mixed. Then work in cinnamon. I over worked mine and when it was time to crumble the sugar mixture on top, mine wouldn’t crumble. Stop working the mixture a little before you see the perfect crumbs and add the cinnamon. Work as quickly as possible.
To make the dough: Sift flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside. Mix sugar and butter with your fingertips until butter is well dispersed. It will look kind of like snow.
Stir in beaten egg thoroughly, then add flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with flour. Pour into greased 8-inch square pan.
Sprinkle the topping over the batter. Yours will be the perfect crumble. Promise.
Ugh. Not cute.
Bake in preheated oven for 25-35 minutes. Watch it carefully after 20. The old fail-safe bamboo skewer test doesn’t work perfectly because some of the topping will sink into the batter as it cooks and it will always stick to the skewer and look “un-done”. Just look for the wet white batter or crumbs. Serve warm. Yum.
