Crumb Cake
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A super-generous crumb topping and genius pastry chef trick make this the best crumb cake ever.
An extra-generous topping of big, buttery brown sugar clumps make this the best crumb cake ever. The recipe comes from pastry chef Lisa Kolb Ruland of the blog Unpeeled. Lisa has worked in some of NYC’s best bake shops, and she has spectacular dessert recipes (her pecan shortbread cookies are an absolute must for the holidays!).
Lisa’s trick to making this cake over-the-top perfect? She uses two types of flour: delicate cake flour for the streusel crumb topping and sturdy all-purpose flour for the cake. The cake flour gives the streusel a lovely texture (crisp but not too crunchy), while the all-purpose flour gives the cake base enough structure to prop up the plentiful streusel as it bakes. This cake is wonderful with coffee any time of day. The only problem is that it’s impossible to resist picking off the crumb topping every time you pass by.
Table of Contents
“I am a huge fan of crumb cake and thought I’d never have another good one after leaving NY over 45 years ago…… until today when I made this recipe! Followed recipe exactly and it was WONDERFUL.”
What You’ll Need To Make Crumb Cake
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Make the Crumb Topping
In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
Whisk until evenly combined.
Using a spoon, stir in the cake flour one cup at a time.
The mixture forms a cohesive dough, like a very thick and clumpy cookie dough. As you add the last cup of flour, the mixture will be difficult to stir, so feel free to ditch the spoon and use your hands to mix it in. Set aside.
Step 2: Make the Cake Batter
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed, scraping the bowl as necessary, until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition.
Beat in the vanilla and scrape the bowl to make sure everything is evenly combined. Don’t worry if the batter looks a little curdled.
Mix in half of the flour mixture.
Followed by all of the sour cream.
Finally, mix in the remaining half of the flour mixture until the batter is evenly combined.
Step 3: Assemble and Bake the Crumb Cake
Spread the cake batter evenly in the cake pan (it will only come about 3/4 inch up the sides of the pan).
Top the batter with the streusel crumbs, using your fingers to break the mixture apart and form it into roughly 1/2-inch chunks.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool fully on a rack.
Dust with powdered sugar.
Cut into squares to serve. Cover any leftover cake with aluminum foil and store at room temperature; it will keep nicely for up to 3 days. To keep the cake fresher longer, store it in the refrigerator, but bring it to room temperature before serving.
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Crumb Cake
A super-generous crumb topping and genius pastry chef trick make this the best crumb cake ever.
Ingredients
For the Crumb Topping
- 2½ sticks (10 ounces) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ cups (packed) light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 4 cups cake flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- Confectioners' sugar (for dusting)
For the Cake
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
Instructions
For the Crumb Topping
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a spoon, stir in the cake flour one cup at a time, until the mixture forms a cohesive dough, like a very thick and clumpy cookie dough. As you add the last cup of flour, the mixture will be difficult to stir, so feel free to ditch the spoon and use your hands to mix it in. Set aside.
For the Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350°F and set an oven rack to the middle position. Grease a 9 x 13-in cake pan.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium-high speed, scraping the bowl as necessary, until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each addition (don't worry if the batter looks a little curdled at this point). Beat in the vanilla and scrape the bowl to make sure everything is evenly combined. Add the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream (half of the flour/all of the sour cream/then the remaining half of the flour), mixing on low speed with each addition, until just combined.
- Spread the cake batter evenly in the cake pan (it will only come about ¾ inch up the sides of the pan). Top the batter with the streusel crumbs, using your fingers to break it apart and form it into roughly ½-inch chunks. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until a cake tester inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool fully on a rack. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares to serve. Cover the cake with aluminum foil and store at room temperature; it will keep nicely for up to 3 days. To keep the cake fresher longer, store it in the refrigerator but bring it to room temperature before serving.
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: The cake can be frozen for up to 3 months. After it is completely cooled, wrap it tightly with aluminum foil or freezer wrap. Thaw overnight on the countertop before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (12 servings)
- Calories: 708
- Fat: 32 g
- Saturated fat: 20 g
- Carbohydrates: 97 g
- Sugar: 45 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 8 g
- Sodium: 318 mg
- Cholesterol: 128 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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Comments
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For the crumb mixture instead of spooning in the cake flour 1 cup at a time and then if necessary for the last cup getting your hands in there to mix it I just put everything in the KitchenAid mixer and I hooked up the dough hook and mixed it on the lowest setting and voila. When everything seemed Incorporated by raised the stand scooped out about 1/8 of a cup and squeezed it in my hand to see if it was clumpy enough to form a ball it seemed a little dry and I simply added a couple of pats of softened butter and perfecto. I lined the 9×13 pan with parchment paper. If greasing the pan works 99% of the time it still doesn’t beat parchment paper which is perfect every time. Wonderful reminds me of my elementary school days in New York City where we called them crumb buns at the bakery.
Just made the recipe but baked in a deep loaf pan with way too much of the crumb topping. Absolutely delicious.
Can this cake be frozen either before I want it for company and can I freeze the leftovers?
Yes and yes!
The first time I made it I loved it. The second time the bottom of the cake turned darker brown rather than yellow and the bottom almost crystallized . Is this a sign that I over baked it?
Hi Susan, that’s really strange! Did you use a different pan the second time around?
Disappointed. My crumb cake was bland! Even my 3 teenage testers agreed. Why do you think?
I’m sorry you found it bland! Did you make any adjustments to the recipe or the ingredient substitutions?
The other thing I did was make my own cake flour rather than buy expensive cake flour and fund the maker’s retirement with one purchase. The formula I used was for every 3/4 of a cup of regular flour Plus two additional tablespoons of regular flour I added two tablespoons of cornstarch. So I believe for this crumb cake recipe where the crumbs needed four cups of cake flour I added 10 and 2/3 tablespoons of cornstarch to four cups of regular flour.
Can I make this on a Friday and then refrigerate it and bake it on Sunday?
Hi Mary, Unfortunately, it won’t work to refrigerate the batter as the cake/bread won’t rise well when you go to bake it. If you’d like, you can mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet in another and then combine them and proceed with the recipe when you’re ready to bake it.
Have you made this into cupcakes, ramekins, or 4 inch cakes? I am thinking about 1/2ing the recipe having my students make individual cakes so it is easier for them to transport them. Do you have a chart for baking temps/times for weight of a smaller cake pan?
Hi KM, I haven’t made this into smaller versions. I do have this chart that doesn’t help with baking temp or time, but it does help with capacity. Please LMK if I can help in any other way. 🙂
This was delicious! I had one issue though. Because there were so many crumbs on top, the cake batter squished out the sides. How can I resolve?
Hi Eva, A bit of that is normal since it’s a crumb-heavy recipe, but next time you can reduce the crumbs a bit — that should help.
Jenn
I love this recipe. It is delicious. I just have one issue, the crumbs on top get just a little bit too crunchy and I would prefer them staying moist.
My oven temp is definitely off because I only need to bake 30 minutes so I know I’m not over baking. Would it help if I covered with foil @ about 25 minutes?
Thanks
So glad you like it! I do think loosely covering the pan with foil for a portion of the baking time would help, but I’d suggest doing it for a shorter period. I’d go with about 20 minutes.
Such a great recipe! thank you for sharing!
To make this a little lighter I only made half the crumbs and replaced sour cream with a joghurt.
Added blueberries on top of the batter before covering with crumbs. – maybe apple, plumbs, pear or cherries next time…
loved it!