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.

NY-Style Crumb Cake

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.

New York-Style Crumb Cake

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.

What if You Don’t Have Cake Flour?

If you don’t have cake flour, you can remove 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour for every 1 cup of all-purpose flour in the recipe. Then add 3 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift them together 5 times before mixing with the other dry ingredients.

For this recipe, you need a total of 3 cups of cake flour for the crumb topping and the cake. So, make the cake flour first and then divide it up for the called-for amounts in the crumb topping and cake recipes.

I found this method on Joy the Baker many, many years ago and have been using it successfully ever since.

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!!

New York Crumb Cake Recipe

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
Sour Cream Coffee Cake

blueberry crumb cake
blueberry crumb cake

pumpkin sour cream crumb bars
Pumpkin Sour Cream Crumb Bars

chocolate chip sour cream cake
chocolate chip sour cream crumb cake

coffee cake muffins
coffeecake muffins

peach crumb bars

Peach Crumb Bars

…….

New York Crumb Cake Recipe

New York Crumb Cake Recipe

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes

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) (see Note #1 below)

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

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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

  1. If you don't have cake flour, you can make your own. You'll need a total of 3 cups of cake flour for the crumb topping and the cake. So, make the cake flour first and then divide it up for the called-for amounts in the crumb topping and cake recipes. To do this, remove 9 tablespoons of all-purpose flour and replace it with 9 tablespoons of cornstarch. Then, sift it together 5 times before dividing it up.
  2. 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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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 375

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Leave a Comment

  • April 11, 2011 at 4:19 PM

    This cake looks delicious! I am a huge crumb cake fan as well so I will definitely be giving this one a whirl!

  • April 11, 2011 at 4:30 PM

    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

  • kristen
    April 11, 2011 at 6:40 PM

    You must be in my mind! I’ve been craving crumb cake for the past week. Sounds easy enough for me and looks delicious!

  • April 11, 2011 at 7:54 PM

    Crumb cake was the great treat at college served once a week at Sunday brunch. This looks so good. Thanks for sharing!

  • April 11, 2011 at 8:48 PM

    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 🙂

  • April 11, 2011 at 11:04 PM

    I’m always looking for new crumb cake recipes so I’ll have to share this one too. Thanks for sharing.

  • April 11, 2011 at 11:15 PM

    I am also a sucker for crumb cake… and this looks fantabulous!

  • Liz
    April 12, 2011 at 6:53 AM

    What lovely squares of goodness…YUM~

  • April 12, 2011 at 8:27 AM

    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.

  • April 12, 2011 at 3:48 PM

    I’m a huge sucker for crumb cake and yours looks just delicious! Just have to get some cake flour!

  • Joy
    April 12, 2011 at 5:33 PM

    This is a great recipe.

  • April 12, 2011 at 6:53 PM

    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

  • April 12, 2011 at 8:06 PM

    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. 🙂

  • April 12, 2011 at 10:47 PM

    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.

  • April 13, 2011 at 7:00 AM

    Those look amazing with the thick layer of topping!

  • April 13, 2011 at 7:21 AM

    I love when I find a new blog that is as awesome as yours. I have this crumb cake bookmarked- it looks amazing!

  • Maggi
    April 13, 2011 at 8:36 AM

    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.

  • April 13, 2011 at 10:43 PM

    Oh my! These babies look crazy good!!!! Bookmarked!

  • April 14, 2011 at 12:50 AM

    This looks awesome! I usually make Martha Stewarts but I think I’ll have to try this one next 🙂

  • April 14, 2011 at 2:45 PM

    Mmm….beautiful job. I always have room for a good crumb cake.

  • April 14, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    These look wonderful. Makes me want to get in the kitchen right now and get to baking.

  • April 15, 2011 at 7:10 PM

    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.

  • April 16, 2011 at 11:37 AM

    OMG, this was awesome! Turned out perfectly, and really wasn’t too difficult or time consuming. I’m never buying coffee cake again!

