New York crumb cake: Your search for the perfect crumb cake is over. THIS is the only recipe you’ll ever need! With big crumbs and soft, buttery cake, this crumb cake will become an old family favorite in no time.
I am always on the hunt for a great crumb cake recipe and since crumb cake is a pretty big thing to this [former] New York girl, finding just the right recipe is really important to me (see these blueberry and chocolate chip versions for other delicious attempts).
See, I watched many a crumb cake pass through the hands of family and friends while I grew up.
It was the dessert of choice to bring to someone’s house when you were going for coffee and usually it was an Entemann’s cake. When Entemann’s came out with their “Ultimate Crumb Cake” years ago (now in 2019, it’s called “NY-style crumb cake”, oddly enough), it was the best thing since sliced bread.
People almost literally went bonkers over this cake.
That cake, with its LOADS of big crumbs with a fresh and soft yellow cake underneath has driven people crazy for years and I’m thrilled to say that I’ve found a recipe that meets my high expectations.
And I’m FULLY certain it will meet yours!
Cook’s Illustrated has pulled together a super easy and fantastic recipe for this beloved cake and I’m so excited to share it with you today! The use of cake flour instead of all-purpose flour yields a beautifully soft cake that puffs up underneath the always sought-after cinnamon big crumb topping.
It’s all about the big crumbs
And about those all-important crumbs! I’ve made plenty of crumb cakes where I’ve needed to increase the amount of topping the recipe calls for as I’m making the recipe which is so frustrating!
I mean, shouldn’t the topping fully cover the batter?
With this crumb cake recipe, there are plenty of crumbs to go around for everyone and the recipe perfectly balances the amount of crumbs with the amount of cake underneath.
It’s these types of things that make finding a great crumb cake recipe so critical. And when you’ve found the right one, you know it, don’t you?
How to Make Crumb Cake
There’s no big secret to making a great crumb cake, especially if you’ve baked other cakes from scratch.
BUT!! There’s a little trick I want to share about how to create the perfect crumb topping, like you see here in my photos.
To make this cake, you’ll start by making the crumb topping. Once you mix the crumb topping together, it’s going to look a bit dry. This is how it should look so don’t be tempted to add any more butter.
Then you’ll mix up the batter of butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla, cake flour, salt, baking soda, and liquid buttermilk. The cake flour is necessary here instead of all-purpose flour to make the cake super soft and tender.
If you don’t have cake flour, you can replace 4 teaspoons of all-purpose flour from the 1 ¼ cups in the recipe with 4 teaspoons of cornstarch. Sift them together before mixing with the other dry ingredients.
OK, here’s the trick for the crumbs!
Once you’ve got the batter in the baking pan, you’ll start to crumble the crumb mixture on top. Gradually work your way around the edges and make your way to finish with the last of the crumbs in the center.
This trick will prevent the heavy crumbs from sinking into the light cake when the cake bakes. It will also ensure that the crumbs are evenly distributed across the top of the cake.
It works EVERY time!!
Keeping Crumb Cake Fresh
As you can expect, any cake made without artificial preservatives will go stale fairly quickly. Preservatives extend shelf life of food, so most mass-produced crumb cake you can find in the grocery store will last weeks on the shelf before going stale.
When you make a crumb cake at home, your window for keeping the cake fresh is MUCH shorter. I’m talking just a couple of days here, people!
The only preservative in this New York crumb cake is salt and there’s definitely not enough in the recipe for it to even be considered a preservative; it’s only there to enhance flavor and balance the sweetness in the cake and crumbs.
So to keep this crumb cake fresh, you’ll want to keep any leftovers – if there even are any! – in an airtight container at room temperature. The cake will keep fresh and soft this way for about 2 days before it starts to dry out. Keep in mind that the crumbs will become soft because of the moisture in the container but this doesn’t affect their taste in the least.
This New York crumb cake is definitely worthy of a pot of coffee or an iced or hot latte and I can pretty much guarantee that it will quickly become your family’s favorite crumb cake, just like it has been my family’s for many years.
…….
If you love this New York Crumb cake, you’ll love these other crumb and coffee cakes too!
sour cream coffee cake
blueberry crumb cake
pumpkin sour cream crumb bars
chocolate chip sour cream cake
coffee cake muffins
peach crumb bars
…….
New York Crumb Cake Recipe
This New York crumb cake is the absolute BEST recipe out there! It even beats out the Entemann's Ultimate Crumb Cake, according to discerning New Yorkers! With big crumbs and soft, buttery cake, this crumb cake will become an old family favorite in no time.
Ingredients
For the crumb topping:
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar (2 ⅔ oz)
- ⅓ cup dark brown sugar (2 ⅔ oz)
- ¾ tsp ground cinnamon
- ⅛ tsp table salt
- 8 tbsp unsalted butter (1 stick or 4 oz), melted and still warm
- 1 ¾ cups cake flour (7 oz)
For the cake:
- 1 ¼ cups cake flour (5 oz)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (3 ½ oz)
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp table salt
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter (¾ stick or 3 oz), cut into 6 pieces, softened but still cool
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup liquid buttermilk (not dried buttermilk powder)
- Confectioners’ sugar for dusting
Instructions
- To make the topping: Whisk sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.
