Who needs another recipe for coffee cake or a fruit cake? You do! This Strawberry Crumble Coffee Cake with a beautifully dense yet light cake base, fresh strawberry layer and final sugar crumb topping is perfect!
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Eating coffee cake is such a comfort to me. In fact, I even have a specific way in which I like to enjoy my coffee cake. I serve myself a (large) slice on a lovely vintage floral pattern plate slightly warmed with a cup of tea while I stare out of my window taking in the beauty of the morning. Call me what you want but I’m just living my life.
During summer, I love to play around with one of my favorite one layer coffee cakes by adding in seasonal fruit (try a rhubarb coffee cake too!) to perk it up a bit. And that y’all is where this glorious Strawberry Crumble Coffee Cake comes in.
What is a Strawberry Crumble Cake
The base of this cake is one of my favorites. Made with tangy sour cream, the first layer has such a tender and buttery texture with a warm and nostalgic taste that is out of this world. It’s so darn good that it could really stand on its own!
But I, of course, jazzed it up with fresh sliced strawberries and a beautifully comforting sugar and butter crumble with hints of cinnamon. It is truly spectacular.
I love this Strawberry Crumble Cake warm or even served at room temperature because all of the flavors really meld together in the most sensational way.
Ingredients
There are countless mornings where I wake up and crave being in the kitchen. I stretch my arms and legs, shaking off the sleep and welcoming day dreams of fresh banana bread and warm scones.
On days like those, I afford myself the luxury of taking it slow and baking myself a breakfast treat like this strawberry crumble cake. No need to hit the store though! I’m raiding the pantry for a few ingredients I know I already have. That’s how recipes like these are born!
Here are the simple pantry-staple items you’ll need today:
- Unsalted Butter: The backbone that brings richness and moist texture.
- Granulated Sugar: Adds sweetness and helps in achieving a golden-brown crust.
- Brown Sugar: Contributes to moisture and a deep, caramel-like sweetness.
- Eggs: Bind everything together, adding structure and stability.
- All-Purpose Flour: The foundation of the cake, providing structure.
- Salt: Just a pinch to balance the sweetness and enhance flavors.
- Baking Powder & Baking Soda: Leavening agents that ensure a light, airy crumb.
- Sour Cream: Ensures a moist, tender crumb and adds a subtle tang.
- Vanilla: A dash for aromatic sweetness that complements the fruit.
- Strawberries: The star ingredient, lending juicy bursts and natural sweetness.
- Cinnamon: A hint adds warm, spicy notes that pair wonderfully with strawberries.
*If you don’t have strawberries around, or you’re simply not a fan, that’s okay. Use the fruit of your choice! Blueberries, raspberries, peaches, and apples are all great options. Get creative with what you’ve got and let me know how it worked in the comments below.
How to Pick Strawberries At The Grocery Store
Did you know that there are more than 600 strawberry varieties? The varying sizes, flavors and textures are astounding! Strawberries are extremely versatile; they’re great in salads, desserts, sauces and snacks. They’re in season from late April through August so there’s no better time than now to take advantage.
When selecting strawberries, look for firm, plump berries that have a shiny, deep red color and intact green stems. Stay away from berries that are dull in color; once picked, strawberries won’t continue to ripen.
Can I use Frozen Strawberries?
Although the shortcut can be tempting, I highly recommend using fresh strawberries. The frozen variety holds lots of extra moisture that will seep into the cake and make for a soggy mess.
You can try to defrost them but I still think the flavor of a fresh strawberry is unbeatable.
Best Pan for Coffee Cake
There are three different options for baking a coffee cake: you can use a tube pan, an 8×8 sized square pan, or a 9×9 baking pan. Regardless of which you use, make sure to grease the pan well with either non-stick spray or cake release.
Don’t know which one to pick? Well, a tube pan is mostly used for the aesthetic but note that it can be difficult to cleanly remove the cake. Be sure to grease it even more heavily than you think you’d need to.
Both an 8×8 and a 9×9 pan will produce a cake that is served directly out of the pan itself, which is easier for serving. I prefer to use the 8×8 because I find it produces a thicker, fluffier cake. But, if you prefer a heavier ratio of crumble to cake, I’d go with the 9×9.
How To Make Crumble Cake
Made in 3 simple steps, this recipe is a breeze! In under an hour, you can be sitting pretty with a fat slice of berry-filled coffee cake just like me. Let’s get it!