    • smellslikehome
      April 16, 2011 at 12:39 PM

      Yay! Isn’t it a fabulous recipe?! So glad it turned out so well for you, Jaime!

  • April 16, 2011 at 9:08 PM

    looks fantastic! i love coffee cake!

  • April 18, 2011 at 2:25 PM

    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!

  • emily
    August 24, 2011 at 9:54 PM

    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…

  • January 16, 2012 at 11:21 PM

    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.

  • Denise
    January 20, 2012 at 12:10 PM

    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.

  • rubesepiphany
    February 2, 2012 at 12:45 AM

    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!

  • Jeri Barry
    February 3, 2012 at 8:20 AM

    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!

  • Andrea
    March 3, 2012 at 12:23 PM

    This was GREAT! A keeper!

  • Monica Ward
    March 4, 2012 at 5:36 PM

    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.

  • GZannini
    March 6, 2012 at 11:41 PM

    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.

  • Barbara Geddis
    March 23, 2012 at 8:18 PM

    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.

  • Elizabeth Dixon
    April 11, 2012 at 3:19 PM

    found you via Pinterest… lovely blog & thank you for the recipe!!

  • aubrey209
    April 13, 2012 at 2:03 PM

    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!

    • April 13, 2012 at 3:26 PM

      Aubrey: You’re welcome! Let me know how it turns out for you. 🙂

      • aubrey209
        May 6, 2012 at 7:16 PM

        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!

  • Tory Brandt
    April 15, 2012 at 4:15 PM

    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!

  • Natalie
    April 19, 2012 at 3:50 PM

    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

  • Allison
    April 19, 2012 at 8:38 PM

    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!

  • Andrea
    April 21, 2012 at 3:58 PM

    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..

  • Laquel G
    April 22, 2012 at 12:20 PM

    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.. 🙂

  • Barbara
    May 11, 2012 at 6:01 PM

    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.

    • May 12, 2012 at 8:21 AM

      Barbara: The eggs should be at room temp but it doesn’t matter so much for the buttermilk.

  • Tara
    May 21, 2012 at 10:55 AM

    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!

  • Rise' Potts
    May 22, 2012 at 8:40 AM

    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!

    • May 22, 2012 at 9:16 AM

      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. 🙂

      • audrey kinsler
        June 15, 2012 at 1:28 PM

        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…

        • June 15, 2012 at 9:47 PM

          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?

  • May 26, 2012 at 8:37 PM

    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. 🙂

    • May 29, 2012 at 7:54 AM

      Kacie: Awesome! It’s such a great recipe, isn’t it?!

  • Angela
    May 31, 2012 at 8:52 AM

    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

  • Gypsy Gina
    June 3, 2012 at 7:09 PM

    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 🙂

  • Kate
    June 11, 2012 at 10:06 PM

    Made this today with AP flour…still amazing, it may be better with cake flour, but of all you have is AP use it!

  • Chris
    June 13, 2012 at 6:29 PM

    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.

    • June 13, 2012 at 9:33 PM

      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!

  • Chach
    June 15, 2012 at 7:43 PM

    This is so delicious, I just loved it and so did everyone else who ate it…thank you!

  • Andrew
    June 16, 2012 at 11:38 AM

    2nd time making this — the reverse creaming method makes for an amazingly tender cake with SO MUCH FLAVOR 🙂

  • Kathy
    July 1, 2012 at 9:33 AM

    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.

    • July 2, 2012 at 8:18 AM

      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!

  • Debbie
    July 2, 2012 at 12:25 PM

    Made your coffee cake today, complete amazingly delicious!

  • kimberly
    July 12, 2012 at 3:52 PM

    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)

    • July 13, 2012 at 10:33 PM

      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.

  • Jane
    July 13, 2012 at 8:07 PM

    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!!

    • July 13, 2012 at 10:11 PM

      Jane: Glad to hear you loved this recipe and thanks for coming back to let me know!

  • Jeanne
    July 21, 2012 at 11:46 PM

    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.

