This simple raspberry almond crumb cake is soft, buttery, and layered with juicy raspberries, crunchy sliced almonds, and a sweet cinnamon crumb topping. Finished with a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar, it’s perfect for breakfast, brunch, or any time you’re craving a simple yet special homemade cake. This is a popular one!
If you love cake for breakfast, a perfectly moist yet crumbly coffee cake is the answer. And today’s raspberry almond crumb cake absolutely belongs on your radar. Each bite is soft, juicy, crunchy, sweet, and buttery, with hints of cinnamon, almonds, and raspberries. All of these textures and flavors come together beautifully. It’s a delicious Mother’s Day recipe, and perfect for any morning that calls for something a little special.
But don’t limit this cake to the morning; it’s the perfect 1 layer cake for nearly any time of day.
One reader, Francie, commented: “This is one of the best cakes I’ve ever made. The base cake is gorgeous, light and fluffy, and excellent flavor from the extracts and sour cream. But the delicious topping is what really makes this cake special. Its crunchy texture, bursts of raspberry, and flavorful crumbs make the cake unique and special enough to serve to guests. ★★★★★“
Another reader, Laura, commented: “I’m eating a bonus piece right now, but I made it for dessert last night and it was delicious. Just the right amounts of sweetness, crunch, and tartness, and my goodness, what a treat cold the next morning! ★★★★★“
Like my New York-style crumb cake, there’s only 2 parts: cake and toppings. This is a must make recipe so let’s get started!
This Raspberry Almond Crumb Cake Is
- Soft, buttery, and moist
- Relatively easy to make
- Loaded with a cinnamon crumb topping
- Topped with raspberries and almonds
- A true anytime cake—serve for breakfast, with afternoon coffee or tea, or for dessert with whipped cream or ice cream
- Loved by bakers around the world
Here’s Why This Raspberry Almond Crumb Cake Recipe Works
This batter is similar to my go-to coffee cake base and this cranberry breakfast cake—reliable, sturdy, and easy to make with just 1 bowl for dry ingredients and 1 bowl for wet.
Creaming the butter and sugar is key here. This step incorporates air into the batter, giving the cake lift and a soft, tender crumb. Don’t rush this process; you’ll notice the mixture turn lighter and fluffier when it’s ready. If you’re a beginner baker, or if you need a refresher, here’s how to cream butter and sugar.
Once you combine the wet and dry ingredients, the batter will be thick and pale. That’s exactly what you want. A thicker batter acts as a sturdy base, keeping the raspberries, crumb topping, and sliced almonds evenly layered instead of sinking.
Best Pan to Use
This cake rises pretty tall, so I recommend using a 9-inch springform pan. A 9×9-inch square pan works too, or a deep 9-inch round cake pan (2–3 inches deep). The springform pan is my top choice because the removable sides make slicing especially easy.
Crumb Cake Toppings
Before baking, we’ll top our crumb cake with fresh raspberries, sliced almonds, and a buttery crumb topping—each adds something special!
Raspberries: I love raspberries and crumb cake together. The berries require zero prep, which I know you’ll appreciate first thing in the morning. Just dot them right on top of the cake batter. No sugar added, no pre-cooking, no extra steps. They pair wonderfully with the toasted almonds.
- Not into raspberries? A strawberry and rhubarb combination would be fantastic. Or even blueberries! Peeled and chopped apples or peaches would be equally delicious.
Sliced Almonds: These add a welcome crunch to each bite. Try toasting them for even more flavor.
Crumb Topping: The crumb topping comes together with flour, brown sugar, a little cinnamon, and butter. We’ll use melted butter, so there’s no cutting the butter into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter. It’s so easy!
After baking, finish with a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar. It’s optional, but adds a simple, bakery-style touch. And if you’re serving this for dessert, don’t forget some fresh whipped cream!
If cake for breakfast is your thing, you’ll love trying my crumb coffee cake or crumb cake muffins next. Or if you can’t get enough of raspberries, my raspberry sweet rolls are calling your name!
