New York Crumb Cake

A moist, delicious bakery-style crumb cake topped with loads of cinnamon sugar crumble and dusted with powdered sugar.

This is one of those recipes that walks a fine line between breakfast and dessert. It’s similar to a coffee cake, and pairs perfectly with a warm beverage, like hot cocoa.

Like True NY Style!

I wanted to try to make a copycat recipe for delicious New York Style Crumb Cake, and here it is! After a bit of searching, testing and baking, I came to discover that this recipe was the closest to the glorious slice I had.

It offers the best tasting moist cake, and the generous amount of crumb topping was perfect! Most of the crumb topping sits on top of the cake and bakes to a perfect, golden brown.

How to Make crumb cake

1. PREP. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the upper middle position. Line a 8×8″ square pan with parchment paper, with enough paper to fold over the sides. Set aside.
2. TOPPING. Whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt and flour. Pour melted butter over the mixture and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix thoroughly. Mixture will be thick and doughy. Set aside.
3. BATTER. With a hand or stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt and mix to combine. With mixer on low, begin adding the pieces of butter one at a time. Continue mixing until mixture resembles moist crumbs with no visible butter chunks remaining, about 1-2 minutes.
   • Add egg, yolk, vanilla and buttermilk. Beat at medium for 1-2 minutes until the batter becomes light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
4. ASSEMBLE. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Top the batter with the crumble topping, breaking apart any big chunks into smaller pea-sized pieces. Start at the edges and work toward the center.
5. BAKE. Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean and crumb-free. After baking, cool cake for at least 30 minutes.
   • Remove cake from pan by lifting out of the pan by the edges of the parchment paper. Dust with powdered sugar.

Variations

Besides the thick crumb topping, another distinct aspect of NY Style crumb cake is that it does not contain nuts, have swirls or any other mix ins. However, don’t let that stop you from adding anything that you think would make it delicious. You could try:

• Cinnamon chips
• Mini chocolate chips
• Caramel drizzle
• Blueberries

Cake Flour: If you don’t have any on hand you can easily make your own.

1.  Add 2 tbsp of cornstarch to a 1 cup measuring cup. 
2. Fill it the rest of the way up with all purpose flour. 
3. Sift together and it’s ready to use in a recipe.

Recipe Tips

• Do not over-mix the topping otherwise you might end up with a pasty texture instead of crumbs. 
•  Be sure butter, eggs and milk are all at room temperature so that it mixes more smoothly with the other ingredients.
• After adding the crumbs topping on top of the batter you’ll want to gently press it down so you can help them stick together nicely. 
• Double the recipe and bake in a 9×13 inch pan and Increase the bake time to 40 to 45 minutes. 
• Glass and ceramic pans typically take more time to bake than metal pans. If you’re using glass or ceramic, decrease the oven temp by 25 degrees and add about 10 more minutes. Glass pans also take longer to cool off which means the recipe will continue to cook a bit as the pan cools. 
• If the crumb topping is browning too much before the cake layer is done cooking, place a piece of tented tin foil over the top.

Storage tips

STORE the cake in an airtight container. If properly stored it can last 2-3 days at room temperature or 4-5 days in the fridge.

To FREEZE the cake, wrap the slices in plastic and again with aluminum foil. Freeze for up to 3 months.

For more cake recipes:

• Cinnamon Roll Cake
• Coffee Cake Recipe
• Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
• Sour Cream Coffee Cake
• Bisquick Coffee Cake

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4.89 from 18 votes

Crumb Cake

By: Lil’ Luna

This crumb cake is a moist, delicious bakery-style cake topped with loads of cinnamon sugar crumble and dusted with powdered sugar.

Servings: 9

Prep: 10 minutes mins

Cook: 35 minutes mins

Total: 45 minutes mins

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• 8×8 square pan
• electric hand mixer
• wire cooling rack

Ingredients 

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Crumb Topping

• ▢ ⅓ cup sugar
• ▢ ⅓ cup brown sugar
• ▢ ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ½ cup butter, melted
• ▢ 1¾ cup cake flour

Cake

• ▢ 1¼ cup cake flour
• ▢ ½ cup sugar
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ 6 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces, softened but cool
• ▢ 1 egg
• ▢ 1 egg yolk
• ▢ 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ ⅓ cup buttermilk
• ▢ powdered sugar for dusting

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Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 325°F and adjust an oven rack to the upper middle position. Line a 8×8" square baking dish with parchment paper, with enough paper to fold over the sides. Set aside.
• Crumble Topping: Whisk together the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, salt, and flour. Pour melted butter over the mixture and use a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to mix thoroughly. Mixture will be thick and doughy. Set aside.
• Cake: With a hand or stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt and mix to combine. With mixer on low, begin adding the pieces of butter one at a time. Continue mixing until mixture resembles moist crumbs with no visible butter chunks remaining, about 1-2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla and buttermilk. Beat at medium for 1-2 minutes until the batter becomes light and fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl if necessary.
• Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan. Top the batter with the crumble topping, breaking apart any big chunks into smaller pea-sized pieces. Start at the edges and work toward the center. Bake the cake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick inserted comes out clean and crumb-free. After baking, cool cake for at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting out of the pan by the edges of the parchment paper. Dust with powdered sugar.

Notes

Make sure to use Cake Flour and NOT all-purpose flour. With all-purpose flour, you’ll end up with a dry, tough cake. Cake flour ensures the batter is light, fluffy and moist.

STORE the cake in an airtight container for 2-3 days at room temperature or 4-5 days in the fridge.

FREEZE. Wrap the slices in plastic wrap and again with aluminum foil. Store in the freezer for up to 3 months.

Nutrition

Calories: 431kcal, Carbohydrates: 57g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 20g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 88mg, Sodium: 305mg, Potassium: 80mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 27g, Vitamin A: 620IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 36mg, Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

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This recipe was adapted in part from Cooks Illustrated.

Thanks so much Erin! I need to try this recipe ASAP. For more amazing recipes from her, head over to Delightful E Made!