Best Sheet Pan 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.

OVER-THE-TOP CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• For the streusel: Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• Stir together the pecans, flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon and butter in a large bowl until wet, sandy and combined. Spread 3/4 cup on a baking sheet (set the remaining aside for the cake). Bake until the streusel is set and crispy, about 15 minutes. Break up the pieces with a spatula and let cool completely in the pan, about 30 minutes. Break up the pieces into crumbs with your hands and set aside.
• For the cake: Grease a 9-by-13-inch baking sheet with butter. Whisk 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 3 minutes. Add the eggs, 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; begin and end with the flour and beat until just incorporated.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan (it will be very thick) and smooth with a silicone spatula. Press 15 mini doughnuts or 6 regular doughnuts into the batter and sprinkle over the reserved un-baked streusel topping. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 60 to 65 minutes. Run a knife around the edge of the pan to loosen any streusel that has baked on. Let cool in the pan for 1 hour, then invert onto a serving platter to cool completely, about 2 hours more.
• For the frosting: Meanwhile, beat the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, until well combined. Add the vanilla, beating until well combined.
• Assemble the cake: To make a glaze, mix the remaining 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar in a small bowl with 1 tablespoon water until smooth. Use a serrated knife to trim the edges from the short sides of the cake to make sharp corners. Cut the cake in half crosswise.
• Put a cake half on a cake stand or serving platter. Reserve 1/4 cup frosting and spread the remaining frosting on the top of the cake, then place the other piece of cake on top. Cut the remaining 4 mini doughnuts or 3 regular doughnuts in half and spread some of the reserved frosting on the cut ends. Put the doughnuts on the top of the cake around the edge, cut-side down. Sprinkle the reserved streusel on the center of the cake and drizzle with the glaze. Refrigerate to set, about 2 hours. Bring to room temperature, about 1 hour, before serving.

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.

BASIC SHEET PAN CAKE

Steps:

• Position an oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 375 degrees F. Lightly coat an 18-by-13-inch sheet pan with nonstick baking spray. Line the bottom with parchment. Set aside.
• Beat the eggs, sugar, baking powder and salt in a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment on high speed until the mixture is pale and very thick (enough to hold a wake from the whisk), about 10 minutes (see Cook's Note). Reduce the speed to medium-high and drizzle in the butter and vanilla until just combined, about 10 seconds. Reduce the speed to low and add the sifted flour all at once. Beat until just combined, about 5 seconds. Gently fold the batter once or twice using a rubber spatula, then scrape it into the prepared sheet pan. Spread it evenly using the spatula, using broad, gentle strokes to keep the batter airy.
• Bake, rotating the pan halfway through, until the top is lightly golden, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool in the sheet pan for 10 minutes, then invert onto a wire rack and cool completely.

NEW YORK CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Place rack in center of oven, and heat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly brush a 9-by-12 1/2-inch baking pan with canola oil, dust with flour, and tap to remove excess. Set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 1/2 cups flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a second bowl, whisk together egg, milk, canola oil, and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold dry ingredients into egg mixture.
• Spread batter evenly into prepared pan, and set aside. In a medium bowl, combine remaining 2 1/2 cups flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Pour melted butter over flour mixture, and toss with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs over batter.
• Transfer pan to oven, and bake, rotating pan after 10 minutes. Continue baking until a cake tester comes out clean, about 10 minutes more.
• Transfer baking pan to a wire rack to cool. Dust with confectioners' sugar. Using a serrated knife or bench scraper, cut into 3-inch squares. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

OUTRAGEOUSLY BUTTERY CRUMB CAKE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12x18-inch jellyroll pan.
• Beat the yellow cake mix, water, eggs, and 1/2 cup softened butter together with an electric mixer in a mixing bowl until thoroughly blended, about 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour the cake batter into the prepared jellyroll pan.
• Bake in the preheated oven until the edges of the cake are light brown but the middle of the cake is still slightly gooey, 15 to 17 minutes.
• While the cake is baking, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, butter, and flour together in a large bowl until the mixture forms medium crumbs. Remove the cake from the oven, and press about 3/4 of the crumb topping onto the top of the almost-baked cake. Reserve the remaining topping.
• Return the cake to the oven, and bake an additional 10 to 12 minutes, until the crumb topping is firm and the cake is cooked all the way through.
• Remove the cake from the oven, and sprinkle with the remaining crumb topping. Let the cake cool to room temperature, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.