This New York crumb cake recipe (from an authentic New Yorker!) is so easy to make! With a thick crumb topping and moist cake base, it's perfect for brunch or dessert.
If you enjoy baking cakes, but don't like dealing with heavy stand mixers, cutting the cake into layers for decorating, or making frosting, this New York-style crumb cake recipe is for you!
Some people use the term snacking cake to refer to any cake that's typically served from the same pan it's baked in. This crumb cake recipe fits that description perfectly! Not only is it easy to make and serve, but it's perfectly moist and delicious, too!
The defining feature of this crumb cake is the massive amount of buttery cinnamon streusel topping. In New York, where the recipe originated, the ratio of crumb topping to cake is typically very high, sometimes reaching an equal 1:1 proportion. Whoa!
Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Thick crumb topping. If your favorite part of coffee cake is the crumbly top, you'll love this crumb cake recipe!
- One-bowl recipe. Less dishes to wash makes for quick and easy clean-up!
- No creating layers or dealing with messy frosting. This is the easiest kind of cake you can make!
Ingredients
See ingredient substitutions in the next section. ⬇️
Don't get caught up on the amount of ingredients in this recipe. All you need are a few basic pantry staples to make a delicious and moist New York crumb cake.
- butter: If you can afford it, I recommend using European butter rather than American-made. The extra butterfat content adds more flavor.
- cream cheese: For the best flavor, use full-fat cream cheese.
- granulated white sugar
- light brown sugar: This is the most important ingredient in the crumb topping, and you will need a lot of it!
- ground cinnamon: I recommend using a high quality cinnamon, like Ceylon cinnamon. Depending on its origin, lower quality cinnamons often contain metals, particularly lead. (per this FDA article)
- large eggs
- vanilla extract
- all-purpose flour
- leaveners: You'll need both baking powder and baking soda. If you haven't used them in a while, it's a good idea test them for freshness before you start baking. When leaveners are too old, they stop producing the gas bubbles needed to cause baked goods from rising in the oven.
Substitutions and Variations
- butter: Feel free to use either salted or unsalted butter. You can make this recipe with lard, but you will lose the buttery flavor of the cake.
- cream cheese: If you want to reduce the fat and calories in this dessert. you can use light or low-fat cream cheese, also known as Neufchâtel cheese. I don't recommend using fat-free cream cheese.
- flour: One of the benefits of this recipe is that the cake doesn't need to have a stiff structure to hold the weight of frosting. For an even softer result, feel free to substitute up to half of the all-purpose flour with cake flour.
For an authentic, New York style dessert, you can double the topping recipe! Caution: Be sure that your cake pan is tall enough to hold all of the crumbs inside!
How to Make New York Crumb Cake
Summary only. The complete recipe instructions are in the card at the bottom of this post ⬇️
- Make the crumb topping.
- Mix the cake batter in the same bowl you used to make the crumb topping.
- Spread the batter evenly into a well-greased 8-inch baking pan.
- Cover the batter with an even layer of crumb topping.
- Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center of the crumb cake comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs.
Liz's Tips for the Best New York Crumb Cake
- Make sure that the pan is greased well. If you'd like, you can take an extra step and line the inside of the baking pan with parchment paper, this will also help you remove the cake without losing any crumb topping.
- When mixing the batter, alternate between the wet and dry ingredients. This ensures that there are no patches of dry flour in the cake.
- Let the cake cool for at least 45 minutes before slicing and serving. This allows the cake to finish baking, making it easier to remove from the pan.
Storage and Serving Suggestions
Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy it within 5 days. The cinnamon brown sugar topping absorbs moisture very easily, so it isn't very freezer-friendly. Because of this, I don't recommend freezing the cake.
If you want to make a freezable cake with the cinnamon flavor and streusel-like topping of crumb cake, make my Sour Cream Coffee Bundt Cake recipe.
Other Easy Cake Recipes
- White Cake From Scratch
- Copycat Starbucks Cake Pop Recipe
- Blueberry Buckle Coffee Cake
- Lemon Olive Oil Cake
Crumb Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the Crumb Topping:
- 1 ⅓ cups brown sugar
- 1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup butter room temperature, 1 stick
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
For the Cake:
- 8 ounces cream cheese room temperature
- ½ cup butter room temperature, 1 stick
- 1 ¼ cups white sugar
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter.
- Tip: To avoid losing any crumb cake topping, you can also line the pan with a parchment paper sling.
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the crumb topping. Place in the refrigerator while you make the cake batter.
- In the same bowl, (no need to clean it!) use an electric hand mixer on medium-high speed to beat the cream cheese, butter and sugar until well combined.
- Add the eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Mix again to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix until combined. *Do not overmix or the cake will be dry.
- Pour the batter into the greased 8x8 pan. Sprinkle crumb topping in an even layer over the cake batter.
- Bake on the middle rack of the oven at 350 degrees F. for 30-40 minutes, until the crumb topping is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted into the center of the cake.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 45 minutes before cutting into 9 large squares for serving.
Helpful Notes and Tips From Liz
- To avoid losing some of the crumb topping, after greasing the pan with butter, also line it with parchment paper. Create a sling by leaving a couple of inches of parchment hanging over two of the edges. This makes it easier to lift the cake out of the pan.
- When mixing the batter, alternate between the wet and dry ingredients. This ensures that there are no patches of dry flour in the cake.
- Avoid over mixing the batter, as it can cause the crumb cake to be dry.
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