Buttery Strawberry Crumb Cake

This recipe for Strawberry Crumb Cake is absolutely IRRESISTIBLE! It is so simple to make and celebrates Springtime with beautiful bright fresh strawberries in all their glory! It starts with a super tender, buttery and moist vanilla cake topped with a thick layer of fresh strawberries and a buttery brown sugar crumble topping. It's one of the easiest desserts you can make, and you won't resist this delicious cake any time of the day since it's perfect for breakfast or brunch. If you love the idea of this cake, check out my Brown Butter Peach Crumb Cake and my Lemon Blueberry Crumb Cake too!

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Easy to make - you won't believe how easy it is to make this fresh strawberry crumb cake! Although there are three components (cake batter, fruit topping and crumble), it comes together in no time without even pulling out your mixer. You can make this all by hand with a whisk.
• Soft and tender butter cake - this simple melt-and-mix recipe makes the softest, most tender butter cake! It's even soft straight from the fridge.
• Fresh strawberry topping - this cake is perfect for Spring when strawberries are in season. You'll scatter chopped fresh strawberries with a bit of sugar and flour (to bind the moisture) over top of the batter before baking.
• Buttery crumb topping - you just need 3 ingredients to make a delicious crumble topping. Mix together flour, sugar and butter and sprinkle it over the strawberries.

INGREDIENTS FOR STRAWBERRY CRUMB CAKE

• All purpose flour - unbleached all-purpose flour works great for tender butter cake. I would avoid cake flour which absorbs more moisture and could actually make this cake a bit dry without altering the other ingredients.
• Unsalted butter - this recipe uses pure butter. It is so buttery and delicious even with only 6 tablespoons in the cake batter! It's surprisingly light compared to most crumb cakes and you won't even know it.
• Granulated sugar - simple granulated sugar keeps this cake soft and doesn't interfere with the pureness of the butter cake and strawberry topping.
• Brown sugar - a bit of brown sugar gives the crumb topping a bit of a caramel-like richness.

• Eggs - two large eggs will add nice structure for the butter cake.
• Pure vanilla extract - vanilla is essential to make this delicious butter cake. I like this Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla extract.
• Sour cream - use full fat sour cream to balance the sweetness and add more richness to this recipe. If you don't have sour cream where you live, read down below in my FAQ section for my substitution recommendations.
• Strawberries - you must use fresh strawberries in this recipe. Frozen strawberries will leak a lot of moisture into the cake batter and make the crumb topping soggy. This will also cool down the cake batter so much that you will need to bake it for longer which will cause the edges to dry out before the center is cooked through.
• Milk - any type of milk will do. I prefer whole milk for baking. It should be at room temperature so measure it out of the fridge about 30 minutes before baking.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS: HOW TO MAKE STRAWBERRY CRUMB CAKE

• STEP 1). Make the crumb topping. Combine the flour, sugars and melted butter in a medium bowl and blend well so it forms clumps. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and set aside.
• STEP 2). Make the cake batter - mix butter with sugar. Melt the butter just barely and then let it cool. Mix the melted butter with sugar and vanilla using a whisk until it looks creamy, pale and fluffy.
• STEP 3). Add eggs. Whisk in the eggs one at a time until the batter looks smooth and custardy. Mix in sour cream.
• STEP 4). Combine dry ingredients. Sift flour, baking powder salt into a separate bowl and whisk it to blend evenly.

• STEP 5). Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture and fold gently to combine the ingredients until they are mostly combined.
• STEP 6). Add milk. Pour in the milk and fold it in gently until the batter is homogeneous. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
• STEP 7). Make the strawberry layer. Place chopped strawberries in a bowl. Combine flour and sugar and sprinkle it over the berries, then toss them together so they are evenly coated. Spoon the strawberries evenly over the cake batter in the pan. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the berries.
• STEP 8). Bake. Place the pan in the oven and bake for 40-50 minutes until the crumb topping is golden and the strawberry juices are bubbling and thick. Let the cake cool for 30 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS FOR STRAWBERRY CRUMB CAKE

• Use room temperature ingredients. Since this is a simple melt-and-mix method, it is important to have all ingredients at the same temperature (not cold!) in order to help them blend evenly together. Make sure the milk is at room temperature since you need to mix it in at the end.
• Sift the dry ingredients. This is optional, but it will minimize the amount of mixing needed to combine the ingredients evenly so that you do not over-mix the batter. It will give you the best results for a finer texture crumb as well since the sieve will break up all the flour particles.
• Do not over-mix the batter. It's ok if there are a few streaks of flour remaining when you fold in the dry ingredients since the last step is to fold in the milk which will continue to incorporate all of the ingredients.
• Use salted butter for the crumb topping. Salted butter will add extra richness to the topping and it means you don't need to add salt. If you use unsalted butter, it's no problem - just add a pinch of salt.

RECIPE FAQ

If you love cake and fruit, check out these recipes!

Brown Butter Peach Crumb Cake Caramel Apple Cake

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