- Make the Batter- for easiest cake removal, make sure to very liberally grease your pan. I’d even recommend going the extra mile and lining the pan with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of paper hanging over the sides. The batter itself can be made using a stand mixer, hand mixer, or by hand! Just be sure to use room temperature ingredients and don’t overmix.
- Layer the Strawberries & Crumble- once you’ve evenly spread the batter in the pan, arrange the sliced strawberries on top. Don’t worry about placing the berries down nicely, they’ll all cook down anyway! Quickly toss together your crumble and spread it over the top of your cake. Be sure to work from edge to edge, there’s a lot of ground to cover here y’all.
- Bake, Cool, and Serve- bake the cake until a toothpick in the center comes back clean, about half an hour. Resist the temptation to dig in right away! Wait about 20 minutes before carefully slicing and serving.
Leftovers
Strawberry Crumble Cake can be kept at room temperature, in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap for 2-3 days. It might keep for an extra day or two in the fridge but it tends to get more dry that way.
If kept in the fridge for a longer period, I’d recommend zapping your slices in the microwave for a softer crumb.
Can I freeze it?
Unfortunately, no. I would not recommend freezing this strawberry coffee cake as the crumble topping will lose its crunchy texture.
Grandbaby Cakes’ Best Strawberry Filled Recipes
Love this recipe? Grab a few more baskets of ruby red berries and let’s make a few more of Grandbaby Cakes’ BEST strawberry recipes!
- Strawberry Cornmeal Cake
- Strawberry Butter Rose Buns
- Strawberry Hand Pies
- Homemade Strawberry Ice Cream
- Strawberry Pound Cake
- Strawberry Punch Bowl Cake!
Strawberry Crumble Coffee Cake
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Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 cup sour cream room temperature
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups strawberries sliced
For the Crumble Topping:
- 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter melted then cooled
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and liberally spray 8×8 sized pan with non-stick baking spray.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer (or using a hand mixer), beat together butter and sugar on high speed for 4-5 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in egg and continue to mix until combined.
- Change mixer to low speed and slowly add in flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda until just combined then pour in sour cream and vanilla extract and mix until it all just comes together without over mixing. Turn off mixer.
- Evenly spread cake batter in pan then top with sliced strawberries.
For the Crumble Topping:
- Whisk together flour, both sugars, salt, and cinnamon until mixed.
- Drizzle butter over flour mixture and using a fork, stir together until crumbs form.
- Sprinkle crumbs over strawberries.
- Bake cake for 30-38 minutes OR until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
- Allow cake to cool for at least 20 minutes then serve.
Notes
Leftovers
Strawberry Crumble Cake can be kept at room temperature, in an airtight container or tightly wrapped in plastic wrap for 2-3 days. It might keep for an extra day or two in the fridge but it tends to get more dry that way. If kept in the fridge for a longer period, I’d recommend zapping your slices in the microwave for a softer crumb.Nutrition
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Nice light summer cake. I made this with fresh strawberries from the garden. Only modifications were that I used strawberry kiefer instead of sour cream since that was what I had onhand, and I added 1/4 tsp of cardamom. Was very delicious.
I made this in an 8 inch square pan and it turned out beautifully! My book club loved it!
Wow this is the best cake ever!! So delicious and perfect for spring!
My family is going to love this! Thank you for this amazing recipe.
I can only imagine how crumbly this coffee cake is. Can’t wait to give it a try!
Such an absolutely gorgeous coffee cake! So many incredible flavors. I love the combination of fresh strawberries paired with that crumble topping. Yum!
I made this coffee cake the night before and refrigerated it. I let it come to room temperature for an hour, then added the strawberries and crumble topping and baked it. It took longer than 38 min. To get done, but it was very good. I will make it again but will give it longer to come to room temp before baking.
Since coming across this recipe three months ago, I’ve made it about five times! First with homemade plum jam, then with blueberries (2 times), figs, and there’s a peach one in the oven at this moment. So I had to leave a comment saying how delicious and easy it is to whip up. When I made the blueberry version for my brother, he said, “mmm, I would pay $7 for this in a coffee shop but it would only be half as good as this one!”
This cake is absolutely delicious and was such a hit with my family. There is nothing better than crumbs! I substituted Greek yogurt for the sour cream because that’s what I had in my refrigerator. It took a few extra to come out clean with the toothpick I just made it for the second time and it’s cooling right now!! Can’t wait to eat it again. Yum and thanks for sharing this amazing recipe!
This was amazing and it will be my go to for berry coffee cakes in the future. Made it exactly like written, which is
unusual for me…always tweeking. The second time around I made a lemon vanilla glaze to use and it complimented it
so well. Everyone loved it.