  • michele
    October 20, 2012 at 8:19 AM

    Can this be made without a stand mixer? I only have a traditional hand held beater…will that work?

  • Teri
    October 30, 2012 at 8:17 PM

    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!

  • Beth Riley
    December 6, 2012 at 1:50 PM

    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?

  • Beth Riley
    December 6, 2012 at 1:52 PM

    Igmore me – I’m a dork who clearly can’t read!! Sorry!

  • Mayra
    January 12, 2013 at 2:08 AM

    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!

  • Tracy G.
    January 14, 2013 at 6:24 AM

    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 🙂

  • Nicole
    January 17, 2013 at 2:33 PM

    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!

  • Tracy G.
    January 19, 2013 at 11:00 AM

    As always, Cooks Illustrated hits the nail on the head. This is FABULOUS!

  • Ashley
    February 1, 2013 at 10:01 PM

    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

    • February 2, 2013 at 3:07 PM

      So great to hear, Ashley! We totally adore this recipe too. Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and comment here. 🙂

  • bella
    March 3, 2013 at 4:07 AM

    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…

    • March 3, 2013 at 11:41 AM

      Pssshaw – Jersey Crumb Cake? I’m sure this version will knock your socks off. 😉

  • March 10, 2013 at 4:18 PM

    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! (=

  • March 18, 2013 at 8:37 PM

    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 🙂

    • March 20, 2013 at 6:21 AM

      You’re very welcome! I’m so glad it’s become a family favorite for you – it certainly is here too!

  • Emily P
    March 25, 2013 at 10:35 AM

    I made this over the weekend and it’s perfection! I’m going to be so sad when it’s all gone!

  • Ellefae
    March 28, 2013 at 5:02 AM

    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!

    • sl_admin
      April 10, 2013 at 2:27 AM

      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.

  • Kris Marie
    April 7, 2013 at 6:30 PM

    This cake was so delicious! I can’t wait to make it again!

  • CyndiC
    April 11, 2013 at 11:03 PM

    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.

  • Miss Karla
    April 14, 2013 at 12:13 PM

    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).

    • taraliptak
      April 14, 2013 at 10:02 PM

      The recipe can definitely be doubled – double the crumb recipe as well. So glad this passed the NYer test!

  • ybenorml
    April 16, 2013 at 7:37 PM

    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 !!!!!!

  • ShanellPersaudMUA
    April 19, 2013 at 7:35 PM

    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

  • Mary V
    April 22, 2013 at 4:53 PM

    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.

    • taraliptak
      April 23, 2013 at 5:50 AM

      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.

      • Anna
        May 12, 2013 at 3:33 PM

        I think you meant to say Do not use all purpose flour?

        • taraliptak
          May 13, 2013 at 8:44 PM

          Yes, that’s exactly what I meant – sorry! Do not use all-purpose flour.

  • Tracy
    May 17, 2013 at 3:09 PM

    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.

    • taraliptak
      May 20, 2013 at 3:56 PM

      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.

  • Kris
    May 27, 2013 at 7:34 PM

    This cake DID come out perfect every single time I have made it! Great recipe, thank you for sharing!

    • taraliptak
      May 28, 2013 at 7:06 PM

      Great to hear! Thanks so much for coming back to let me know, Kris!

  • Amanda
    June 17, 2013 at 11:00 PM

    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

  • Alexa
    June 26, 2013 at 9:40 AM

    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) […]

  • Cindy
    July 7, 2013 at 2:01 PM

    I have not made this recipe yet but noticed someone had talked about powdered buttermilk vs. liquid, which should it be?

    • taraliptak
      July 10, 2013 at 10:26 AM

      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).

      • Cindy
        July 10, 2013 at 4:05 PM

        Thank you!

  • Pat
    July 22, 2013 at 1:44 AM

    EPIC!!! great recipe…will def use again!!!

  • Jen
    August 4, 2013 at 12:45 PM

    Do you put the cake on the wire rack or the pan with the cake still in it on the wire rack

  • Wiktoria
    August 9, 2013 at 10:30 AM

    ”Carlos Bakery” crumb cake is so much better!