- To make the cake: Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and heat oven to 325° F. Cut 16-inch length parchment paper or aluminum foil and fold lengthwise to 7-inch width. Spray 8-inch square baking dish with nonstick cooking spray and fit parchment into dish, pushing it into corners and up sides; allow excess to overhang edges of dish.
- In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.
- Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Break apart crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces between your thumb, pointer, and middle fingers and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with edges and then working toward center.
- Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.
Notes
It's important to take your time when adding the crumb topping to the top of the batter. Start at the edges and work your way towards the center. This will help prevent the crumbs from sinking into the cake since the heaviest part of the batter (the center) will have some lift by the time you get there. And whatever you do, don't pat the crumbs down - you'll push the air out of the batter and prevent the cake from rising.
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated, May 2007
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This cake looks delicious! I am a huge crumb cake fan as well so I will definitely be giving this one a whirl!
Oh…this looks incredible. I love Crumb Cake. Now I just need to find Cake flour and I am all over this. 🙂 Thanks for sharing
You must be in my mind! I’ve been craving crumb cake for the past week. Sounds easy enough for me and looks delicious!
Crumb cake was the great treat at college served once a week at Sunday brunch. This looks so good. Thanks for sharing!
Lovely looking cake! And congrats on finding the ‘perfect’ recipe. That’s always such a cool feeling. You can be like ‘ahhh, the crumb cake is officially sorted.’ Well done 🙂
I’m always looking for new crumb cake recipes so I’ll have to share this one too. Thanks for sharing.
I am also a sucker for crumb cake… and this looks fantabulous!
What lovely squares of goodness…YUM~
How did you know I’m always tempted to use all-purpose flour when I don’t have cake flour? Thanks for the warning. Thinking we should make your recipe for Easter brunch.
I’m a huge sucker for crumb cake and yours looks just delicious! Just have to get some cake flour!
This is a great recipe.
I am literally drooling here. These look incredible-a little bit of heaven with some tea or coffee. Your photos are looking extra-great lately, by the way! 🙂
Shanon
This looks pretty perfect to me! I wasn’t thinking about crumb cake before I came over here but now I’m feeling pretty compelled to make this soon. 🙂
Entemann’s makes one mean coffee cake and if this tastes anything like it then I need to make it as soon as possible. I am such a fan of more crumb to cake ratio- this honestly looks amazing.
Those look amazing with the thick layer of topping!
I love when I find a new blog that is as awesome as yours. I have this crumb cake bookmarked- it looks amazing!
As a NY metro native and crumb bun (as it is called there – no idea why bun is in there), I was quite excited when CI first published this recipe. I have made it many times and I can say that his is the real deal. Just as good (if not better) than what I long for when I am homesick. Oh, and good bagels.
Oh my! These babies look crazy good!!!! Bookmarked!
This looks awesome! I usually make Martha Stewarts but I think I’ll have to try this one next 🙂
Mmm….beautiful job. I always have room for a good crumb cake.
These look wonderful. Makes me want to get in the kitchen right now and get to baking.
Tara, that photo is GORGEOUS! I love coffee cake, so I can’t wait to try this one. I actually just downloaded that iPhone app last week but haven’t gotten around to looking at it yet.
OMG, this was awesome! Turned out perfectly, and really wasn’t too difficult or time consuming. I’m never buying coffee cake again!
Yay! Isn’t it a fabulous recipe?! So glad it turned out so well for you, Jaime!
looks fantastic! i love coffee cake!
Wow, you really just brought me back to childhood. I absolutely loved crumb cake as a kid and this really takes me back. I will, for sure, be making this as soon as possible!
Just put the cake in the oven, and the batter and crack (sorry crumb topping) were amazing! Not sure if I misread the directions or if my pan is weirdly sized, but I seem to have more topping then cake…
I’m a former NYer as well and you just can’t beat Entemanns! Now that I live in Australia I’m always on the lookout for flavors from home. I’ll give this recipe a try. I’ve tried many others but none have come close to the Entemanns.
Thanks.
Based on the picture alone, it kind of looks like Starbuck’s Classic Coffee Cake (my husbands favorite), so I tested this out. Not only were my kids excited by the sight of a huge piece of this cake (for breakfast!) but my husband and I were elated as well. Rarely do I come across a recipe where I have to try it out immediately, but that’s exactly what I did here. Thank you for the delicious recipe and I’ll definitely return to this site for additional yummy goodness.
I just found your recipe on Pinterest and I tried it this evening. Tastes and looks amazing! I can’t wait to have some with my coffee i the morning. Thanks!
If I want a larger cake can I double this and use a 9 X 13″ pan? Recipe sounds great and I plan to try it soon!
Jeri: Definitely!
This was GREAT! A keeper!
I found this recipe on Pinterst and repinned it because my 10 year old daughter loves coffee cake. She is currently into Starbuck’s Classic Coffee Cake and your picture caught my eye because it looks ver similar. I finally decided to try the recipe and it did not disappoint! My daughter agrees that this is a great crumb cake recipe. She ate every last crumb! Thanks for sharing.
