I’ve never really eaten brunch before. I always eat breakfast and lunch, but not brunch. The two are always separate meals for me. Breakfast and lunch are typically quick meals that I put together in a few moments: fruit, oatmeal, cereal, reheated baked goods. Don’t get me wrong, I love sitting down for a morning or afternoon meal, taking a few moments for myself or chatting with Mom. However, I’ve never participated in the spectacle that is brunch.
Big plans are usually reserved for the evening. Dinner out, fun with friends. That’s not to say brunch doesn’t sound awesome. Going out to a restaurant to celebrate with a mimosa and pancakes or salad, sweet or savory, anything goes, not too early nor too late. Even better is the idea of having people over, a big spread of food, floral centerpieces, and lively conversation. An elegantly casual way to entertain and catch up, or maybe I’ve just seen one too many episodes of Brunch at Bobby’s lately.
While there aren’t any brunch plans on my calendar, I figure there might be on yours, as Easter and brunch seem to go hand in hand. What’s a brunch spread without a decadent sweet treat? Not much of one, right? This Crumb Cake is the perfect addition to any brunch party.
Okay, so the Crumb Cake I made for you today has almost five sticks of butter in it, but it serves 24 people and you’re not going to eat it every day, though you may want to because after one taste you’ll fall in love and forget about all that butter.
The cake itself is insanely moist thanks to a heaping helping of sour cream, which also lends flavor along with some vanilla. The bottom got a little brown during baking, even though it wasn’t near the bottom of the oven, but I kind of liked the deep flavor as a foil to the tenderness of the cake.
Let’s be real, though, it’s the crumb topping that’s the star. Thick, moist, and slightly grainy, it adds texture, cinnamon flavor, and pure yumminess! The topping gets a little crunchy on top, but that adds texture to the rest of the super soft cake, all of the layers working together in total harmony. This must be an addition to your brunch (or breakfast or dessert) menu. Although, people will probably want to come over for brunch all the time once they taste this cake.
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PrintCrumb Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 mins
- Yield: 24 1x
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 ¼ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups sour cream
Topping
- 3 ½ sticks unsalted butter, room temperature, cut into pieces
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9 by 13 inch pan.
- Make the topping. In a large bowl, stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and mix into the flour mixture using a pastry cutter, fork, or your hands until large clumps of various sizes have been formed and no large pieces of butter are seen.
- Make the cake. In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy. I did this by hand, but a hand or stand mixer would work as well. Mix in the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time and mix until once again light and fluffy. Alternately add the flour and sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour. I did three additions of flour and two of sour cream. Mix until a batter is formed and all ingredients are incorporated.
- Pour batter into prepared pan. Smooth the top. Pour crumb topping evenly over the batter, completely covering the batter. Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating halfway through if necessary, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with only a few moist crumbs.
- Cake may be served warm or allowed to cool completely in pan. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or frozen, in pieces, wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature for several hours or in a 350 degree F oven for about 15 minutes. It may be wrapped in parchment before reheating to prevent it from becoming crusty.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Martha Stewart
- Prep Time: 20 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
More butter please 😉 This coffee cake looks delish!
I know, right? Although I bet there are some people who would spread it with butter. Thanks, Elizabeth!
Coffee cake is always a great breakfast treat, but the crumb topping on this coffee cake was outstanding. Thanks!
★★★★★
Thanks, Lendon! I loved the topping too.
I can never resist a crumb topping! This looks like a perfectly decadent treat for brunch.
Thanks, Lisa! Crumb topping always calls my name too!
Good stuff…..topping was GREAT. Started my day with something good!!!
Glad you liked it, Rick! I can’t think of many better ways to start a day!
Yum, your cake sounds so delicious!
Thanks, Rosie, and thanks for visiting 🙂
Mmm those crumbs. I bet the sour cream would add the perfect amount of tang.
The sour cream does add great flavor and the best texture. The crumbs are the star, but that cake is sooooo awesome! Thanks, Katy!
Five sticks of butter? Holy moly! But goodness, just look at that thick crumb topping. It’s enough to make me swoon. Bring on the butter! 😉
The more butter the better, right? Thanks, Carolyn!
