This Crumb Coffee Cake recipe makes an incredibly moist cake with a buttery cinnamon crumb topping – just like you find in NJ bakeries.
You’ll love the generous amount of buttery cinnamon crumbs atop this moist and delicious cake – a true favorite of mine. With a hint of vanilla and a subtle tang from the buttermilk, it’s sure to become one of your favorites too!
Growing up in New Jersey, I loved cakes like Entenmann’s Crumb Coffee Cake and Crumb Buns from the local bakery. I have a weakness for anything with a crumb topping!
On Sunday mornings, my parents always had fresh rolls and crumb cake from the bakery. The best was when it was still warm!
Food can really remind you of home. When I lived in England, crumb cake wasn’t sold there, which forced me to try to recreate this beloved favorite. The good news – this Jersey Girl can bake! This is my version of the Entenmann’s cake of my childhood. I warn you – it’s addictive!
Why This Recipe Works
- Pairing buttermilk and baking soda helps create a tender and moist cake.
- Using baking powder and baking soda ensures the cake rises well and has a light texture.
- Using cake flour in the crumb topping produces a more tender and delicate texture.
- The generous topping of buttery cinnamon crumbs adds flavor and texture to the cake.
Ingredient Notes
Butter: Use unsalted butter to control the amount of salt in the recipe.
Flour: For the cake, use all-purpose/plain flour. Make sure to measure the flour correctly by spooning it into the measuring cup and leveling it off with a knife.
Baking Powder and Baking Soda: Using baking powder and baking soda ensures the cake rises well and has a light texture.
Salt: Fine kosher or table salt will both work in this recipe.
Vanilla: Pure vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste will produce the best flavor, but artificial vanilla will also work.
Eggs: Use 2 large eggs at room temperature.
Buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk, you can make a substitute by mixing 1 tablespoon of vinegar or lemon juice with 1 cup of milk. Let it sit for 5 to 10 minutes until it thickens.
Cake Flour: Use cake flour in the topping for a more tender crumb. You can make your own or use all-purpose/plain flour if you don’t have it. To make 3 cups of cake flour, measure out 3 cups of all-purpose flour into a bowl. Remove 6 tablespoons from the measured amount and replace it with 6 tablespoons of cornstarch. Sift the mixture together 4 to 5 times to ensure a lighter texture and evenly distribute the cornstarch.
Brown Sugar: You can use either light or dark brown sugar in this recipe, depending on your preference.
Cinnamon: Use good-quality ground cinnamon.
Step By Step Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F/175°C. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan. This step ensures that the cake doesn’t stick to the pan and comes out easily.
Making The Topping
To make the topping for the Crumb Coffee Cake, add 3 cups of cake flour, 2 cups of packed brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon and of salt to a large bowl.
Then whisk together to combine the ingredients together.
Sift the ingredients through a fine sieve for a lighter, less crunchy crumb. This will help ensure the crumbs don’t sink into the cake.
Add 1 cup (2 sticks) of melted butter to the dry ingredients.
Then mixing gently to incorporate. You just want to moisten the flour enough to form clumps when pressed together. Mix gently until there is no visible dryness.
Work the butter into the flour mixture with a fork or pastry cutter for the lightest possible crumb.
Squeeze a handful of the topping into your hand. If it doesn’t clump together, add a little more melted butter until it does. This step ensures that the crumb topping will stay together while baking. Set the crumb topping aside.
Making The Cake
For the cake batter, mix together 2½ cups of all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon of baking powder, 1 teaspoon of baking soda, and ½ teaspoon of salt.
In a large bowl, beat ¾ cups of softened butter (1½ sticks) until light. This step adds air to the butter, making the cake more tender.
For the best results, beat the butter and sugar together for a good three minutes.
While the butter and sugar are being worked together, mix 2 large eggs, 1¼ cups of buttermilk, and 1½ teaspoons of vanilla extract in a mid-sized measuring cup. The mixture may curdle a little. This is perfectly fine.