I, too, was an Entenmann’s ultimate crumb cake fan. Had a thrift bakery nearby which sold them for about $1. Ate one about once a week! Thank you SO much for this; haven’t found a crumb cake reminiscent of those until now.
As a former east coast person I too loved entemann’s crumb cake. After living in California for about 15 years entemann’s arrived in our grocery stores, we were thrilled. Ccan’t wait to try your recipe now because our stores have stopped carrying entemann’s. Thank you.
found you via Pinterest… lovely blog & thank you for the recipe!!
Elizabeth: Thank you and welcome!
Just put this in the oven…and my mouth is already watering. Anything made with cake flour and buttermilk has to be good! I found this on pinterest. Thanks so much for sharing!
Aubrey: You’re welcome! Let me know how it turns out for you. 🙂
It turned out heavenly! …So good that I made it again yesterday for my son who is home
on military leave. He is loving it, thanks again!
Absolutely Delicious!! When it comes out, it looks like it is not cooked but it is. First time I made it I second guessed it and left it in another 10 minutes (doubled recipe) and it was a little overcooked. Second time I did it according to the directions and it was perfect!
Can leftovers be frozen? I’d like to make a bigger batch, but don’t think my husband and I could eat it all in two days 🙂 Thanks
This recipe is exactly what I was looking for! After watching an episode of Cake Boss where they made a giant crumb cake, I just had to have one. I searched for a scratch made crumb cake and came across this on Pinterest. It’s in the oven as we speak! Can’t wait to dig in!
I just made this cake. It is absolutely fabulous!! Adding the butter to the flour mixture instead of creaming the butter first and then adding the flour makes quite a difference. Thank-you..
Made this delicious treat last night. My husband is a New Yorker and can not find good crumb cake until NOW. He loved it. The recipe was so easy. Thanks…I love your site.. 🙂
Just found your NY style crumb cake and want to make it for Sunday Mother’s Day. Should the eggs and buttermilk be at room temperature or can I use straight from the fridge? Thanks.
Barbara: The eggs should be at room temp but it doesn’t matter so much for the buttermilk.
I found this on pinterest and was so excited. What a great recipe! I have it in the oven right now. All I have to say is HOLY TOPPING! 🙂 Can’t wait to try it!
The crumb topping has to be in error. There is entirely too much flour. Should it be 3/4 c rather than 1 and 3/4 cup? I made the cake exactly as written, using cake flour as suggested, and the crumb topping was flavorless and tasted too much of flour. Nothing like Starbucks! I will keep searching for the perfect crumb cake!
Rise’ Potts: I’m sorry the recipe didn’t turn out to your liking. The recipe is written correctly and others who have made it have truly loved it. And for the record, I never stated that it tasted like the Starbucks crumb cake. 🙂
I too agree~ this didnt mix up the way I thought it would. The batter was really runny, but the crumb topping really sticky…nothing at all like crumbs. I did my best to put it all “together” and when it cools, I hope it tastes as good as it smells…
Audrey: Did you let the crumb mixture sit for 10-15 minutes before making the crumbs? It really needs that time to dry out and cool down. How did it turn out?
I made this tonight after pining for a crumb cake for years since my favorite Italian restaurant closed. The owners were from Jersey and the matriarch always made the best crumb cake I’d ever tasted. Yours was AMAZING and just as delicious as I remembered. Thanks for sharing the recipe. 🙂
Kacie: Awesome! It’s such a great recipe, isn’t it?!
P E R F E C T I O N ! !
There’s a striking resemblance between this coffee cake and a certain TLC featured, Hoboken bakery…
I love it. Turned out GREAT! …and now I don’t have to drive almost 2 hours for theirs. 😉
You hit it out of the ballpark with this one!
THANK YOU
*Ang
Ang: So great to hear – it’s truly an awesome recipe. Too funny about that certain Hoboken bakery too…coincidence?
Your secret’s safe with me…and the internets. HAHA
I hope you can see the picture of the end result!! I’ll be making this again, for sure!!
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=415798141798025&set=a.194727470571761.50962.100001035286403&type=1&theater
Ang: I can see it and it looks so great!!
Hey guys, I’m a former New Yorker too. I remember going to the Entenmann’s place where they sold the day old stuff. I don’t know what they call it but OMG their coffee cake was one of my favorites. This recipe looks just like it, can’t wait to try it. It used to be so much fun going there to shop and get all the goodies half price 🙂
If you want a fantastic NW pizza recipe, check out my pinterest for Jeff Varasano’s link 🙂
Made this today with AP flour…still amazing, it may be better with cake flour, but of all you have is AP use it!
My oh my!!! Delicious…the unfortunate part is I made this Crumb Cake to share…what was I thinking.
I do have one question: on some parts of the cake, the bottom cake rose over the crumb layer – so I have cake / crumb / cake. Any idea what I did wrong?
Thanks for the recipe – will make again.
Chris: You have to make sure that the crumbs completely cover the batter or the batter will consume the crumbs while baking. Hope that helps!
This is so delicious, I just loved it and so did everyone else who ate it…thank you!
2nd time making this — the reverse creaming method makes for an amazingly tender cake with SO MUCH FLAVOR 🙂
Andrew: Great to hear – thanks for posting!