Oh my heavens – 5 sticks of butter! I would not have guessed that. The crumb topping was really delicious, the perfect thing to balance the texture. And this would totally be great with a mimosa 🙂 But lets face it, what isn’t great with a mimosa? Thanks again, I love your treats with my morning tea!
★★★★★
Thanks, Jessica! Everything does taste better with a mimosa 🙂 But tea sounds lovely with this cake.
The crumb topping looks DIVINE! I’d love this for brunch!
Thanks, Ruby! The crumb topping really is the best.
I’m in loooove with the crumb topping! Mmmmm so good!
I’m not a big brunch person myself, but I actually am brunching with some food bloggers on Sat 😛
★★★★★
Thanks, Kayle! Have fun at brunch! Sounds like a blast.
I love crumb toppings, adds for some fun crunch and texture! Looks great 🙂
Crumb toppings are great! Thanks, Natalie!
This really has 5 sticks of butter? Well, I suppose you could cut the topping in half. But that would be cheating. And knowing me, I’d eat the topping and forget the cake. This looks very, very good!
I definitely think eating just the topping would be delicious! But the cake wouldn’t be nearly as good without all of that topping. Thanks, Abbe!
The only times I have brunch are for holidays or when I’m on vacation. But I think I want to have brunch tomorrow as an excuse to make this!! 🙂
This is the perfect excuse to throw a brunch party! Thanks, Deborah!
Oh wow that layer of crumb!! That wall. That beautiful thick slab on top of that buttery cake. THAT is what I want. Seriously perfection right there! I just re-read the recipe…no wonder I want it. There’s almost a pound of butter JUST in that! 🙂 Just saw this on TS, Laura. Nice work! Pinning!
Thank you so much, Averie! There’s always a dance party in my house when TS or FG takes a photo 🙂
Calorie count anyone?
Seriously …I don’t think I want to actually KNOW….
Sometimes it’s better not to know! But you really only eat a small portion of the cake and calories.
Oh, brunch is my FAVORITE! This looks delicious 🙂
Thanks, Jennifer! You should make this for your next brunch!
I would love to have people over for brunch-and this would be on the menu!
It would make the menu for sure! Thanks!
Nice & moist great topping & a very good way to start my day..
Thank you…
★★★★★
I agree it’s a great way to start the day! Thanks, Eric!
I have never had a memosa. And now I want one. I loved this crumb cake. Everything about it was great, but I especially love the cinnamon crumb topping, yum! I wish I woulda had some coffee to go with that.w
★★★★★
A mimosa is just orange juice and champagne. Truthfully, I’ve never had one either! Glad you liked the cake! Thanks, Kristy.
WELL SORRY TO BE THE ODD BALL, BUT NOT WHAT I WAS EXPECTING,JUST NOT THE TASTE I WAS HOPING FOR.THATS JUST ME.
★★
Sorry to hear you didn’t like it, Sal 🙁 But we all like different things!
Crumb cake is on the top of my list of favorite morning treats – unfortunately I stopped all treats a couple months ago so I only had a bite to check this it out. It was very different from what I’m used to – more of a “bar” than a “cake” consistency? Not sure exactly. Thank you for the sample!
★★★
I didn’t find this to be like a bar at all, but like a traditional crumb cake. You’ll have to make a batch to do some more investigation 😉
look at how THICK that crumb topping is Laura! And no wonder I am obsessing over this right now – so much butter 🙂 That is what makes a super fabulous crumb cake though. It looks divine.
The crumb topping is almost as thick as the cake! It’s awesome! Thanks, Sally!
The crumb topping was delicious with all that brown sugar, cinnamon and butter! The cake was moist but needed just a little more flavor. Thanks for sharing!
★★★★
Thanks, Carol! I think the cake is a little low in flavor so it doesn’t compete with the crumb topping.
I am a fan of Crumb Cakes and this one was good. thanks!
★★★★★
Thanks, Jeff!
I LOVE crumb cake! This one looks so incredible with all those little nuggets! 🙂