This is mega buttery and moist New York-style crumb cake with EXTRA brown sugar cinnamon crumb topping. Yes, the crumb topping is just as thick as the cake layer! The topping is soft, not crunchy, and the cake is perfectly sweet. If you’re looking for a classic go-to crumb cake recipe, this one’s mine. You’ll fall in love too.
I’ve published a plethora of crumb cake/coffee cake/breakfast cake recipes on my website. One of my forever favorites has been (and will always be!) my apple crumb cake. Usually prepared a few times during the fall months, this tall towering beauty is buttery, moist, and absolutely LOADED with a soft crumb topping. Readers have loved this breakfast cake too.
My sour cream crumb cake recipe is similarโsoft and cakeyโthough smaller and comes with fewer crumbs on top. Last month, I decided to combine both recipes to make a “plain” crumb cake that’s just as irresistible as my apple version and still boasts those delicious brown sugar cinnamon flavors.
That’s where we land on my New York-style crumb cake recipe.
Perfect New York-Style Crumb Cake
When I asked bakers for their opinion on what makes crumb cake “New York style”, most said the description means extra crumb topping with a soft and buttery tight-crumbed (but not dense) cake underneath. Today’s recipe checks all those boxes. Some highlights:
- Soft, yet sturdy cake layer
- Same ingredients used in both layers
- Crumb topping as thick as the cake itself
- Topped with a dusting of powdered sugar
- Crumb topping is soft (not hard or crunchy)
It’s perfect.
Ingredients for Crumb Cake
This is a butter and sour cream based cake (two powerhouse ingredients in my classic coffee cake recipe as well), so you already know it’s going to be flavorful, tender, and moist. The ingredients in the cake and crumb topping are mostly the same, which is extra convenientโespecially since you’re likely making this before you’ve had your morning coffee. Good morning!
- Flour: All-purpose flour is the structure of this cake. Itโs sturdy enough to support the thick wet ingredients and crumb layer on top.
- Baking Soda + Baking Powder: Baking soda and baking powder help the cake rise.
- Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the cake.
- Butter: Butter adds flavor and provides structure in the creaming process.
- Sour Cream: Sour cream is the star of the show. It helps us achieve texture blissโthis cake is a little heavier than fluffy white cake. It has tight crumbs like pound cake, but it’s not quite as dense. Somewhere in between both cakes!
- Eggs: Three eggs add moisture and bind the cake together.
- Salt + Vanilla Extract: Use both for flavor.
- Cinnamon: We canโt have crumb cake topping without cinnamon!
- Brown Sugar: Brown sugar promises a soft, moist, sweet, and flavorful crumb topping layer.
Overview: How to Make New York-Style Crumb Cake
- Make the crumb topping. I like to make the crumb first so it’s ready to go as soon as the cake batter is done.
- Whisk the dry ingredients together.
- Cream butter and sugar together. Then add the eggs, sour cream, and vanilla, and beat until combined. The mixture may look curdledโthat’s OK and simply a result of varying textures/temperatures trying to emulsify.
- Combine wet & dry ingredients. The batter will be thick and creamy.
- Spread batter into pan. A 9ร13-inch baking pan is best for this volume of batter.
- Add crumb topping to the top of the cake. Press it down so it sticks.
- Bake. If you find the top and/or edges of the cake are browning too quickly in the oven, loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil. This is a large cake, so it takes at least 45-50 minutes to bake through.
Feel free to dust with confectioners’ sugar right before serving, too!
Soft (Not Crunchy) Crumb Topping
Now it’s time to chat about that luxurious crumb topping. Have you ever had crunchy streusel topping before? It’s good, but not quite what I’m delivering to you today. This crumb topping is thick and soft, as long as it’s not over-mixed or over-baked. Think of it like soft cookie crumbles on top of your breakfast cake. YES!
We use the same crumb topping, but scaled down, for cranberry Christmas cake and blackberry cream cheese crumb cake. Give those both a try!
3 Tricks to the Best Crumb Topping
- Follow the order of ingredients. First, mix brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt together. Stir in melted butter. Finally, use a fork to lightly mix in the flour. If you add the flour before the butter, the flour will absorb it all before the sugar can.
- Do not over-mix. You want a crumbly topping, so don’t over-mix the ingredients after you add the flour. If you mix everything too much, you’ll end up with paste instead of big crumbles. Yes, I’m literally telling you to do LESS!
- Press the topping into the cake. When you add the crumble topping on top of the cake batter, gently press it down into the cake layer so it sticks.
Cake for breakfast is always a good idea. This crumb layer is half of the entire cake and I haven’t heard any complaints about that! Nothing short of a dream.
Treat Yourself with These Breakfast Recipes
- Monkey Bread (cinnamon roll bites!)
- Overnight Cinnamon Rolls
- Crumb Cake Muffins
- Quiche and Mini Quiche (so many flavors!)
- Cream Cheese French Toast Casserole
- Buttermilk Waffles (my favorite!)
