Best Pantry Crumb Cake Recipes

NEW YORK STYLE CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C) and grease a 9×13 inch baking pan or line with parchment paper. You can use a glass, ceramic, or metal baking pan. The bake time is similar for each, but use a toothpick to test for doneness. Metal baking pans cook cakes faster. Set pan aside.
• Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter, then gently mix the flour using a fork. Keep the mixture as large crumbles, do not over-mix. If over-mixed, this will turn into a thick paste. Set aside.
• Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
• Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, sour cream, and the vanilla. 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 prepared baking pan. Top with crumb topping. Using a rubber spatula or the back of a large spoon, press the crumb topping tightly down into the cake so it sticks.
• Bake for 45-55 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours and begin checking at 45 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 is/are browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
• Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to slightly cool for at least 30-45 minutes before cutting. If desired, dust with confectioners' sugar before slicing and serving. Use a sifter/fine mesh sieve.

SHEET PAN CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• For the crumb: Combine the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Drizzle in the butter and mix with a fork until just combined. Add the flour and mix with the fork until it has been evenly distributed and small to medium clumps have formed. Do not overmix or it will turn into a paste.
• For the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 18-by-13-inch rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
• Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the egg one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the sour cream in 2 batches, starting and ending with the flour. Beat until just incorporated.
• Spoon the cake batter (it will be very thick) into the prepared baking sheet and smooth with an offset spatula. Sprinkle on the crumb topping and press gently into the batter to adhere.
• Bake until the cake and topping are golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Let cool completely in the baking sheet, about 1 hour. Slice and serve from the baking sheet.

CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• 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.
• 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.

PANTRY CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8- or 9-inch square pan.
• Preparing the topping: Add all the topping ingredients to a medium bowl. Use a rubber spatula until they all start to clump together. Squish or roll the mixture into mostly large crumbs with some smaller ones.
• Prepare the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt until combined.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugar at medium speed until creamy and smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, then beat in vanilla extract. Add half of the flour mixture, then beat in the sour cream. Add the remaining flour, and mix, just until incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Fold in the zest and fruit, if using.
• Pour the batter into the baking pan and top evenly with the crumbs. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan. It'll be gone before you know it.

OLD FASHIONED CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 7x11 inch baking pan or casserole dish.
• Combine sugar, flour and butter. Use a fork to cut butter in until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside 1/2 cup of this mixture to use as topping.
• To the remaining flour mixture, add cinnamon, cloves, baking soda and salt. Lightly stir in the buttermilk and egg. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle cake with reserved topping.
• Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of the cake comes out clean.

BLUEBERRY CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Getting ready: Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8x8-inch pan (Pyrex is great for this) and put it on a lined baking sheet.
• To make the crumbs: Put all the ingredients except the nuts in a food processor and pulse just until the mixture forms clumps and curds and holds together when pressed. Scrape the topping into a bowl, stir in the nuts and press a piece of plastic against the surface. Refrigerate until needed. (Covered well, the crumb mix can be refrigerated for about 3 days.)
• To make the cake batter: Using your fingertips, toss the blueberries and 2 teaspoons of the flour together just to coat the berries; set aside. Whisk together the remaining 2 cups flour, the baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg.
• Working in the bowl of a stand mixer or in another large bowl, rub the sugar and zest together with your fingertips until the sugar is moist and aromatic. Add the butter and, with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat the sugar with the butter at medium speed until light, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one by one, beating for about 1 minute after each addition, then beat in the vanilla extract. Don't be concerned if the batter looks curdled - it will soon smooth out. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture and the buttermilk alternately, the flour in 3 parts, the buttermilk in 2 (begin and end with the dry ingredients). You will have a thick, creamy batter. With a rubber spatula, gently stir in the berries.
• Scrape the batter into the buttered pan and smooth the top gently with the spatula. Pull the crumb mix from the refrigerator and, working with your fingertips, break it into pieces. There's no need to try to get even pieces - these are crumbs and they're supposed to be lumpy and bumpy and every shape and size. Scatter the crumbs over the batter, pressing them down ever so slightly.
• Slide the sheet into the oven and bake 55 to 65 minutes, or until the crumbs are golden and a knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and cool just until it is warm or until it reaches room temperature.