Made this last night and it was delicious, it is almost gone! The problem I had was that when I baked it for the suggested time it was still wet in middle. Baked 8 more minutes, still wet. Baked 5 more minutes still wet. Baked 5 more, decided to be done but it still seemed dense and wet in middle, though less than earlier. After all that it wasn’t burnt or overcooked fortunately. I wasn’t sure why this happened but my oven does cook normally for other recipes.
Kathy: 18 minutes is an awful lot of extra time to have to cook this cake. A couple of things could have been going on here: 1.) If you used a glass Pyrex dish, it could have taken longer to bake, or 2.) Your oven temperature was off. This does happen sporadically sometimes so if it continues to happen, I would suggest getting an oven thermometer – the grocery store sells them relatively inexpensively. 3.) Did you use just 1 egg and 1 egg yolk, not two full eggs? Moisture from an extra yolk would cause an issue. Hope that helps!
Made your coffee cake today, complete amazingly delicious!
Quick question regarding how the measurements are listed in this recipe. The Crumb Topping recipe calls for: 1 3/4 cup cake flour (7 ounces). I see where another person questioned the translation. (3/4 cup equals 7 ounces, 1/4 cup equals 2 ounces, and 1/2 cup is 4 ounces.) Therefore, does the 1 3/4 cup measurement for the cake flour actually mean mean ONE cup plus an additional three fourths cup which equates to 14 ounces? Or does it mean, 3/4 cup (7 oz). I can see where this might throw a curve to some of the readers in its interpretation. I have showed this recipe to two other people and they agree it could be interpreted either way depending upon how you measure. Therefore, I am assuming it’s 3/4 cup cake flour for the crumb topping because 3/4 is equal to 7 ounces. (NOT one cup and an additional 3/4cup equal to 14 ounces.) It might explain the variation in texture noted by two other readers. And for the cake, do you mean ONE AND ONE FOURTH CUP of cake flour, or 1/4 cup cake flour. (Because 1/4 cup is 2 ounces)
Kimberly: The amounts and weights I have provided here are correct. If you use a glass measuring cup to measure dry ingredients, you’ll note that 1/2 cup = 4oz. This, however, is not the correct way to measure dry ingredients – that is for wet ingredients only – and I suspect it is the reason why a couple people have had an issue with this recipe. If you measure flour in a 1cup dry measuring cup (as in, a set with graduated sizes of 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 1 cup), and weigh the flour with a kitchen scale (which I have done in the past), you’ll see that 1 cup of flour actually equals approximately 4 1/4 oz (the weight of the flour only, not including the measuring cup). Thus, 1 and 3/4 cups of flour does weigh 7oz, as the recipe indicates. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to let me know.
This is a fabulous recipe! Easy to follow instructions made with ingredients that I always have on hand (hmm, this could be dangerous!) and with great results! The only thing I did differently was add a little ground allspice to the crumb topping.
I just ate a piece while it was still warm, and it had the perfect texture. The cake was soft and moist, and crumbs were plenty! At first I freaked out a little about how much crumbs I had, but the ending crumb-to-cake ratio is perfect. Thanks so much for sharing!!
Jane: Glad to hear you loved this recipe and thanks for coming back to let me know!
So what did I do wrong? I am so bummed. My crumb topping melted down into the cake and is not at all crumby, just crummy.n
Going to read the recipe very slowly and see if I can figure out my mistake. Any ideas? Darn.
Jeanne: Did you use powdered buttermilk?
Can this be made without a stand mixer? I only have a traditional hand held beater…will that work?
Yes.
Wow. Awesome! My husband said this is the best thing I’ve ever baked!
I took a plate to work, and everyone asked for the recipe!
This is a keeper.
Thanks for sharing!
Not sure if I’m just missing it, but I’m guessing this goes in an 8×8 or 9×9 pan? Where did it mention parchment paper? Butter pan first?
Igmore me – I’m a dork who clearly can’t read!! Sorry!
oh my goodness, this looks amazing, i’m so into coffee cakes right now!! I would have made this already but all I Need is cake flour!!! 🙁 as soon as I get that i’m making this baby! 😀 thanks for sharing!
Just made this with my 2 boys (6 and 5) and it came out perfectly! They helped every step of the way, and especially enjoyed crumbling the topping all over it. I, too, grew up in NY, and this was better than I ever remembered. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe. It will now be a staple around here 🙂
Just made this last night after seeing it on pinterest. Love this crumb cake!!! So good! I followed the directions exactly. I did cook mine for 50 min to make sure it was done. Still came out moist and delicious! Thanks for posting this recipe!
As always, Cooks Illustrated hits the nail on the head. This is FABULOUS!
Ive made this COUNTLESS times Its perfect thank you so much for this recipe Ive even used it to impress the men in my life lol I get nothing but compliments love love love this crumb cake
So great to hear, Ashley! We totally adore this recipe too. Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and comment here. 🙂
like a few others, found this recipe on pinterest and just wanted to say WOW, this looks good.
