This berry crumb cake is a lovely light and moist cake, studded with berries and topped with a sweet cinnamon sugar crumb topping.
This crumb cake recipe has been a favourite of mine, ever since I spotted it on Smitten Kitchen a few years ago. Adapted from a Maida Heatter recipe, this texture of this cake is just perfect. As is the crumb topping. It is exactly what I imagine when I think of crumb cake - light and tender, moist and a little bit crumbly, but sturdy enough to make a nice slice.
This time, I made a very berry version, with raspberries and blackberries. I love the way they burst with flavour in the cake. You could add blueberries. In fact, you could make it with just blueberries. Or just blackberries. You get the idea - use whatever fruit you like. You'll need about a pint.
Cook's Notes
I added some chopped pecans to my cake, just because I had some that I wanted to use up. Walnuts are always good or you can skip the nuts altogether and still have a wonderful cake.
I made this cake by using the gram measurements and weighing out the dry ingredients and if you have a kitchen scale, that's the way to go. Honestly, I have to say, I love my kitchen scale. It is one of the most-used and valuable tools in my kitchen. I love that it takes the guesswork out of measuring when I'm baking, as precise measuring is so important, especially for recipes that are flour-heavy. It's just so easy to over or under measure flour when using cups to measure and a little too much or a little too little can really change the finished cake.
If you don't have a kitchen scale yet, I would really, really recommend that you consider adding one to your kitchen. They are so economical (you can get a great one for around $10!) and they are just so useful. Not only do they take the guesswork out of measuring, they open up a whole world of recipes to you (those ones that you've seen that are only in metric and you couldn't make because you didn't have a scale).
Another place I use my scale all the time is for measuring butter. If you've ever had a chunk of butter and you needed 3 Tbsp., all you need to do is weigh it. A tablespoon of butter weighs 1/2 oz., so rather than cut and guess, just weigh out 1 1/2 oz. for your 3 Tbsp.
Have I convinced you yet? Seriously, if you like to bake, a kitchen scale will make your baking life so much easier and your baked goods better! And better baked goods are a definitely a good thing :)
Here's a sample of some of the scales that are out there for a great price.
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Very Berry Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Topping:
- 5 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, cold
- Pinch of salt
Cake:
- 1 3/4 cups + 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 4 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 tsp lemon zest
- 1 large egg
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 pint fresh berries, I used 1/2 raspberries, 1/2 blackberries
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1/2 cup nuts, chopped, I used pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375° F. Grease an 8-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.
- Prepare the topping: Whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Cu in the butter in with a pastry blender, fork or your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set aside.
- For the cake: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt until combined. Set aside. In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest together until light and fluffy, about 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Beat in 1/3 of the dry ingredients just until combined. Add 1/2 of the milk. Add another 1/3 of the dry ingredients, followed by the remainder of the milk. Add the remaining dry ingredients and mix until combined. Using a spatula, carefully fold the berries in to the batter.
- Spoon batter into prepared pan and smooth a bit so that it is relatively flat. If using nuts, scatter them on top, then sprinkle the prepared topping evenly over-top.
- Bake in heated oven for about 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 15-20 minutes. Run a knife around the inside edge, then carefully loosen and remove the outer ring. You can transfer the cake to a serving plate by loosening the parchment from the metal bottom and sliding on to a serving plate.
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided for general guidance only and should not be relied upon to make personal health decisions.
Siam says
Hi, thanks for sharing!
I would like to bake a slightly bigger cake, so planning to use a 9" springform pan and adjust the temperature of the oven.
Beth says
I made this for my bunco group the other night and the ladies loved it! Thank you for another wonderful recipe! I chopped up some strawberries for mine.
Jennifer says
So glad, Beth and I bet it was lovely with strawberries :)
Jenny | The Baking Skillet says
This cake looks absolutely scrumptious! Perfect with afternoon coffee.
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Jenny :)
Katrina says
I just love crumb cakes! Such a beautiful recipe here!
Jennifer says
Thanks Katrina :)
Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says
Oh goodness, I have a huge weakness for crumb cakes, and this one looks BERRY delicious! (<-- Sorry I had to!) I love that you used a mix of berries in here Jennifer! The cake looks so light and delicious, while the crumb looks just heavenly! I wish I had a few slices of this to go with my coffee this morning! Cheers, friend!
Jennifer says
Lol! It is berry delicious, Cheyanne :) Thanks so much!
Robyn Gleason says
As always, Jennifer, I am sitting here wide-eyed admiring your beautiful photos! It's so nice to have a few free minutes to catch up on my visiting and I could hardly wait to get here and see what you've been up to.
I will use some frozen Barrie Hill Farms berries for this - they are fabulous. Yes, I'm going to bake! How can I not do this? It's perfect. Well, I will buy the ingredients and take them to my sister-in-law and watch her make it but I'll be studying. You've left me speechless! (a rarity, for sure)
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Robyn and yes, this would be lovely with those frozen berries! Enjoy :)
Laura | Tutti Dolci says
What a gorgeous cake! I baked a crumb cake today and I can't stop eating the topping.. this looks equally as delicious! :)
Jennifer says
Thanks Laura and yes, I love picking the crumb off too :) Can't wait to see your cake!
Mary Ann | The Beach House Kitchen says
Crumb cake is the way to my heart Jennifer! I bet this one is delicious with the added berries! All Jersey girls LOVE their crumb cake!
Jennifer says
Thanks Mary Ann and I had no idea that crumb cake was a Jersey girl thing. How fun! :)
sue | theviewfromgreatisland says
Wish I had this in front of me right now...I've got a lemon crumb cake in the works inspired by Tricia's latest! Wouldn't it be nice if we all lived near each other and could share :) Speaking of sharing, I'm off to pin and post on fb, love this!
Jennifer says
Thanks Sue and can't wait to see your lemon cake, too!
Tricia @ Saving Room for Dessert says
I know I'm going to love this recipe. It's beautiful and loaded with juicy berries. It just doesn't get any better than this! Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Pinning and sharing!
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Tricia :) I was feeling the need for some berry baking and this really hit the spot!