  • Betty Moad
    August 23, 2013 at 4:45 PM

    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!

  • Vivian
    August 24, 2013 at 8:47 PM

    just made it and ate a piece right out of the oven! Thank you or the recipe, will be making it again very soon!

  • August 30, 2013 at 10:40 AM

    […] New York Style Crumb Cake […]

  • Missy
    September 2, 2013 at 3:15 PM

    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.

  • pam
    September 7, 2013 at 9:09 PM

    Any idea temp. And cooking time to bake as large muffins?

  • Kelly
    September 14, 2013 at 6:35 AM

    Do you have to use the foil or parchment paper? Or can you just keep it in the pan and serve like that?

    • taraliptak
      September 14, 2013 at 7:43 AM

      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!!

  • Kelly S.
    September 14, 2013 at 11:01 AM

    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!! 🙂

    • Ryan
      October 16, 2013 at 9:31 PM

      7oz is by weight, not volume.

      • taraliptak
        October 22, 2013 at 8:23 PM

        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!

  • Eva
    September 19, 2013 at 8:56 AM

    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.

  • Maggie @MaggieCooks
    September 20, 2013 at 8:04 PM

    This look so good! I’ve never had a crumb cake before, So im bookmarking this recipe :), What camera do you use? pretty pictures!

  • Ragan S
    October 2, 2013 at 12:30 PM

    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’…

  • Shelle
    October 6, 2013 at 11:01 AM

    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!

    • taraliptak
      October 22, 2013 at 8:33 PM

      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.

  • LES NY
    October 18, 2013 at 6:29 AM

    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.

    • taraliptak
      October 22, 2013 at 8:14 PM

      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 […]

  • Jennifer
    November 3, 2013 at 9:55 AM

    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!

  • Patti
    November 10, 2013 at 6:26 PM

    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!!

    • taraliptak
      November 11, 2013 at 12:16 PM

      Outstanding idea to add apple pie filling to this crumb cake! You would have to physically restrain me from devouring that whole cake. lol

      • Patti
        November 11, 2013 at 7:37 PM

        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!!

  • Ginger
    November 29, 2013 at 4:04 PM

    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! 🙂

    • taraliptak
      November 29, 2013 at 5:11 PM

      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.

      • Ginger
        December 12, 2013 at 10:34 AM

        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

  • Ellen Lambert
    December 13, 2013 at 1:34 PM

    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!!!!

    • taraliptak
      December 13, 2013 at 1:41 PM

      Haha! You’re so welcome! I ADORE this recipe and hope you will too!

  • December 29, 2013 at 9:02 AM

    […] Adapted from Smells Like Home […]

  • Marty
    January 2, 2014 at 1:19 PM

    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!

  • Kate Johnson
    January 5, 2014 at 4:56 PM

    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 […]

  • taraliptak
    February 6, 2014 at 6:05 AM

    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.”

  • taraliptak
    February 8, 2014 at 7:47 PM

    Agreed – the cake is definitely big enough to serve 5.

  • Celia Becker
    February 11, 2014 at 4:53 PM

    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

    • taraliptak
      February 14, 2014 at 6:32 PM

      Hope you love this crumb cake, Celia!

  • March 5, 2014 at 2:57 AM

    […] 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 […]

  • October 24, 2014 at 10:34 AM

    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 […]

  • August 21, 2015 at 3:46 PM

    […] Source: Smells Like Home, originally from Cooks’ Illustrated May 2007 and Cooks’ Illustrated iPhone […]

  • Elisabeth
    June 5, 2017 at 12:12 PM

    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!!

    • Tara
      June 13, 2017 at 12:08 PM

      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.

  • Susan
    October 14, 2018 at 9:55 PM

    This is a favorite of mine and I will make this Coffee Cake soon. Thank you for bringing this recipe into light!

    • Tara
      October 24, 2018 at 9:34 AM

      Hi Susan! You’re so welcome!

