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Old-Fashioned Crumb Coffeecake

Recipes »  Desserts  »  Cakes

My favorite downright irresistible coffeecake...adapted from a recipe found in, "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion." This is the only recipe I've tried, over all the years, where the crumbs actually turn out big--huge, just like what you would get in the bakery. This recipe makes for a very sweet, crumbly cake that is incredibly moist and has a slight tang due to the sour cream. The big and plentiful crumb is very tasty having just a hint of almond flavor. The proportion of crumb to batter is gloriously indulgent. To highlight those crumbs, dust the top with a little confectioners' sugar after baking. I usually make this cake at night for breakfast the next day. I believe it benefits from having ample time to cool and sit. So, it is the perfect sweet breakfast treat to make in advance.

"This is a great recipe. My husband would always buy the ultimate crumb cake. I wanted to give him home made and I couldn't of found a more perfect recipe. When making the crumb I noticed it was too small so I rolled up big balls and broke them up later. It worked great. The only thing I did different was left it in 30 min. (two 8-inch pans) and then put the broiler (watch it like a hawk) on for a couple more min. just to get that golden brown. Thank you for the recipe." -

Yield: 16 Servings Ready in 45 minutes

Cuisine: AmericanMain Ingredient: Cake

(4.2, 48) 81% would make again (reviews)

Favorite 2,737 people favorited
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Verified by Tammylucas

Servings          
Original recipe makes 16 Servings
-- Crumb --
2 1/2 cupsUnbleached all-purpose flour; (10 1/2 ounces)
1 1/4 cupsSugar; (8 3/4 ounces)
1/2 teaspoonSalt
1 1/2 teaspoonsGround cinnamon
1 cupUnsalted butter; (2 sticks, 8 ounces), melted and cooled slightly
1 teaspoonVanilla extract
3/4 teaspoonAlmond extract
-- Cake --
1/2 cupUnsalted butter; (1 stick, 4 ounces), softened
1 cupSugar; (7 ounces)
2 largeEggs
1 teaspoonVanilla extract
1 cupSour cream; (8 ounces)
2 cupsUnbleached all-purpose flour; (8 1/2 ounces)
1/2 teaspoonBaking soda
1/2 teaspoonSalt
1 teaspoonBaking Powder
Confectioners' sugar; for garnish

Old-Fashioned Crumb Coffeecake Preparation

Adjust oven rack to center position and preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans, or a 9- by 13-inch pan, or a 9- or 10-inch tube pan; dust pan(s) with flour, knocking out excess. Set aside.

Make the Crumb: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, wisk together the flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon.

Melt the butter in the microwave or in a small saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and almond extracts. Gradually drizzle the melted butter mixture into the flour mixture while continuously and gently tossing with a fork. Continue to toss until all the butter is absorbed and you have a uniformly moistened crumb mixture. If texture of crumb is too small, gently squeeze small clumps together to make large crumbs ranging in size from that of a pea to that of a grape, about 1/4- to 1/2-inch in size. (Adding the butter too fast and/or over-mixing can result in the crumb mixture coming together as a solid dough. If that happens, simply use your fingers to break-up the solid crumb mixture into big crumbs, about 1/4- to 1/2-inch in size. Crumbs don't have to be uniform, just try to get most about this size.) Set aside while you make the cake batter.

Make the Batter: In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula as needed. In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and baking powder. Add flour mixture to the sour cream mixture and beat on low or stir with a large spoon until evenly combined.

Turn the batter into the prepared pan(s) and spread evenly. Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the batter with your fingers, covering the batter evenly and completely. Bake 8-inch rounds for 20-25 minutes, or a 9- by 13-inch pan for 30-35 minutes, or a 9- or 10-inch tube pan for 35-40 minutes. Cake is done when a wooden pick or cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean, and the sides of the cake are golden and slightly pulling away from the edge of the pan. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool in its pan(s) set on a wire rack. Carefully transfer the cake, crumb side up, onto a serving plate. Dust with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Makes 16 (2-inch) wedges, 24 (2-inch) squares or 16 (1 1/2-inch) slices.

Notes

The secret to the incredible crumb of this coffeecake is a simple technique; melting the butter prior to combining it with the sugar and flour...it makes all the difference.

