Growing up in New Jersey, one of my favorite Sunday morning treats that we would get at our local New Jersey bakeries was the moist, delicious crumb cake that was (heavily) dusted with powdered sugar.
Little did I know that not all crumb cakes were created equal, and for some reason, the Northeast version was so much better than what I would find in other regions of the country.
If you search on Google, you’ll find recipes for New York-style crumb cake, which is basically the same thing, but I’m partial to my version.
Maybe it’s the extra heavy dusting of powdered sugar, the moist cake, or the sinfully sweet buttery crumb topping, but whatever the reason, it’s almost addictive.
This is the perfect crumb cake; all others are just pale imitations. Soft and buttery with a thick layer of large crumbs, I promise it will be love at first bite. The crumb layer with its larger crumbs makes all the difference!
It’s so good that Entenmann’s bakery made a version of this delicious crumb cake.
If you love delicious crumb cakes and coffee cakes, make sure to try our Banana Crumb Cake and Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake recipes.
Ingredients to Make Crumb Cake
Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make our New Jersey Crumb Cake recipe. In Chef Speak, this is called the Mise en Place, which translates into Everything in its Place.
Not only does setting your ingredients up ahead of time speed the cooking process, but it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.
How to Make Crumb Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper. Set aside until needed.
- Add the all-purpose flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt to a medium bowl.
- Whisk the flour mixture to combine.
- Add the melted butter to the dry ingredients.
- Stir gently to combine. You should have large, moist crumbs; do not over-mix. Set aside until needed.
- Add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and table salt to a large bowl.
- Whisk to combine and set aside until needed.
- Add the room temperature unsalted butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment.
- Beat at high speed until smooth and creamy, for about 2 minutes.
*Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. - Add the room temperature large eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract to the creamed butter.
- Beat on medium-high speed until combined. The mixture may look curdled; that’s ok.
*Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. - With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients.
- Mix until smooth, but do not over-mix. The batter will be thick, creamy, and sticky.
*You can use cake flour to make the crumb cake, but you will need to add an extra two tablespoons of cake flour for every cup of all-purpose flour. For this recipe, that would be an additional five tablespoons of cake flour in total.
- Spread the batter in an even layer into the prepared baking pan.
- Top the buttery cake batter with a thick layer of crumbs. Using a spatula or the back of a large spoon, lightly press the crumb topping into the cake so it sticks to the cake batter.
- Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 45-55 minutes.
*The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top or edges of the cake are browning too quickly, loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil. - Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool.
- Let the cake cool for 30-45 minutes before cutting. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and enjoy.
Wouldn’t you love to sit down for a slice or two of this moist and buttery crumb cake? Serve it with a glass of cold milk or a hot cup of coffee for
Store leftovers in an airtight container (or well-covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil) at room temperature for 2–3 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week. It freezes well, and I like to wrap individual slices tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil so I can defrost one or two slices at a time for a breakfast treat. They can be kept frozen for up to 3 months.
Recipe FAQ’s
Crumb cake usually has a thicker crumb topping compared to coffee cake. Coffee cakes may have a lighter topping and can include other ingredients in the filling. Coffee cakes can also have a glaze, whereas crumb cake is typically dusted with powdered sugar.
Yes, you can. Use your favorite cup-for-cup all-purpose flour substitute to make this recipe gluten-free. The texture of the cake and crumbs may be a little different, but it will still be heavenly.
Yes, you can. You can add pecans, walnuts, or your favorite chocolate or baking chip to the batter. You can also add blueberries, peaches or apples to the cake batter.
More Recipes You’ll Love!
Crumb Cake Recipe
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted (2 sticks = 16 Tbsp)
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled
Cake
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour spooned & leveled
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature ( 1½ sticks = 12 Tbsp)
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs – room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream full-fat – room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ¼ cup confectioners’ sugar optional – for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper. Set aside until needed.
Crumb Topping
- Add the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the melted butter to the sugar mixture, stirring gently to combine. You should have large crumbs, do not over-mix. Set aside until needed.
Cake
- Add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl. Whisk to combine and set aside.
- Add the butter and granulated sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.
- Add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract to the creamed butter.
- Beat on medium-high speed until combined. The mixture may look curdled; that’s ok. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.
- With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients until smooth. Do not over-mix. The batter will be thick, creamy, and sticky.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared baking pan. Top with the crumb topping. Using a spatula or the back of a large spoon, lightly press the crumb topping into the cake so it sticks to the batter.
- Place the pan on the center rack of the preheated oven and bake for 45-55 minutes. *The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top or edges of the cake are browning too quickly, loosely cover the pan with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack.
- Cool for 30-45 minutes before cutting. Dust with confectioners’ sugar and enjoy.
Barbara Murphy says
Do you have metric for this cake? Please send them, thanks.
Chef Dennis Littley says
There is a toggle under the ingredients list that lets you change the measurements to metric
Marty says
Hey Dennis, your Crumb Topping is missing a step. When does the flour get added to the crumb topping? With other dry ingredients or after the melted butter?
Otherwise a great recipe! Thanks
I tried a lower fat version, where I substituted 4 oz of butter in the topping and 4 oz butter in the cake with 4 oz applesauce each. Since the applesauce had sugar in it, I reduced the sugar too. Came out great