  • Lorraine Seelinger
    January 20, 2019 at 6:46 PM

    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.

    • Tara
      January 22, 2019 at 10:35 AM

      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!

  • Alicia
    February 18, 2019 at 10:33 AM

    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.

    • Tara
      February 24, 2019 at 8:31 AM

      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/

  • Veronica
    August 1, 2019 at 8:06 AM

    Love this recipe! First time I made it,I over baked it! But was still yummy. 2nd time turned out great!!!

    • Tara
      August 1, 2019 at 9:20 AM

      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/

  • Theresa
    September 16, 2019 at 3:20 PM

    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.

    • Tara
      September 16, 2019 at 9:26 PM

      A girl after my own heart! I’m positive you’ll love this recipe. Happy baking!

  • June C
    March 27, 2020 at 7:24 PM

    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.

    • Tara
      March 28, 2020 at 8:36 AM

      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!

  • Sbakes
    March 28, 2020 at 1:42 PM

    Mine was yummy, but the finished cake was about 2/3 – 3/4 cake with the rest topping. The top of the cake was much more domed than the one in your pictures. Any idea what I might have done wrong? I was hoping for that super thick layer of that yummy crumb topping!

    • Tara
      July 15, 2021 at 1:00 PM

      Is it possible you used baking powder instead of baking soda? Baking powder would have caused the cake to rise like that.

  • Christine
    April 18, 2020 at 4:00 PM

    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.

    • Tara
      April 19, 2020 at 2:10 PM

      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.

  • Heather
    April 21, 2020 at 9:41 PM

    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.

    • Tara
      May 3, 2020 at 6:29 PM

      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.

  • Crissy
    May 2, 2020 at 12:57 PM

    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!

    • Tara
      May 3, 2020 at 6:26 PM

      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!

  • Antoinette Bernardo
    May 17, 2020 at 5:10 PM

    If I double recipe and bake in a 9 x 13 pan, at what temp and how long do I bake it.

    • Tara
      June 20, 2020 at 12:32 PM

      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.

  • Linda Hellinge
    June 20, 2020 at 10:10 AM

    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,

    • Tara
      June 20, 2020 at 12:15 PM

      LOVE the cinnamon peaches layer idea!! So glad this cake hit all the marks for you, Linda!

  • Thelma
    June 20, 2020 at 3:28 PM

    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….

    • Tara
      June 25, 2020 at 7:10 AM

      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.

  • Karen Sansovich
    July 3, 2020 at 8:21 PM

    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!

    • Tara
      July 15, 2020 at 9:05 AM

      Yay! So great to hear this, Karen! I love the addition of blueberries!

  • Lexie
    August 12, 2020 at 3:56 PM

    I grew up eating crumb cake (Entenmann’s). It is one of my favorite things. I made this recipe, following the directions exactly, but the crumb topping baked into a solid mass on top of the cake, not crumbs. What might I have done wrong?

    • Tara
      July 15, 2021 at 12:57 PM

      Sounds like the butter in the topping was too warm and it melted the topping together.

  • Garrett Dettling
    September 5, 2020 at 4:22 PM

    WOW! I grew up on Long Island and went to college in Boston good crumb cakes were always available. Now at 77 and living in San Antonio, TX…they are not to be had. I saw your recipe and decided “..try it you haven’t had a crumb cake in years. I just learning to bake. Your recipe was easy to follow. I will be making this cake a lot. I also just purchased an electric convection wall oven. I encountered a few problems making the cake. I made the topping in a two cup Pryex measuring cup. When I was finished mixing it was fairly solid. The batter was thick but spreadable. broke the crumb topping up with a meat fork and sprinkled the cumb bits on the cake as directed. I baked it at 300 for 33. The was and is delicious! I’ve already eaten about a quarter of it. The crumb topping was a bit hard and crunchy and the cake itself a tad dry. I’m not sure if I needed to add just a bit more fluid to both or – perhaps – I baked it too long. Any thoughts would be appreciated. And, y’all better believe I’ll be making another, and another…..
    Thanks for posting this great recipe.