Raspberry Almond Crumb Cake
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: serves 8
- Category: Cake
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This raspberry almond crumb cake is soft, buttery, and layered with juicy raspberries, crunchy sliced almonds, and a sweet cinnamon crumb topping. Finished with a light dusting of confectioners’ sugar, it’s perfect for breakfast, brunch, or any time you’re craving a simple yet special homemade cake.
Ingredients
- 1 and 1/3 cups (166g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 3/4 cup (150g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup (120ml) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3/4 teaspoon almond extract
Topping
- 1/4 cup (31g) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light or dark brown sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 Tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 heaping cup (170g) fresh or frozen raspberries (do not thaw)
- 3/4 cup (65g) sliced almonds
- optional: confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (177°C). Grease and lightly flour a 9-inch springform pan.
- Make the cake: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a large bowl using a hand mixer or stand mixer fitted with a paddle or whisk attachment, beat the butter and granulated sugar together on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed. Add the eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. The mixture may look curdled; that’s ok. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed. With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients until smooth. Do not overmix. The batter will be thick. Spread into prepared pan. Set aside.
- Make the crumb topping: With a fork, mix the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together. Stir in the melted butter until crumbs form.
- Dot raspberries all over the top of the cake batter. Sprinkle the crumbs and sliced almonds on top.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover it with aluminum foil.
- Remove the cake from the oven and set on a wire rack. Allow to slightly cool for a few minutes before slicing. I suggest serving with a dusting of confectioners’ sugar!
- Cover leftover cake tightly and store in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Because of the fresh fruit, this cake is best within the first couple days.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions: Freeze baked and cooled cake for up to 3 months. Bring to room temperature and dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired, before serving.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9-inch Springform Pan | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Cooling Rack | Fine Mesh Sieve
- Sour Cream: Sour cream is a key ingredient in this cake. I don’t suggest subbing the sour cream with a liquid—plain full-fat yogurt would work though. But don’t remove the fat from this cake by using a lower fat yogurt or sour cream alternative. Fat = flavor! We don’t want to skimp there!
- Why Room Temperature? All refrigerated items should be at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly. Here’s a post I wrote all about the importance of room temperature ingredients.
Reader Comments and Reviews
My son and I made this for a breakfast treat. We loved it and have already planned to make it again!
This is a delicious cake. Very easy to make. I used gluten free flour and it was great. I only had a 10 in pan so used that, but cooked the cake for 1 hour 10 minutes and it was perfect. I did not put powdered sugar on and it was still super delicious.
Just a suggestion for those who say center is still not cooked. I thought that at first but then I moved a bit of the raspberries & topping a little THEN tested the cake. This is because when first sticking toothpick in, it was coming back as if uncooked batter. But it really was the melted topping that was on the toothpick.
So I made this last night. I like that it wasn’t super sweet. I did have to bake it for 43 min. Usually I bake things for a few minutes less than recipes call for so this was a bit long. Using less almonds would be good-maybe 1/3c or even 1/4c. When I put the melted butter in the topping mix, it turned to goop before even stirring it. Maybe only slightly heat the butter so it is very soft but not melted? I put it in the freezer for a short time to firm it a bit, but then it was hard. So I microwaved it for 7 sec. Then it was a bit too soft! So I just used hands to drop pieces on the cake. In the end the cake looks lovely & tastes really good. I probably will make it again with my changes.
Very wet center and it’s been cooking 45 min.
Hi Kathy! Did you make any changes to the recipe? We would continue baking until the cake is cooked through!
I baked this with my daughter for mother’s day. It was the first time I’ve ever baked an actual cake. The recipe is super easy follow and the result was great, my wife really enjoyed it! Thank you.
Still waiting for the cake to cook fully – center is still wet. I’m at 55 minutes. I see others had this same experience. I did tent it although the top does not seem to be burnt, but worry about the sides and bottom…
Will update when all is said and done. Bringing it to a friend’s dinner for dessert so hoping it comes out alright.
A perfect recipe for Mother’s Day brunch. The cake was light and fluffy with great flavour. Not overly sweet and paired perfectly with coffee.
I was admitted unsure of how this recipe would turn out given some of the reviews, but if you measure your ingredients with a scale, don’t over mix or over bake, you will love this recipe.