I also found a recipe for New Jersey crumb cake (comfy cuisine) that looks similar, so now I will be making both , though I believe your recipe will be better with the cake flour … 🙂
Love your blog. Thank you for your recipes and time…
Pssshaw – Jersey Crumb Cake? I’m sure this version will knock your socks off. 😉
Came across your recipe on Pinterest and wanted to come over and tell you that this cake looks amazing! I am always looking for a great coffee cake recipe. I love how it has cake flour instead of all-purpose. I’m going to have to make this very soon! Thank you for sharing! (=
I’ve made this recipe at least half a dozen times now, since last summer, and it’s amazing every time. I’m originally from NJ, so I know some of those real deal “famous” crumb cakes from that neck of the woods, and this one rivals them, fiercely. This is my go-to breakfast/brunch treat when we have house guests. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! It’s one that I will be making for the rest of my life 🙂
You’re very welcome! I’m so glad it’s become a family favorite for you – it certainly is here too!
I made this over the weekend and it’s perfection! I’m going to be so sad when it’s all gone!
Hi! I made this last night, but was sorely disappointed! It turned out nothing like the photos!
The base would not cook (even tho it had quite a bit of extra time), the crumb was hard and floury, and the cake never rose. 🙁
Now, since your recipe dosent state if the 325 is fahrenheit or Celsius, I assumed that it was fahrenheit and converted to Celsius (between 170 and 160) because 325 is awfully high and the rest of the recipe seemed american (i’m from the UK). You also said Baking Soda, now call that Bicarbonate Soda which is what I used, but now I am wondering if you actually meant baking powder. And lastly, the crumbs. I followed your recipe and instructions exactly at first but the best I could get was it to resemble damp sand. No cohesive dough in site. So I did try adding more butter to the mixture to try to make it more like a dough but it just wouldn’t work! Is there too much flour or sugar? When it cooked they came out quite hard and crunchy, nothing like the crumb cake i’ve had in the past!
I was really disappointed with how it turned out. It still tasted ok, but I can’t serve it to anyone because it just wouldn’t cook. A big waste of time and money now. And I don’t know where it went wrong!
I’m sorry you had so much trouble with this recipe. I’ve made a few times without issue, as have a few others who have commented. I’m positive the recipe calls for baking soda rather than baking powder – I even double-checked the original source just in case.
This cake was so delicious! I can’t wait to make it again!
I too found this on Pinterest and Oh MY! It is so good. Thanks for the recipe. I am making it to take to work tomorrow for staff breakfast.
Excellent recipe….my husband is from N.Y. and LOVES this coffee cake. He asked me if this came from a boxed mix thinking I wouldn’t make it often enough if homemade. It really is an easy recipe and I’m going to make sure he gets this coffee cake twice a month. Would like to make it every weekend but have to think of our waists….Question: I’m thinking it won’t be a good idea because of the crumb mixture but could this recipe be doubled and put in a 9″ X 13″? Thank you for making my husband happy (bet you don’t hear that very often).
The recipe can definitely be doubled – double the crumb recipe as well. So glad this passed the NYer test!
Oh my goodness… We are from NY and sure do miss the NY favorites, crumb cake, black & white cookies, tri color italian cookies. This is the only recipe that I didn’t have. Thank you, it is DELISH !!!!!!
I Just came acroess your blog and I am just in love! Oh my god everything is perfect and I’ve been searching for a solid crumb cake recipe for so long. This is gold. Im a canuck who lovessss NY and shall be living there very soon. This crumbcake would give entenmann’s a run for their money. Loveeee it keep up your amazing blog 🙂 Love From Canada 🙂 xoxo
Do you know if you can use all purpose flour instead of cake flour. I’m afraid I won’t make it often if I have to buy cake flour.
Do not use cake flour for this recipe – please check the header note above the ingredients for a note about this. You can make cake flour with AP flour and cornstarch. Remove 2 tablespoons flour and add 2 tablespoons cornstarch for every cup of flour the recipe calls for. Then sift the flour/cornstarch 5 times. I’ve used this method often and it works great.
I think you meant to say Do not use all purpose flour?
Yes, that’s exactly what I meant – sorry! Do not use all-purpose flour.
I was so hoping this cake was going to come out perfect. It took a long time to prepare (I’ll never understand why recipes say 15 minutes prep when it’s easily an hour). I doubled the recipe too. It’s just about to come out of the oven and of course the cake has grown up over the crumbs diagonally across almost the entire cake. I made sure to cover the entire cake surface with a nice thick layer of crumbs and this still happened. I’m really disappointed because this was supposed to be to bring somewhere and half of it looks gross.
I’m sorry this recipe didn’t work out for you. I’ve made it many times and always love it. Are you sure you used baking soda and not baking powder? That is really the only reason why the cake would rise up over the crumbs. I hope you try it again – it really is a fantastic recipe.
This cake DID come out perfect every single time I have made it! Great recipe, thank you for sharing!
Great to hear! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know, Kris!
This is amazing, and I didn’t find it difficult at all. I grew up on the Entemanns, and my kids have never tasted the deliciousness. One bite took me right back to sitting on my dads lap
I just made this recipe and it turned out pretty good! I’m from London and have never tasted a proper crumb cake so I have no idea what I’m aiming for it to taste like. I did however find it hard to form big crumbs so it kinda came out like powder on top. It was still good though but needed a lot of cream for it to be delicious! thanks for the recipe!!