    • Tara
      July 15, 2021 at 1:06 PM

      Hi Garrett! So glad to hear you enjoyed this cake and thanks for your comment! I’ve never baked a cake in a convection oven so I can’t say if that was the problem with the cake being dry, but it’s definitely possible. And when freshly baked, the crumb topping should be as you described – a bit hard and crunchy. As the cake sits, and especially if sits in a covered container for a few days, the crumbs will tend to soften as they absorb moisture.

  • Barbara Aughtmon
    October 24, 2020 at 10:56 AM

    The cake is excellent but I cannot get the crumb topping to stay on top of the cake. The cake rises above the topping. I am using an 8″ square cake pan (which is a LOT smaller than the 9″ one I had been using). And I am starting from the outside edges and working my way around to the inside. I would really like it to look like the picture. What am I doing wrong?

    • Tara
      July 15, 2021 at 1:10 PM

      Hi Barbara, It’s possible that you’re overmixing the cake batter, which would cause it to rise up too high and suck the crumbs underneath as it deflates. Next time, try mixing for a few seconds less and see how it goes. Hope that helps!

  • Kevin C
    December 15, 2020 at 12:29 AM

    Hi Tara!
    I just made this and the cake turned out very tasty! I followed the recipe and seemed to end up with a lot more crumb topping than I needed (which I ended up USING anyway) and it was almost as much crumbs as cake!! LOL
    I was wondering how to get the crumbs more moist like the Entenmann’s version, as some of mine were more dry than “crumby”. Any tips/suggestions? I really like it and am definitely going to make it again!
    thank you!
    -kevin

    • Tara
      December 28, 2020 at 9:27 AM

      I suspect Entenmann’s is using shortening or some kind of processed ingredient to make the crumbs on the softer so that’s the downside of making a recipe like this one at home. I suggest covering the bowl with the crumb mixture with a damp paper towel while you make the cake batter. This should keep the crumb mixture from drying so much.

  • Kyle
    December 17, 2020 at 11:48 PM

    It’s baking now, the dough seemed to have crumbs in it before I added the actual crumbs… like chunks in the dough. Not sure if it’s supposed to be that way but I do know I did it correctly so I’m assuming yes. Everything else seemed normal. Last crumb cake I made was very good but had cake flour so I thought trying this recipe would be interesting.

  • arlo
    July 24, 2021 at 1:40 PM

    it was lovely!! i made some changes only because i didn’t want to go to the store to get ingredients…
    All-Purpose flour with no cornstarch mixed in worked fine! im sure cake flour would have, in fact, made a softer, lighter cake, but for my purposes the cake 1) was risen and 2) didn’t immediately fall apart when i took it out of the pan (if you can’t tell i am kind of an awful baker) so, you know, huge win! i used regular milk and lemon juice instead of buttermilk (another win, two points!) and an 11×7 inch glass pan, which didn’t change the cook time for me — nice and done after 40 minutes. the crumbs were floury but that is entirely my fault because i measure flour like a 6 year old trying to “help” their mom bake, but they cant reach the counter and also havent developed any fine motor skills. apparently the flour:everythingelse ratio is, in fact, important. who would have thought?

    thank you for the recipe!!!

    • Tara
      August 1, 2021 at 11:17 AM

      So wonderful to hear how the cake turned out for you, even with the changes and the self-admitted baking challenges. 😉 I use the lemon juice in milk trick all the time when I don’t have buttermilk in the fridge and it always works great. Thank you so much for coming back to leave a review about your crumb cake baking experience!

  • Debbie
    August 16, 2021 at 10:39 AM

    I do not have cake mix. For the crumb topping of 1 3/4 cake flour how much all purpose flour do I have to take out and add in cornstarch. The cake mixture says take out 4 tsp flour replace with 4 tsp cornstarch. When you read online for substitute it has Tablespoons instead of teaspoons.