Add the flour mixture and wet ingredients to the butter mixture separately in three alternating additions. Begin by adding one-third of the wet mixture, then one-third of the dry ingredients, and continue alternating until both the flour mixture and wet ingredients have been fully incorporated into the butter mixture.
It’s important not to overmix the batter, so only mix until the ingredients are just combined. The mixture will be thick. The thick batter ensures that the crumb topping stays on top of the cake.
Assembling The Cake
Transfer the cake batter to the prepared baking pan, spreading it evenly over the pan.
Hand-squeeze small handfuls of topping together and crumble clumps evenly over the cake batter, covering with a thick layer of topping.
This is the most satisfying step! The generous topping of buttery, tender cinnamon crumbs makes Crumb Coffee Cake irresistible.
Bake for 45 minutes to an hour or until the tester comes out clean and the topping is deep golden brown and a little crisp. The baking time may vary depending on your oven, so keep an eye on it after 45 minutes.
Cool the cake in the dish on a rack for at least 30 minutes. This step is important to allow the crumbs to set. Once cool, dust with powdered sugar.
Cut the Crumb Coffee Cake into squares to serve.
Enjoy every last bite of this delicious cake with a cup of coffee or tea.
Erren’s Top Tips & Variations
- Make the topping first. Leaving the batter to sit before baking may cause problems with rising, causing the topping to sink into the cake.
- Use a pastry cutter to work the melted butter into the flour mixture for a more tender crumb topping.
- Use good quality unbleached flour for the cake (with 4 to 5 g of protein) for the best result. Lower-quality flour may not have the stability to hold the topping.
- Don’t overmix the batter once the flour is added. Overmixing can cause a tough, dense cake.
- Be sure to cool the cake completely before dusting it with sugar. A warm cake will melt the sugar.
Storage & Freezing Instructions
Storage: Crumb Coffee Cake can be stored at room temperature, covered, for up to 3 days. To store the cake for longer, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate it for up to a week.
Freezing Instructions: To freeze the cake, wrap it tightly in plastic wrap and store it in a freezer-safe container for up to three months.
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Let’s Make Crumb Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the topping:
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter (2 sticks), melted – plus more if needed
- 3 cups cake flour
For the cake:
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cups butter (1½ sticks) softened
- 1½ cups sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1¼ cups buttermilk
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla
- ½ cup powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
For a Tender Crumb Topping
- Sift the cake flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together into a large bowl and whisk to combine.
- Add the melted butter and work it into the flour mixture with a pastry cutter or fork until there is no visible dryness. Squeeze a handful of the topping into your hand. If it doesn’t clump together, add a little more melted butter until it does. Set aside.
For a crunchy topping
- Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the melted butter, then gently mix in the flour, being careful not to overmix (you just want to moisten the flour and mix until there is no visible dryness).
- Squeeze a handful of the topping into your hand. If it doesn’t clump together, add a little more melted butter until it does. Set aside.
For the cake
- Preheat the oven to 350f/175c. Grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
- Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium mixing bowl.
- Beat the softened butter in a large bowl until light.
- Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
- In another small bow, mix together the eggs, buttermilk, and vanilla until combined.
- Add the flour and wet ingredients to the butter mixture in three alternating additions starting with the wet ingredients. Mix until just combined.
- Transfer the cake batter to the prepared baking pan (the batter will be thick); spread it evenly over the pan.
- Hand-squeeze small handfuls of topping together and crumble clumps evenly over the cake batter, covering with a thick layer of topping.
- Bake 45 minutes to an hour or until the tester comes out clean and the topping is deep golden brown and a little crisp.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a cooling rack for at least 30 minutes. Dust with powdered sugar and cut into squares to serve.
Tips + Notes
- Make the topping first. Leaving the batter to sit before baking may cause problems with rising, causing the topping to sink into the cake.
- Use good quality unbleached flour in the cake batter (with 4 to 5g of protein) for the best result. Lower-quality flour may not have the stability to hold the topping.