[…] New York Style Crumb Cake (adapted from Cooks’ Illustrated May 2007 via Smells Like Home) […]
I have not made this recipe yet but noticed someone had talked about powdered buttermilk vs. liquid, which should it be?
Definitely liquid buttermilk. If you don’t have any on hand, you can add vinegar or lemon juice to milk and let it sit for 5 minutes. Add 1 tbsp of either one to each cup of milk you use (the milk to buttermilk ratio is equal).
Thank you!
EPIC!!! great recipe…will def use again!!!
Do you put the cake on the wire rack or the pan with the cake still in it on the wire rack
”Carlos Bakery” crumb cake is so much better!
Thank you for this recipe. I dad grew up in New Jersey and when we traveled from Arkansas to visit my grandparents every summer, this was the treat we looked forward to the most. There is NOTHING like this in the South and we can no longer get Entemann’s here. I will be making this very soon!
just made it and ate a piece right out of the oven! Thank you or the recipe, will be making it again very soon!
[…] New York Style Crumb Cake […]
This recipe featured in Cook’s talks about the Entemann’s cake being filled with preservatives. To get the real good thing, try our family bakery- Holteramann’s on Staten Island. Clearly the best! I’ve made this recipe too and since I live in Michigan, it’s the next best thing to real NY.
Any idea temp. And cooking time to bake as large muffins?
Do you have to use the foil or parchment paper? Or can you just keep it in the pan and serve like that?
Nope, you can skip the foil/parchment if you’re going to serve it from the pan. Just be sure to butter/flour the pan well, including the corners and edges. Hope you like it!!
I just finished making this and wanted to ask a question about the amount of cake flour in the topping? It seemed like an awful lot and although you have 1 3/4C written, it also says 7oz which would be just 3/4C….am I mistaken? Thanks so much!! 🙂
7oz is by weight, not volume.
That’s correct. I strongly recommend purchasing a kitchen scale, especially for recipes like this one – it is immeasurably (ha!) handy for baking. One cup of all-purpose flour equals approximately 4.25 ounces so 7 ounces is about 1 and 3/4 cups. When flour is measured by volume (cups), it’s impossible for everyone to measure it exactly the same as sometimes the flour gets a little packed in the cups and sometimes it doesn’t. When you weigh flour, 7 ounces is always 7 ounces. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for sharing this recipe! I have been searching for the ultimate crumb cake, and this one is the winner! My gramma grew up on the Lower East Side in NYC and always bought Entemann’s when I was growing up (in South Florida). This is way better. The key, for me, was melting the butter for the crumb topping. It resulted in a very crunchy top…and a soft, moist cake underneath. Just perfect.
This look so good! I’ve never had a crumb cake before, So im bookmarking this recipe :), What camera do you use? pretty pictures!
Thank you sooo much for this recipe! This cake was my husbands favorite and finding it any more is almost impossible! I made it and it was gone in a day! The next time I make it I do think I will add a little nutmeg or allspice to the topping just as a personal preference. I think I’m going to try the apple stuffed pork loin next! Keep on cookin’…
This is absolutely awesome. I’m a pastry chef by trade, and tweaked this to make a dairy-free version for a friend. I also added bacon to the streusel, because, hello, bacon. 😀 Here’s what I did, if anyone wants to tweak it similarly:
1. used Earth Balance for all of the butter
2. Cut about 6 oz. thick-sliced bacon into little chunks; placed in a cold skillet, then cooked them slowly over moderate heat until they crisped and released all their oil (takes about 20 mins); drain bacon on paper towels and reserve the fat
3. Used soy milk + lemon juice for the buttermilk
4. Replaced a bit of the butter in the cake with all of the cooled bacon fat
5. Mixed cooked bacon into streusel
I found that the dairy-free version has a lot more moisture overall, so I baked mine (doubled, in a 9×13) at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes (started checking at 35 mins). It was DIVINE. Thanks so much for sharing this recipe.. I’ll be using it as my go-to crumb cake recipe from now on!
Hello bacon, indeed! Such a great idea! It’s also makes this cake more justifiable for breakfast. lol Thanks for adding your dairy-free substitutes – they always come in handy.
Made the cake today. And it was good but…..too much flour for the crumbs. Came out soft. I’ll have to adjust the sugars and butter for the topping. Seems like a Couple of people had the same problem. Anyway good recipe and this is coming from a LES NYer.
I’ve made this recipe a few times and have never had trouble with the crumbs. Did you weigh the flour or measure it with measuring cups? Weighing it is much more accurate and I strongly recommend weighing the flour in this recipe.
[…] New York Style Crumb Cake […]
I just took this New York Crumb Cake out of the oven. I couldn’t help myself and took a piece immediately. I recommend it to everyone! Exceptional taste and consistency. I will definitely make this again and again. I also wonder how it would be if I added apple pieces to the cake? I might try that later today!
This recipe is amazing! I moved from NY to Florida and haven’t found a bakery yet here that compares to NY…..except now, my own kitchen!! I use my food processor for the topping and it comes out perfect everytime. I made this about a week ago using a different approach, First I put a half of a cup of cinnamon chips in the batter. I then made apple pie filling and put 1/2 of the batter in the pan and then spread the pie filling out over top, then put the rest of the batter on top of the apples, then the crumbs…..OMG our mouths were happy!! I had to cook it about 15-20 minutes longer, but well worth the wait!!