  • Debbie
    August 16, 2021 at 7:02 PM

    I just made this crumb cake tonight & it was so good. I didn’t find cake flower so I used regular flour & took out 3 tablespoons put in cornstarch. It came out so good & I will definitely be making it again. Thank you for sharing

    • Tara
      August 27, 2021 at 7:44 AM

      Hi Debbie, Glad to hear the cornstarch swap trick worked for you since you couldn’t find cake flour. To clarify for others who may read this, the recipe calls for cake flour for both the crumb topping and the cake. So for every 1 cup of AP flour called for in the recipe you’ll do an equal swap with cornstarch: replace 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour with 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and then whisk it into the remaining all-purpose flour.

  • Denise Broady
    August 21, 2021 at 9:01 PM

    I don’t have buttermilk, can I use whole milk with acid trick?

    • Tara
      August 21, 2021 at 10:05 PM

      Absolutely!

  • Dee
    January 30, 2022 at 3:41 PM

    Since this stays fresh for such a short time, would freezing half of it change the taste or texture once defrosted?

    • Tara
      February 6, 2022 at 12:54 PM

      Hi Dee! No, I don’t think that freezing this cake would change the taste or texture. Cakes of all types usually freeze pretty well. Enjoy!

  • Frances Henry
    February 21, 2022 at 12:44 PM

    I was so thrilled to find your recipe… I grew up in N.Y and ate Entenmann’s crumb cake all my young life before moving to Canada where it is not found!

    My problem: I followed the recipe carefully but all my crumbs disappeared into the cake a minute or two after putting it in the oven. What did I do wrong? The crumb mixture looked perfect and tasted like crumbs taste… I also noticed that as I placed the crumbs, they immediately started to sink.

    • Tara
      August 17, 2022 at 11:44 AM

      Hi Frances, There could be a couple of things that happened. 1) You overmixed the batter, which added too much air and gave the crumbs space to sink, 2) You used all purpose flour which for the crumbs, which is denser than cake flour, and it made the crumbs too heavy, or 3) You spread the crumbs on top of the cake from the center to the edges (or in a random pattern) instead of starting at the edges and working your way to the center with the crumbs. I hope you try this recipe again! It’s really worth the time to make again!

  • Lisa
    March 27, 2022 at 10:09 PM

    Just saw this recipe and am going to try it…as Long Islander who also lived in New Jersey, I’ve had amazing crumb buns and amazing crumb cake…I have a great recipe for Jersey style crumb buns but the perfect NY crumb cake has eluded me so far…I’ll let ya know if this one is it! 🙂

  • BoxerMom
    April 2, 2022 at 9:48 PM

    I am getting ready to make this. Do I need to make any adjustments for high altitude? We are at about 5100 feet.

    • Tara
      April 12, 2022 at 11:20 AM

      I’m sorry but I’ve never baked at high altitude so I’m not familiar with the changes needed.

  • Edward
    April 12, 2022 at 9:08 AM

    Looked and looked but could not find video prompt. ??????

    • Tara
      April 12, 2022 at 11:19 AM

      Hi Edward, If you have ads disabled on your browser, you might not be able to view the video. I am able to see the video in my browser.

  • Steph
    May 3, 2022 at 12:30 PM

    This looks amazing! I’m planning to make on mother’s day. Do you think this will be equally as good if made the evening before (eating around 10 or 11a)?

    • Tara
      May 4, 2022 at 3:39 PM

      Hi Steph, Yes, the cake will be great when made the night before. Keep it tightly wrapped after it cools completely. Enjoy!!

  • Pamela Hunter
    June 6, 2022 at 4:00 PM

    Can this recipe be doubled to work in a 9×13 pan?

    • Tara
      August 17, 2022 at 11:40 AM

      Yes.

  • Joy
    June 7, 2022 at 6:31 PM

    Hello…. I’m anxious to try this recipe. Can it be doubled to fit into a 9 x 13 pan?

    • Tara
      August 17, 2022 at 11:39 AM

      Yes.