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  • photo by sgrishka sgrishka

  • photo by dLo1130 dLo1130

  • Incredible Crumble Coffee Cake!!! photo by uk4love uk4love

  • Yes! That crumb topping is as yummy as it looks!!! photo by Kissablecook Kissablecook

  • Pour a cup of coffee and enjoy! photo by Kissablecook Kissablecook

  • photo by sgrishka sgrishka

  • photo by sam85 sam85

  • photo by sgrishka sgrishka

  • Calories Per Serving: 723
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    Old-Fashioned Crumb Coffeecake Reviews

    Give it a rating Would you make it again?   [please sign in to add your comment]
    Lovely Easy. Classic. Thanks for posting- this is the perfect coffeecake- crumb is awesome. Will be a regular in my house.
    1 months, 3 weeks, 4 days, 16 hours, 36 minutes ago
    2 months, 3 weeks, 4 hours, 23 minutes ago
    3 months, 2 weeks, 2 days, 19 hours, 39 minutes ago
    Excellent and easy recipe!
    4 months, 4 days, 5 hours, 15 minutes ago
    Pretty good
    4 months, 4 weeks, 1 days, 12 hours, 40 minutes ago
    5 months, 2 weeks, 3 days, 11 hours, 13 minutes ago
    This is a delicious coffeecake!! I added a can of our favorite fruited pie filling spread over the cake batter before adding the crumbs and have gotten thumbs up by all. Fresh fruit can be thickened, cooled and used in place of canned, thereby controlling sugar amounts if desired. Also, I dropped the sugar amount in the crumbs by 1/4 cup, with no noticeable difference in taste. The baking time was increased by 10 minutes. Enjoy!!
    5 months, 2 weeks, 6 days, 9 hours, 24 minutes ago
    6 months, 3 weeks, 2 days, 42 minutes ago
    I've been looking for an exceptional coffee cake for a long time. I have made a few decent ones, but this is the recipe that I really wanted, and it did not disappoint. Delicious! Well done.
    6 months, 4 weeks, 8 hours, 26 minutes ago
    Tastes good but its kind of weird to bake. I dont know why but I had to keep the cake in the oven for about an hour, it just wouldnt bake. the crumbles are a bit crunchier than I wanted but they taste good. Don't think I'd make this again just because it's a lot of trouble to make with only satisfying results.
    9 months, 3 weeks, 1 days, 2 hours, 44 minutes ago
    11 months, 1 weeks, 5 days, 1 hours, 18 minutes ago
    It was okay, but a little dry.
    1 years, 1 weeks, 2 days, 6 hours, 24 minutes ago
    Too sweet. Needs more nutrition, like adding some fruit in place of some of the sugar.
    1 years, 1 weeks, 3 days, 11 hours, 59 minutes ago
    I found this recipe the other day while looking for something to use up sour cream. This sounded really good, as I had been having a craving for coffee cake. It came out really well! I was one of the impatient ones who poured all of the butter into the crumble mixture at one time so the crumble looked strange but it was delicious none the less. It took longer than the recipe suggested but that was not big deal. My husband and kids gobbled it up.
    1 years, 2 weeks, 1 days, 12 hours, 19 minutes ago
    My crumbs were hard after baking, does anybody know why? I followed the baking time exactly. Otherwise this cake was excellent
    1 years, 1 months, 2 days, 2 hours, 47 minutes ago
    Loved the cake part of the recipe. The crumble part was way too sugary for me but I am the type of person to take the frosting off cupcakes....So, for a normal sugar lover this would be perfect. I added peaches to the cake batter which resulted in an awesomely moist and flavorful treat.
    1 years, 1 months, 2 days, 12 hours, 42 minutes ago
    Love it!!!! I made this cake last night. I didn't have enough butter so I cut the recipe in half and baked it in 1 round pan, didn't have almond so I used all vanilla and a little extra connimon as I am a connimon aholic;turned out amazing!!! I snooped your other recipes and will be trying another open soon! Thank you so much!
    1 years, 3 months, 1 days, 3 hours, 9 minutes ago
    Good taste, a little dry, needed more spice I think. Will try it again but maybe add some extra cinnamon.
    1 years, 3 months, 4 days, 8 hours, 35 minutes ago
    I made this cake for some friends grieving the loss of their mum and Oma. It helped, I reckon. My crumble component was difficult to slice neatly- keep your crumble lumps small and loose is my advice.
    1 years, 3 months, 3 weeks, 3 days, 2 hours, 9 minutes ago
    i had a coffee cake I made regularly but decided to try this. OMG this is awesome. and easy. and consistent. thanks for posting!
    1 years, 4 months, 4 days, 19 hours, 57 minutes ago

    Tags

    1. Bake
    2. Advance
    3. Flour
    4. Baking Powdr
    5. Baking Soda
    6. Sour Cream
    7. Eggs
    8. Vanilla
    9. Butter
    10. Cinnamon
    11. Sugar
    12. Coffeecake
    13. Cake
    14. Desserts
    15. Brunch
    16. Breakfast
    17. American
    18. Winter
    19. Sweet

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