Outstanding idea to add apple pie filling to this crumb cake! You would have to physically restrain me from devouring that whole cake. lol
It didn’t last very long in this house, it was delicious!! I like it both ways, the best crumb recipe ever by far!! Thank you!!
Can I sub something for the buttermilk? I have all ingredients but that! It looks so yummy and delicious, can’t wait to make it. Thanks so much for sharing and Happy Thanksgiving! 🙂
You can make your own buttermilk. The general rule is to mix 1 tablespoon lemon juice or vinegar with 1 cup of milk. For this recipe, just mix 1 teaspoon lemon juice/vinegar with 1/3 cup milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes to thicken before using.
Thank you so much taralipak, I had forgotten you could do that! I made it with reg milk and it was still really good! Happy Holidays to you
I, too, have been on the hunt for just the right crumb cake and this looks just about as close I can imagine to being THE REAL DEAL! I fell to my knees and held the recipe up to the heavens….THANK YOU!!!!
Haha! You’re so welcome! I ADORE this recipe and hope you will too!
[…] Adapted from Smells Like Home […]
I made this cake today & followed all the instructions. All of the crumbs sank to the middle of the cake. It was still delicious but no crumbs on top!
Just made this today since I am snowed in with the weather & it turned out great! Mine turned out just like the picture, I will be making it again. Thanks for sharing! I supplemented plain yogurt for the buttermilk but other than that I followed the recipe & it was moist & tasted great! Super easy!
[…] Please look preparation method at :smells-like-home […]
I’m convinced the sinking crumbs issue is caused by one of 3 reasons: 1) the batter was overbeaten; 2) the amount of flour is off – I recommend weighing the cake flour in this recipe rather than measuring the volume in cups; 3) the oven temperature is off – if the oven temperature is too low, the cake will not set properly and the heavy crumbs will sink.
See if these issues could be what’s affecting your cake and let me know how it turns out next time. The cake really is so awesome and it’s totally worth “getting right.”
Agreed – the cake is definitely big enough to serve 5.
I can’t wait to make these. I’ve been looking for a good Crumb Cake recipe for a long time. Thanks for sharing. Celia @ After Orange County
Hope you love this crumb cake, Celia!
[…] http://www.smells-like-home.com/2011/04/new-york-style-crumb-cake/ […]
[…] York-Style Crumb Cake @ Smells Like HomeCrumb cake is a weakness of mine. My dad used to make it all the time growing up. I’m excited […]
Hope you love this cake, Carole! And too funny – I think if you’ve lived on LI or have family who does, smuggling out Entenmann’s is totally a thing people do. I have family in Montana who do this regularly on their way home – and bagels too! Thanks for stopping by to comment!
[…] cinnamon, perhaps even some blueberries for that sweet and sour oxymoron. I’ve had this recipe pinned on one of my boards on Pinterest for a while, now. They say you can’t judge a […]
[…] smells-like-home.com – Get the recipe […]
[…] Source: Smells Like Home, originally from Cooks’ Illustrated May 2007 and Cooks’ Illustrated iPhone […]
Hello! I have tried this recipe a few times and every time, my crumbs sink into the cake and the cake envelops the topping. I have been checking my oven temp with a thermometer & have tried cooling the crumbs before dropping them onto the batter, breaking them up smaller and dropping them on 10 min into baking. I have been following the recipe to a T and measuring & mixing carefully and have quality pans. This seems to be a common problem based on comments for this recipe on different blogs and I have not been able to find an answer. Is this something you have any thoughts on? Why does a crumb topping sink? Thank you SO much!!
Hi Elisabeth! I just went back to the original recipe on cooksillustrated.com and there is a testing note that says using powdered buttermilk will make a thin batter, which will cause the crumbs to sink. What kind of buttermilk are you using? The batter should be really, really thick – almost like frosting.
This is a favorite of mine and I will make this Coffee Cake soon. Thank you for bringing this recipe into light!
Hi Susan! You’re so welcome!
I can’t wait to try this. I used to work in a German bakery on Long Island, many, many years ago. The crumb buns were my favorites. Next best was Entenmanns. I was able to find Entenmanns almost every state I’ve moved … except Texas. Love and behold, I have found one H.E.B. store that recently started stocking a limited array of Entenmanns. This is out of my way, but when I begin to run low, I know where to find my favorite crumb cakes.
I am thrilled to try this recipe. I bake about twice a week (I’m a good bajer) and i look forward to giving this a try. Previous ratings are excellent so I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. Thank you.
First, let me say that if you know Entamanns, you’ll LOVE this crumb cake, Lorraine!! Second, I know your same story alllll too well! I have 2 uncles in Montana who grew up on Long Island and have the same heartache about not being able to find Entemanns locally as well. They pack boxes of Entemanns in their suitcases (along with bagels in their carry-ons!) when returning home from visits East. I’d love to hear more about the bakery you worked in! My grandmother worked in a bakery as well (in Sayville, I think) and I vividly remember her talking about the crumb buns! Thank you so much for stopping by to leave a comment and say hello!
