This luscious crumb cake makes a marvelous dessert or breakfast side dish. Crumbly sweet toppings are sprinkled as a final layer on top of coffee cakes or muffins before baking or are sometimes used as a filling. Another term for this common topping is streusel, a German word that means sprinkle. Such toppings consist of flour; sugar; sometimes spices, nuts or citrus zest; and butter. The butter, either melted or cut into pieces, is worked into the flour and other ingredients to form coarse crumbs. Streusel toppings bake into a crumbly or crusty texture, depending on the ingredients used.
Recipe courtesy of Williams-Sonoma and adapted from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Muffins, by Beth Hensperger (Simon & Schuster, 2003).
Ingredients
- FOR THE CRUMB TOPPING:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- Grated zest of 1 lemon
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
- FOR THE CAKE:
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups fresh raspberries
- 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
Preparation
- 1 Preheat an oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch round springform pan.
- 2 To make the crumb topping, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar and lemon zest. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.
- 3 To make the cake, in a bowl, stir together the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- 4 In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until well blended. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the sour cream mixture. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
- 5 Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Cover evenly with the raspberries. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the berries.
- 6 Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 38 to 42 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Remove the sides of the springform pan. Dust the cake with the confectioners' sugar and serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges. Makes one 10-inch cake.
