While some people confuse crumb cake for coffee cake, there’s actually a pretty big difference between the two. Traditionally, coffee cake is topped with a layer of crumbly streusel, while crumb cake is essentially half crumb, half cake. Both are worthy bakes, but today, we’re all about the crumb!The key to getting the perfect, melt-in-your-mouth cake is a technique I’ve covered before called reverse creaming. While it may sound complicated, it’s actually very simple and yields a soft texture that lasts for days. Plus, unlike the traditional creaming method, you don’t have to worry about over-mixing. If you’ve tried my Caramel Cake or Chantilly Cake, then you’ve already tasted the benefits of reverse creaming. Why not give it a try with my crumb cake as well?
What You Need
Here are some of the key ingredients in this simple recipe.
Sugar. In addition to white sugar, we use both types of brown sugar in this recipe. The combination of white and light brown sugar in the batter helps keep things moist, and the dark brown sugar in the crumb adds that deeper, molasses flavor. Don’t have brown sugar on hand? See my tutorial on how to make brown sugar at home.Butter. Softened butter in the batter is reverse creamed to nail down that plush texture we all love, while melted butter in the crumb gives us that crumbly (buttery!), textured top that’s essential to crumb cake. Sour Cream. Sour cream is a secret weapon for keeping baked goods tender, plus it adds a subtle tang that balances sweetness. If you don’t have sour cream on hand, you can substitute plain, full-fat yogurt.Egg Yolk. You’ll notice that there is an extra egg yolk in this recipe. This adds to the tenderness of the crumb. We eliminate the extra white (which could actually dry out the crumb, we already have enough egg whites!) and just add an extra yolk which keeps the cake moist, soft, and melt-in-your-mouth.Cinnamon. I say this is optional, but you really should add it! Cinnamon provides warmth and sweetness, and it’s what makes the crumb so delicious. If you really must skip it, a pinch or two of nutmeg would also work.
SAM’S TIP: Make sure to use unsalted butter in both the cake and the crumb topping. We can better control the amount of salt in this recipe by adding it in ourselves. Remember, this is just an overview of some of the key ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Crumb Cake
As I mentioned above, the reverse creaming method is what gives this crumb cake its tight, plush texture. Don’t be intimidated by the name; reverse creaming is actually a very simple technique where, instead of first creaming together the butter and sugar, you gradually add the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a sandy mixture. After that, things move pretty quickly from batter to crumb topping, which lucky for you, doesn’t even require a pastry blender. SAM’S TIP: I always prefer to see a few moist crumbs rather than a clean toothpick. A clean toothpick means the cake is done, but it may be over-baked and as it cools it could become over-done and dry. Moist crumbs mean the cake is ever-so-slightly under-done and will finish baking as it cools, resulting in a super moist, soft cake. Enjoy!
More Recipes You Might Like
Coffee Cake MuffinsFrench Toast CasseroleBanana Cake
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Related Recipes