I just saw the episode of American Test Kitchen that they make this coffee cake and I am so happy I ran across this recipe on Pinterest! We have the week off for mid-winter break so I plan on making this as is for the family.
Quick question, do you think this could be made as muffins? I’m thinking I’d have to use those tall tulip style muffin liners. I’d obviously have to adjust baking time, but I don’t bake enough to know of any other changes to make.
Hi Alicia, I’m sorry I’m just seeing your comment now! Short answer is yes, I think these could be made into muffins but I would scale back on the crumb topping since it’s pretty heavy and will weigh the batter down. I do have coffee cake muffin recipe on the site that is close to this (the crumbs are different) that I know works great and is delicious! http://www.smells-like-home.com/2012/10/coffeecake-muffins/
Love this recipe! First time I made it,I over baked it! But was still yummy. 2nd time turned out great!!!
Hi Veronica! Yay! I’m so thrilled you loved this crumb cake! If you have a quick second, I would greatly appreciate it if you could leave a star rating for this crumb cake at the top of the recipe card. This will show others on Google, Pinterest, and here on the site what a great recipe it is. Hope you’re having a great summer so far! Here’s the link: http://www.smells-like-home.com/2011/04/new-york-style-crumb-cake/
I’m a native NEW YORKER. I grew up with the New York Crumb Cake along with all Sicilian food!
I’m gonna try your recipe and see if its a keeper! Thank you for posting the recipe.
A girl after my own heart! I’m positive you’ll love this recipe. Happy baking!
Oh my goodness!! Thank you so much for this recipe. Made one for my family and one for my brother’s family while were quarantined due to Covid-19. Boy did you make all of us smile. We’re all from NY and NJ and are currently living in Virginia. We can’t get over how delicious this is!! I guess we need to add more cake flour to our next shopping run.
Yay! I absolutely love hearing reviews like this, June! I’m so happy you and your family love this recipe as much as mine does. If you can’t find cake flour (all flour seems to be difficult to find these days), you can make your own with all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Remove 1 tablespoon of flour from each cup in the recipe and replace it with 1 tablespoon of cornstarch. Sift the 2 together as you add them to the other ingredients. Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review! Stay safe!
My crumbs sank. I followed the recipe exactly (aside from making my own buttermilk with vinegar). Could it be that I overmixed the batter? It said light and fluffy which took about a minute and a half for me. Really bummed.
I’m sorry this happened to you. Yes, you probably overmixed the batter. I’m assuming you mixed it for 1 1/2 minutes after adding the egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk, correct? That should only take around 1 minute so 1 1/2 minutes would have been too long. Were you using a stand mixer or a hand mixer? Mixing on medium-high with a hand mixer would have taken longer to get to the “light and fluffy” stage, which puts you at risk for overmixing. I know flour is hard to come by these days and it’s a bummer to feel like you wasted ingredients, but I encourage you to try it again. This cake really is worth trying again.
This cake came out very good however I had one problem. The crumbs did not sink but they were so dry! They completely fell apart when trying to cut into the cake. I’m not sure what I did wrong, the bottom part of the cake tasted great but the crumbs were a little bland, and very dry.
Hi Heather, Can you tell me how you measured the flour for the crumbs? If you simply scooped it right out without fluffing it up first or spooning it into your measuring cup, it’s easy to use more flour than is needed. It sounds like your crumb topping had too much flour.
I made this to bring to my family yesterday. It was absolutely perfect and got rave reviews. I’m surprised by any comments where people had trouble with this recipe. It was very well written and easy to follow. The cake flour and reverse creaming method made for a very tender cake which was not too sweet. We loved it so much!
So happy to hear this, Crissy! We love this cake so much too and continue to make it over and over. Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review!
If I double recipe and bake in a 9 x 13 pan, at what temp and how long do I bake it.
I’ve tried the recipe doubled in a 9 x 13 pan and it doesn’t work out too great. I would suggest doubling it and baking it in 2 smaller pans – either 2 8×8, 2 9×9, or 1 of each. No need to change the oven temperature for a different size pan – just bake it for a couple fewer minutes if you use the 9×9 pan.
Turned out awesome! Allot of work but so worth it!!
I added a Layer of Fresh Cinnamon peaches. Added another layer of flavor.
My husband loves this cake. He always brings one home when he is in New York.
I decided for Father’s Day I would try and recreate it. I think it turned out better,
Maybe because so fresh. But well worth it!!
Thank You,
LOVE the cinnamon peaches layer idea!! So glad this cake hit all the marks for you, Linda!
Making thia now. I just peeked into the oven to check and I am flabergasted to see that the crumb topping is gone and cake batter has taken over. Followed the instruction to the T. I am very sad….
Hi Thelma, I’m sorry this happened to you. It sounds like you overbeat the cake batter, which added too much air to it and caused the batter to rise too much while baking. I hope the cake tasted good despite the crumbs not being on top.
I just made this and followed the recipe exactly. It turned out perfectly delicious! I followed your tip about placing the crumb mixture starting from the edges and working towards the center of my 9×9 pan. I added one cup of frozen blueberries. Perfection!!! Will be baking this again!
Yay! So great to hear this, Karen! I love the addition of blueberries!