I don’t think there’s anyone in the northeast who isn’t a fan of Entenmann’s famous crumb coffee cake. In a large heavy-duty stand mixer, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and butter. Beat until butter is well incorporated and resembles a stiff cookie dough.
Lately, that’s gotten mighty expensive so it’s worth it to try to duplicate it at home for a fraction of the cost. I also don’t live around the corner from an Entenmann’s Thrift Bakery anymore like I did when I lived in NYC.
Remove pan from oven and top with crumbs by breaking off marble-sized portions of the crumb mixture and distributing evenly across the top of the cake. The top of the cake should not show through the crumbs and the crumb layer will be THICK, and the center of the cake will fall slightly.