- Easy Frittata Recipe
New York Style Crumb Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 50 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour, 50 minutes
- Yield: serves 12
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
This is my favorite recipe for classic New York-style crumb cake. The cake is buttery and moist and you’ll definitely enjoy the thick crumb topping!
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 1 cupย (200g) packed light or darkย brown sugar
- 1/2 cupย (100g)ย granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoonย ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoonย salt
- 1 cup (16 Tbsp;ย 226g) unsalted butter, melted
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
Cake
- 2 and 1/2 cups (313g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled)
- 1 teaspoonย baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoonย baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoonย salt
- 3/4 cup (12 Tbsp;ย 170g)ย unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 3ย largeย eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cupย (240g) full-fatย sour cream, at room temperature*
- 2 teaspoonsย pure vanilla extract
- optional: confectioners’ sugar for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) and grease a 9ร13-inch baking pan or line with parchment paper. You can use a glass, ceramic, or metal baking pan. The bake time is similar for each, but use a toothpick to test for doneness. Metal baking pans cook cakes faster. Set pan aside.
- Make the crumb topping: Mix the brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a medium bowl. Stir in the melted butter, then gently mix the flour using a fork. Keep the mixture as large crumbles, do not over-mix. If over-mixed, this will turn into a thick paste. Set aside.
- Makeย the cake:ย Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together. Set aside.
- Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle 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 silicone spatula as needed. Add the eggs, sour cream, and the vanilla. Beat on medium-high speed until combined. The mixture may look curdled; thatโs 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 over-mix. The batter will be thick, creamy, and sticky.
- Spread the batter evenly into prepared baking pan. Top with crumb topping. Using a silicone spatula or the back of a large spoon, press the crumb topping tightly down into the cake so it sticks.
- Bake for 45-55 minutes. Baking times vary, so keep an eye on yours and begin checking at 45 minutes. The cake is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you find the top or edges of the cake is/are 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 at least 30-45 minutes before cutting. If desired, dust with confectioners’ sugar before slicing and serving. Use aย sifter/fine mesh sieve.
Notes
- Make Ahead Instructions:ย Prepare cake through step 7. Cover the cake tightly and refrigerate for up to 2 days or freeze up to 3ย months. Bring to room temperature, add icing if desired, and serve.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): 9ร13-inch Baking Pan | Glass Mixing Bowls | Whisk | Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Silicone Spatula | Sifter/Fine Mesh Sieve
- Sour Cream: Sour cream is a key ingredient in this cake. I donโt suggest subbing the sour cream with a liquidโplain full-fat yogurt would work though. I don’t recommend removing fat from this cake by using a lower fat yogurt or sour cream alternative.
- Room Temperature:ย Allย refrigerated items should beย at room temperature so the batter mixes together easily and evenly.ย Read here for more information on room temperature ingredients.
- Crumb Cake Muffins: Interested in making this cake into muffins? Standard size muffins (12 count muffin pan) or jumbo size muffins (6 count muffin pan) are bestโI don’t recommend mini muffins because the crumbs are too large. Grease muffin cups or line muffin pan(s) with liners. Fill with batter to the near top of the muffin cup. Press crumbs tightly on top of the batter to help prevent them from falling off as the muffins rise. Bake at 425ยฐF for 5 minutes, then, keeping the muffins in the oven, reduce the oven temperature to 350ยฐF (177ยฐC) and continue to bake for 15-17 for regular size muffins (20-22 minutes total) or another 22-23 minutes for jumbo size muffins (27-28 minutes total). Yields at least 2 dozen standard muffins and 10 jumbo muffins.
Reader Comments and Reviews
Made it! Followed the directions and it turned out perfectly. A number of the reviews said it was dry but I made sure to keep a close eye on it while baking and it is moist.
This would be great to take to a gathering. I will definitely need to share, itโs a lot of cake for two people.
I think the cake to crumb ratio is too high. (I’m from NY.)
I quite enjoyed this, but I think I’ll cut the cake to 2/3 next time.
How many mini cakes can I make? How long would they bake for and what temperature? The pans are 5x3x2
Hi Nicole, we’re unsure of the exact bake time and yield for that size pan, same temperature though. Keep a close eye on them and use a toothpick to test for doneness!
Made the crumb cake. It is delicious
!Will make again.
Thanks.
I found the crumb topping to be perfect. However I found the cake itself to lack moisture and was a bit dry /crumbly . I am thinking it needed more butter but overall the folks who ate it loved it. Overall it gets 4 stars because it is not as moist as the crumb cakes from NY but it is good and the crumb topping truly was perfection.
Here’s a big tip , in the pan add rice ( so your cake doesnt burn ) , before u add the Pastry paper ..it works with all my baking ..my bread for instance not wanting my bread on the bottom to Char..I use hight temps and it works ..I’ll do it with their recipe..thanks in advance!
It was very dry !
Can you recommend an egg sub that would still keep cake moist?
Hi Patty, we haven’t tested this recipe with egg substitutes, so can’t give any advice. Let us know if you try any! Here are all of our egg free baking recipes if you are interested in browsing there.
