Easy Recipe for Delicious Strawberry Crumb Cake

This recipe for Strawberry Crumb Cake is truly IRRESISTIBLE! It is incredibly simple to make and celebrates Springtime with lovely bright fresh strawberries in all their splendor! It starts with an extremely tender, buttery and delicious vanilla cake topped with a thick layer of fresh strawberries and a buttery brown sugar crumble topping. It's one of the easiest sweets you can make, and you won't resist this delectable cake any time of the day since it's excellent for breakfast or brunch. If you love the idea of this cake, check out my Brown Butter Peach Crumb Cake and my Lemon Blueberry Crumb Cake too!

Why You Will Love This Recipe

• Soft and supple butter cake - this simple melt-and-mix recipe delivers the softest, most tender butter cake! It's even soft straight from the fridge.

• Fresh strawberry topping - you'll scatter chopped fresh strawberries with a bit of sugar and flour (to bind the liquid) over top of the batter.

• Buttery crumb topping - you just need 3 ingredients to make a great crumble topping. Mix together flour, sugar and butter and sprinkle it over the strawberries.

• Easy to create - you won't believe how easy it is to make! Although there are three components (the cake, fruit topping and crumble), it comes together in no time without even pulling out your mixer. You can make this all by hand.

Ingredients For Strawberry Crumb Cake

• All purpose flour - unbleached all-purpose flour works excellent for soft butter cake. I would skip cake flour which absorbs more moisture and could potentially make this cake a bit dry without modifying the other ingredients.

• Unsalted butter - this recipe utilizes pure butter. It is so buttery and delicious even with only 6 teaspoons in the cake batter! It's incredibly light compared to most crumb cakes and you won't even know it.

• Granulated sugar - plain granulated sugar keeps this cake supple and doesn't interfere with the pureness of the butter cake and strawberry topping.

• Brown sugar - a touch of brown sugar gives the crumb topping a hint of a caramel-like richness.

• Eggs - two large eggs will add wonderful structure for the butter cake.

• Pure vanilla essence - vanilla is necessary to make this delectable butter cake. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.

• Sour cream – use full fat sour cream to offset the sweetness and give more richness to this recipe. If you don't have sour cream where you live, scroll down below in my FAQ section for my alternative options.

• Strawberries - you must use fresh strawberries in this dish. Frozen strawberries will leak a lot of moisture into the cake batter and making the crumb topping mushy. This will also chill down the cake mixture so much that you will need to bake it for longer which will cause the sides to dry out before the center is cooked through.

• Milk – any type of milk will do. I prefer full milk for baking. It should be at room temperature so measure it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking.

Read Also: Fresh and Flavorful Salads for Easter Dinner

Step By Step Instructions

• STEP 1). Make the crumb topping. Combine the flour, sugars and melted butter in a medium bowl and blend well so it forms clumps. Cover the bowl with a dish towel and put away.

• STEP 2). Make the cake batter - combine butter with sugar. Melt the butter just barely and then let it cool. Mix the melted butter with sugar and vanilla using a whisk until it looks creamy, pale and fluffy.

• STEP 3). Add eggs. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until the batter appears smooth and custardy. Mix in sour cream.

• STEP 4). Combine dry ingredients. Sift flour, baking powder salt into a separate basin and whisk it to combine evenly.

• STEP 5). Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and fold gently to blend the ingredients until they are largely combined.

• STEP 6). Add milk. Pour in the milk and fold it in slowly until the batter is homogenous. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.

• STEP 7). Make the strawberry layer. Place chopped strawberries in a bowl. Combine flour and sugar and sprinkle it over the berries, then toss them together so they are uniformly covered. Spoon the strawberries equally over the cake batter in the pan. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the berries.

• STEP 8). Bake. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes until the crumb topping is golden and the strawberry juices are boiling and thick. Let the cake cool for 30 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature.

Expert Baking Tips For Strawberry Crumb Cake

• Use room temperature ingredients. Since this is a simple melt-and-mix procedure, it is crucial to have all ingredients at the same temperature (not frigid!) in order to let them blend evenly together. Make sure the milk is at room temperature since you need to mix it in at the end.

• Sift the dry ingredients. This is optional, but it will limit the amount of mixing needed to integrate the ingredients uniformly so that you do not over-mix the batter. It will give you the greatest results for a finer texture crumb as well since the sieve will break up all the flour particles.

• Do not over-mix the batter. It's alright if there are a few streaks of flour remaining when you fold in the dry ingredients since the last step is to fold in the milk which will continue to combine all of the components.

• Use salted butter for the crumb topping. Salted butter will offer extra richness to the topping and it means you don't need to add salt. If you use unsalted butter, it's no problem - just add a pinch of salt.

RECIPE FAQ

Can I bake this strawberry crumb cake in advance?

You can make this cake the day before you plan to serve it and keep it covered overnight once it cools. If it is not too hot where you live, then you can store it at room temperature, but otherwise you can refrigerate it.

What is the difference between crumb cake and coffee cake?

They are in fact pretty similar! Coffee cake is generally baked with sour cream and is a rich cake. This crumb cake features a combination of sour cream and milk for a lighter, softer texture. It almost tastes like strawberry shortcake!

What makes crumb cake soft?

This cake is soft thanks to the amount of eggs to flour. It's just the ideal mix to make a strong yet soft and sensitive cake.