  • Ri
    July 9, 2022 at 2:13 PM

    Tender cake with a nice flavor. I did have trouble with the consistency of the crumb. I found the top to be too powdery and not clumpy enough. If I were to make again, I’d decrease the crumb flour to 5 ounces so it would be “wetter” and clump better. (Being from the northeast I know it is normal for crumb cake to be very crumby but I’d be okay for it to be slightly less)

    • Tara
      August 17, 2022 at 11:39 AM

      Great feedback! Thanks Ri!

  • Pat
    August 13, 2022 at 5:28 PM

    I just took this out of the oven and about three quarters of the cake flipped and is on top instead of the crumbs. Any idea why this would happpen?

    • Tara
      August 17, 2022 at 11:39 AM

      Hi Pat, I’m thinking you overheat the batter and it rose and then sunk too fast, taking part of the crumbs with it, during the baking time.

  • Missy
    October 4, 2022 at 9:36 AM

    I followed this recipe to the letter, but found the crumb topping to be entirely too loose and powdery. No idea what I did wrong, but it wasn’t clumping and I had used all the butter. So, I added some peanut butter to the crumb topping to try to get it to hold together in larger clubs. It helped, but didn’t completely solve the issue. I feel like there’s too much flour in the recipe. I will try again with less flour next time. Otherwise we liked it.

    • Tara
      October 13, 2022 at 10:38 AM

      Hi Missy, It sounds like you had too much flour in the crumb topping. How did you measure the flour? Different measurement methods will result in too much or too little flour for a recipe. The amount of flour in the recipe is definitely correct as I’ve made the recipe without issue numerous times.

  • AmazingTalker
    October 7, 2022 at 5:51 AM

    I’ve been looking for new crumb cake recipes for days and this recipe looks great! Thanks!

    • Tara
      October 13, 2022 at 10:09 AM

      Hope you love it!!

  • Barb
    November 8, 2022 at 12:15 PM

    I was looking for a really good New York Crumb Cake…….this is not it. The cake itself was good, but I have an issue with the crumb top. It came out really hard, not soft and delectable. Don’t think I will make this again.

    • Tara
      November 20, 2022 at 8:25 PM

      Sorry to hear this cake wasn’t for you, Barb.

  • Liz
    December 8, 2022 at 9:10 AM

    Clearly you didnt follow directions. The crumb has brown sugar, butter and cinnamon. Exactly how can it be “tasteless”? The ONLY way the crumbs would taste floury is if you didnt wait the required 15 mins for flour to hydrate and cool from adding the melted butter. This recipe is phenomenal. Add salt and vanilla to the crumbs, since you have weak tastebuds.

  • Gina
    January 19, 2023 at 1:09 PM

    Is there an adjustment for high altitude?

    • Tara
      April 14, 2023 at 7:04 PM

      Hi Gina, I don’t live in a high altitude area so you may want to check google for some help with this.

  • Lorraine
    February 1, 2023 at 4:36 PM

    Oh goodness. I just got two 5″ tart tins (with removable bottoms) and decided to make mini crumb cakes. I took your recipe and divided into a third. Not easy, math-challenged here! I googled and calculated, and partway through I knew that this may not go well because I did it all by hand. I felt it was too small an amount for my stand mixer and my hand mixer is DOA. Ugh. They actually came out fine and look reasonably well. HOWEVER!!! As I was describing to hubby how I had to divvy up eggs into thirds, I realized that I took the egg YOLK ingredient to mean egg WHITE. So I divided up one whisked egg and used a third of that, then took an egg white and used a third of that. Ugh. I cannot imagine how they will taste. LOL

  • Arlene
    March 18, 2023 at 7:34 PM

    Just saw the part about removing 9Tbls of flour to all 9 of cornstarch I always read it was 2Tbls pet 1 cup, so I already did 6 Tbls for 3 cups of flour. Oh well , I’ll let you know how it comes out brings back memories of my life in Brooklyn and Sunday morning coffee and crumb cake. Yummm