Warm Strawberry Crumb Cake

This mouthwatering variation on crumb cake comes from Chef Michelle Kenney from Southern California's strawberry capital, Oxnard. Serve it warm topped with vanilla ice cream for a decadent combination of flavors and textures.

Course Dessert, Snack

Cuisine American

Dish Type cake

Cooking Style Baking

Seasonal Father's Day, Fourth of July, Mother's Day, spring, summer

Ingredient strawberry

Prep Time 35

Cook Time 1 15

Total Time 1 50

Servings -10 servings

Calories 636

Author Michelle Kenney

Ingredients

FILLING

3 lbs strawberries hulled and halved (8 cups)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 2 1/2 tablespoons of water
1 vanilla bean or 1 tablespoon of Vanilla

CRUMB TOPPING

1/2 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
4 tbsp unsalted butter cubed and chilled

CAKE

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter (one stick) softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make the Filling:

Preheat the oven to 350.
In a large bowl, toss the strawberries with the sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch slurry and vanilla seeds and let stand until the berries release some of their juices, about 30 minutes, while you make the cake batter.

Make the Cake Batter:

In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, using a handheld electric mixer beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Make sure to scrape the bowl occasionally.
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating for one minute before adding the next egg. Scrape down the bowl after each egg.
Beat in the vanilla extract and scrape down the bowl.
Add the dry ingredients to the batter in 3 additions, alternating with the buttermilk. Be sure to scrape down the dry ingredients each time you add the buttermilk.

Make the Crumb Topping:

In a medium bowl, mix all of the ingredients with your fingers until a coarse meal forms; press into small clumps, about the size of marbles.

To Bake the Cake

Grease or coat a 9 x 13 pan with baking spray. Then set the pan on top of a sturdy baking sheet. (This is to catch any filling that may bubble out.)
Pour the batter evenly into your prepared baking dish and spoon the fruit on top, spreading it to the edge.
Sprinkle with the crumb topping.
Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the fruit is bubbling, the crumb topping is golden and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
Transfer to a rack to cool slightly, about 20 minutes. Do not serve it right away as the strawberry filling will be too hot to eat.
Serve the crumb cake warm. (Optional: top with vanilla ice cream.)
Store leftover cake in the refrigerator overnight.

Notes

The secret to this, or any made-from-scratch cake is to scrape the sides of the bowl with a spatula at each step of the mixing process. (If your bowl has a dimple at the bottom, like on a Kitchenaid stand mixer), you want to be sure to scrape all the way to the bottom as you can sometimes get pockets of unmixed ingredients down there.) This will help ensure that the ingredients are evenly incorporated and you'll have a fluffy, evenly-textured cake.

Variation

The fruit filling can also be made with a combination of blackberries, raspberries and blueberries instead of strawberries.

A note on the provided nutrition information

The nutrition information provided has been estimated by an online nutrition calculator and is not a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

Nutrition