Strawberry Crumb Cake
This strawberry crumb cake made with a buttery cake base, fresh strawberries and a crumble topping is the sweetest way to celebrate the start of summer. It’s so irresistible you will want a slice not only for dessert but for breakfast, too!
I love using fresh seasonal fruit in my baked goods and this strawberry crumb cake is no exception! It’s quickly becoming a favorite among other fruity crumb cake recipes like my peach crumb cake, berry crumb cake and blueberry crumb cake.
It’s the perfect dessert to celebrate strawberry season plus it’s so easy to make! All you need is one bowl and no special equipment like a mixer.
Add this to your seasonal baking list along with fresh strawberry bread and strawberry cookies, it’s so berry good (couldn’t resist the pun!)!
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Layers of flavor: A buttery crumb cake, fresh juicy strawberries and a streusel like topping, make this so delicious!
- Fresh and flavorful: If you love my strawberry crumble, you won’t be able to resist this strawberry crumble cake that has both fresh strawberries and strawberry jam!
- Easy to make: With only 10 ingredients, one bowl and one pan, this cake will be the easiest you make all season long!
Ingredients Needed to a Crumb Cake
- Baking staples: All-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.
- Lemon zest: While this is optional, it adds a light citrus taste that compliments the buttery crumble and sweet berries.
- Butter: Do not bring the butter to room temperature, it must be cold.
- Egg: One large egg is needed for binding the base.
- Vanilla extract: Adds rich flavor, try almond extract for a more nutty flavor.
- Strawberry filling: Freshly chopped strawberries and strawberry jam.
Substitutions and Variations
- Add a glaze: Instead of powdered sugar add a vanilla glaze on top! You could even add a strawberry frosting like I do on this homemade strawberry bread.
- Berry and jam variations: Other fresh berries would also work! You could try cherry jam or apricot jam for some variation in flavors.
- Chocolate chips: Strawberries and chocolate are wonderful together! Add some chocolate chips to the top like I do in my chocolate chip crumb cake.
- Crunchy topping: If you would like a strawberry crunch cake recipe,, chill a portion of the crumb cake before adding it as the crumb topping.
How to Make Strawberry Crumb Cake
Crumbs cakes are so easy and delicious, I hope you enjoy this cake as much as we did! For the full instructions and ingredients please scroll to the bottom of the post for the recipe card!
Chop the strawberries into medium cubes.
To start, in a large mixing bowl, whisk dry ingredients including flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lemon zest. Add cold butter and egg then combine to form a moist crumb mixture.
Add half the mixture to the bottom of the prepared cake pan and gently press down.
Spread the jam on top and cover with chopped strawberries.
Top with remaining crumb mixture.
Bake until golden brown on top. Cool for a bit in the pan then move to a clean plate to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving.
Baking Tips
- Remove moisture from strawberries: If baking with strawberries in the past has frustrated you due to their high moisture content, after chopping the strawberries place them on a few paper towels to drain the excess moisture.
- Cold butter: For the best streusel topping and crumb cake base, use cold butter! If the butter is too warm it starts melting and will throw off the texture.
- Use a food processor: While a fork or whisk works great for the crumbly base and topping, a food processor will make it less work in only a few easy pulses.
- Line your baking pan: I like to either cut out a piece of parchment paper into a round shape to fit the bottom of the pan or for best results line the pan and let it overhang to easily remove the whole cake from the pan.
- Serving: This strawberry crumb cake recipe is delicious at room temperature or warm! Make it even better by adding some whipped cream or a scoop of no churn vanilla ice cream.
Storage Instructions
- Store: Store leftover fresh strawberry crumb cake in an airtight container at room temperature or in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days. You may get a few extra days out of it by placing it in the refrigerator!
- Freeze: Cool cake completely then wrap in plastic wrap and store in a freezer safe container for up to a month. Thaw before serving. The topping will not be as crunchy but it will still be delicious!
How to pick the best strawberries to use in this cake?
Once berries are picked they do not continue to ripen, so you will want to choose plump, firm red strawberries that have their green stems intact. For the best sweet strawberry flavor, Avoid berries that are dull in color, not ripe or look mushy.
Can I use another type of berry in this crumb cake?
Any berry should work to swap for the strawberries! Try blueberries, raspberries, blackberries or even peaches. If you would like to use apples, I would make this apple streusel cake instead.
Can I use a different size pan to bake this cake?
Yes, you can bake this in a 8×8 square baking pan or 9×9 square baking pan. If you want to make this in a 9×13 pan you will need to double the recipe.
Can I use frozen strawberries?
While this can seem like a shortcut, frozen strawberries won’t work in this recipe! The frozen berries will release too much moisture while baking and will end up with a soggy mess. Frozen berries do not have as sweet of taste either, so really using fresh sweet strawberries is best for both taste and texture.
More Strawberry Recipes
- Strawberry Cupcakes – nothing better then cupcakes especially strawberry cupcakes!
- Fresh Strawberry Pie – the Italian’s favorite pie!
- Fresh Strawberry Mousse – a big favorite on the blog, everyone loves it!
- Strawberry Cream Cheese Strudel – quick and easy and perfect anytime.
- Fresh Strawberry Cannoli – if you love cannoli you are going to love these too.
Nothing better then a slice of cake, and this Strawberry Crumb Cake is sure to become a family favorite! Enjoy!
Strawberry Crumb Cake
Ingredients
FOR THE CRUMB CAKE
- 2¼ cups all purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 pinch salt (if you use unsalted butter then add ¼ teaspoon of salt)
- 1-2 teaspoon lemon zest (optional)
- ½ cup butter (cold)
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
FILLING
- 1½ cups Medium chopped strawberries (10-12 strawberries)
- ½ cup strawberry jam (more or less)
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C. Grease and flour, spray or line an 8 inch/ 20cm round cake pan.
- In a large bowl whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt (and zest if using). Add the butter, egg and vanilla combine to form a crumbly mixture.
- Place half the mixture on the bottom of the prepared pan and gently press down. Spread the jam on top and cover with the chopped strawberries. Cover with the remaining crumb mixture.
- Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until golden on top. Let cool 20-25 minutes in the pan then move to a clean plate to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Enjoy!
I tried this the other night, and my husband loved it (so did I). It was so easy to make. I want to try blueberry – what do you suggest I use – blueberry jam?
BTW, I receive your emails regularly and I really enjoy reading them.
Hi Marianne, blueberry jam would definitely be a good choice, a couple of other choices could be peach jam or even lemon marmalade. Let me know how it goes and what you chose to use. Take care!
This was great! Even my fussy husband enjoyed it!
Hi Lisa, thanks so much, glad it was enjoyed! Take care.
Absolutely delicious. Made it with a homemade strawberry jam the first time. Going to use up some homemade blackberry jam tonight for another! 😀
Hi Monica, thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it. That would be delicious with blackberry jam. Take care!
Thanks you for the recipe! I made it earlier today. Had a bit of trouble getting the batter to get “crumbly”. Had to add a 2nd egg. It eventually came together and the cake is delicious. Saw yogurt in the picture of ingredients and wonder whether it was omitted from the recipe?
Hi Joanne, thanks glad you enjoyed it. Depending on the flour you use it can absorb moisture differently. There is no yogurt in the recipe, I removed it from the photo. Thanks. Take care!