This has been my go-to when I need a NY style crumb cake, I’ve made it several times. This time I used an 18×13 half sheet pan and it came out really nice with the depth more like a brownie than a cake. You have to spread the batter very thin and it looks like it won’t work but it does just fine.
I have made this 3x n it’s a huge hit and most requested
We’re so happy to read this, Cynthia!
I made this today, and it was so delicious!!! Thanks for the clear, easy to follow recipe!
The cake was amazing but my crumb topping came out kind of dry. I think I over mixed it and like someone else had commented, I think the oven I was using was a little off on the temp. I’m at my mother in law’s house and she had mentioned something about the oven temperature not being right prior to this. Regardless, the cake is still amazing. We just spritzed a little bit of water on top and it was fine. I can’t wait to make it again for my stepfather next month. He’s the king of coffee cakes. Thanks!
I made this today and didn’t love it. My crumb topping, and I did not over mix it, was very wet so I added a bit more flour to try to make it more crumb like. It didn’t really cover the entire cake as much as it should and I used my hands to crumble it on top as the pieces were too big and I think a lot of it sank into the cake because the cake wasn’t yellow-cake looking. I bake all the time and tried this recipe to try something new but I won’t make it again. I’ll stay with my 60-year-old sour cream coffee cake recipe that never fails.
Made these for this for the first time yesterday to accompany breakfast this morning. I think I over baked them even though I pulled them at 45 minutes. Should have kept a closer eye on them and covered the top with foil sooner. The crumble was a little too brown and crunchy as was the outside of the cake portion. My fault. However, my guests raved about them and took some home. None of this stopped me from having three pieces myself! Also, my oven runs low so I increased the temperature by 25 degrees and it registered 350 on my thermometer – but that may have been off also. Definitely will bake them again. The problem I have with all recipes for New York Crumble cake is the skewer seems to pick up the crumb topping so you are never sure if the cake is done or it is crumble sticking to it.
I love this easy to follow recipe. The crumbs come out a tad hard. Any suggestions for a softer crumb. The crumb mixture is wet and doughy. Should I add more flour? Appreciate any feedback:)
Hi Frank, is the crumb mixture overmixed by chance? Overworking it can cause it to become more like a paste and bake up less fluffy. You’ll want to mix until just combined. You can also try decreasing the bake time by just a minute or two to prevent the crumb from becoming crunchy. We’re glad you enjoy this one!
I made this scrumptious cake and it was a total HIT!!
I then took it to another level and made a Strawberry New York Crumb Cake… I am so excited to take it to work tomorrow…
This recipe is wonderful. I made this today and the cake part is a little dry. I went back and looked at the recipe thinking I forgot something. I had everything perfect according to the recipe. Any suggestions as to make it a little more moist?
Hi Vicki! Could it be over-baked by chance? Make sure to keep an eye on it as it bakes. A simple icing would help add some moisture.
Hi I add a little extra to almost everything I bake, I don’t ever want to have a dry looking or tasting cake. I put a cup of butter and also added a tablespoon of heavy cream, batter was a little too thick, for me. It came out amazing, well it was a complete hit. Just a little suggestion of what I did to mine.
Hi Sally
I tried twice the cake with crumble. As soon as the cake starts cooking all the crumbles flow down in the centre.
Same for my tarts dough, they retracts once in oven though I knead it rapidly and refrigerate for 1 hour at least.
Regards
Patricia
Hi Patricia, did you happen to make any ingredient substitutions or changes? All the cake ingredients are important for a sturdy cake that can hold up the crumb topping. Also make sure not to over-mix your crumb topping. You want big crumbles, otherwise if itโs pasty and overworked, it will sink. Hope you still enjoyed the cake!
When I make the topping I use butter that is chilled, I cut it into chunks , add all the ingredients to it and mix with my hands . It works so much better . My crumb always turns it well. I hope this helps you .
Hello! I LOVE your recipes! I have already made this and it was a HIT. <3
I had a question about pans. I have one regular, light silver metal cake pan, and one dark non-stick cake pan. The hope was to bake two cakes at the same time, however, I am reading that I should adjust times/temp for my dark non-stick cake pan.
Would it be best practise to bake them separately with adjusted times/temps for my nonstick? Or would together be alright?
Hi Sydney, we prefer to use lighter colored pans, as darker pans will often bake through quicker and can sometimes burn. One way to remedy that, as you mention, is baking on a lower temperature. However, if you want to bake both pans at the same time and temperature, you canโjust keep a very close eye on them and know that the baking times may be slightly different for the two pans. Thank you for making and trusting our recipes!
Just made this yesterday, it is very good, followed the recipe to a tee, no problems, even used a glass dish, did not dry out. I did put the cake in the refrigerator as suggested, then made the crumb while preheating the oven, work out great.
I would love to make this, however, my son is lactose intolerant. I canโt use sour cream or yogurt. What can I substitute. Thanks
Hi Susan, we would search for a dairy free yogurt.