The Gardening Girl: Grain Free Crumb Cake

I love my great grandma dearly.
She is one of the strongest women I know; she lived on a farm for 95 years and did more than her of the work before and after she was widowed at 53, her first child was stillborn and her youngest son died when he was 25.
She is one of the hardest workers I know; at 85 she could still work circles around people a quarter her age and at 99 she can still snip beans with the best of them!
She was an amazing cook; and I mean amazing! Pies, cookies, soups, roasts, pickles, canned peaches, you name it! And man were they good!
She was, and still is, a teacher at heart; Canning, cooking, crocheting, gardening: if you were willing to learn, she was more than happy to teach you. Every time we visited when she was still on the farm we would make a crumb cake together. Each time she would show me exactly how to do each step, so I would know how do do everything just right. Those are some of my most cherished memories. I have never been able to make a crumb cake quite as good as hers.
She always made sure you were taken care of. She never has been much of a hugger, or one to say I love you a lot, but you never doubt that she does. She showed you how much she cared by taking care of you. You never went hungry when you were at her house! Whenever we would go visit her at the farm she would have made a no-bake cherry pie for me, a crumb cake for my mom, and a sour cream raising pie for my dad. She'd also have cookies in the freezer, a roast in the oven and fresh strawberries! Which leads me to the next thing...
She was an avid gardener! She had a garden until she was into her 90's! And oh, her strawberry patch! My mouth still waters just thinking about her strawberries! I'm tellin' ya, they were like candy! She taught my dad everything he knows and now he has passed it along to me. I guess you could say that good ole black, Iowa dirt is in my blood.
And last but not least, she is German; she is spunky, she is sassy, she is blunt, she is opinionated, she is set in her ways, she is determined (okay, stubborn...), but she is sweet, caring and funny. She's just Great B! And her 100th birthday is the last day of this month!
So, as a tribute to such an amazing woman, I've decided to work on making some of her best recipes grain free, and posting the ones that convert best during her birthday month.

I decided to start with my very favorite recipe of all - Her crumb cake! And I am thrilled with how it turned out, and my dad who grew up eating it was equally thrilled! It is SO close to hers, for a moment I was transported back to her kitchen table! I hope you enjoy this little piece of my childhood!

Click here for her original recipe.

Great B's Crumb Cake - The Grain Free Version!
*edited

Batter
~~2 1/2~~ 3 TBSP coconut flour
1 c + 2 TBSP chestnut flour
2 TBSP coconut sap sugar
5 1/2 TBSP butter, softened slightly and cubed
1/2 c honey
2 tsp vanilla (the real stuff, of course!)
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 c buttermilk
3 eggs

Crumb Topping:
1/4 c ~~+ 1~~ TBSP chestnut flour
~~1 TBSP almond flour~~ 2 TBSP ground pecans
~~2 1/2~~ 3 TBSP coconut sap sugar
1 1/2 TBSP butter, softened slightly and cubed
1/8 tsp salt

In a small bowl combine the crumb topping ingredients. Using your hands or a pastry blender to mix the ingredients together until you have fine crumbs resembling wet sand. Set aside.

Add the baking soda to the buttermilk and stir. Set aside. In a large bowl, repeat with the first four batter ingredients.
Then add all of the rest of the ingredients.
When you have everything in the bowl, with a hand mixer beat it until it is light and fluffy and has lightened in color quite a bit. Pour into an 8"x8" pan lined with parchment and sprinkle the topping evenly over the surface. Bake at 325 degrees for about 40-45 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top bounces back when lightly pressed. Cover it with tin foil while it cools to keep it moist.

Note: It tastes best once it has cooled completely.

Enjoy! If you make it, I would love to hear how yours turns out!