- Don’t overmix the batter once the flour is added. Overmixing can cause a tough, dense cake.
- Be sure to cool the cake completely before dusting it with sugar. A warm cake will melt the sugar.
- If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, don’t panic, you can make your own. One cup of milk plus 1 tbsp of white vinegar or lemon juice is a great rule of thumb. For this recipe: 1¼ cups of milk plus 1¼ tablespoons of white vinegar or lemon juice.
Nutrition Information:
Update Notes: This post was originally published in July 2014, but was republished in 2023 with a new recipe that was altered to address reported issues with sinking crumbs.
Rich from TN says
Thanks for the recipe. I lived in NJ and sure miss Entemanns. I miss the crumb buns from the Ostermillers bakery in Freehold NJ even more. They werent a cake, they were a different texture. I guess thats the reason they were called buns. We had crumb buns and hard rolls every Sunday morning….with a pat of butter on each bite.
Thanks for the recipe. Im going to try it for Christmals
Erren says
Hi Rich, So sorry for the late reply. I haven’t been well for some time and the app on my phone doesn’t allow me to reply to comments. I don’t like posts to go unanswered though so just wanted to say thanks for the feedback and say I too miss crumb buns more than I could say! One day I will try to create a recipe for them. Did you try the recipe in the end?
Travelairess says
Scoured the internet for a good recipe. I can usually tell which one I’ll choose based on the list of ingredients. Many other sites just call for the basics and exclude the vanilla and buttermilk etc. This was by far the best crumb cake my stomach has had the delight to indulge in. Such a rich moist inside topped with the perfect crunchiness of crumbs.THANK YOU!!!!!
Erren says
Thank you so much! I’m so glad you like it! 🙂
Heather says
They don’t sell Entemanns in Texas either. Every time I go back home to IL, I have to bring my husband back some. They just started selling Entemanns coffee in Texas so we are hoping soon!!
I notice that in the topping you have 1 1/2 CUPS butter but in the cake ingredients you have 1 1/2 STICKS. Is this correct.
Erren says
Hi Heather, I live in England and measure the butter with a scale (it comes in big blocks instead of sticks). I’m American so when I convert the measurements, I sometimes do it in sticks and sometimes cups as we can do it either way. I must have done the conversions at two different times and never noticed! I can assure you I have tested the recipe and it works. Sorry for the confusion! I’ll have a look at it and see if I could make it more consistent!
Carol Poulson says
Love your site and your recipes. I am originally from South Jersey. Cape May, to be exact.
Erren says
Hi Carol! Always good to hear from a fellow jersey girl! 🙂
Donna says
Oh wow….lived in Wildwood and Cape May too! Totally different life than Florida. Best bakeries in Jersey and NY….trying the recipe today..hoping it brings back the feelings of home. Nothing better than the smell of Jersey bakeries.
Lisa Bene says
Can I sub something for the buttermilk?
Erren says
Hi Lisa, a quick sub for buttermilk is adding vinegar or lemon juice to milk. The recipe is as follows: For every cup of milk, add
1 tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar.
Karen Swan says
As an old Jersey girl growing up in Westfield and Toms River in the 1950s and 60s I loved having crumb buns from the local bakery every Sunday…and salt stick rolls too! We can get Entenmanns here in Michigan but I haven’t seen their crumb cake here, so I can’t wait to make this for my family…they have no idea what they’ve been missing. Yum. Thank you Erren.
Erren says
Hi Karen, thanks so much for the comment! So glad you like the recipe. Let me know how it comes out! 🙂
Debbie says
Erren, I am going to attemp this for my mother. Today is her birthday and she requested a crumb cake and specified she loves the crumb topping the best. I am going to assume the temp conversion is 350 degrees. Am I correct? Wish me luck because I’m making this at the last minute since I had to work this morning!
Erren says
Hi Debbie, so sorry I didn’t get this sooner! Yes, 350 was correct (I fixed the recipe). How did it turn out?? I hope your mom enjoyed it!
Debbie says
Thank you for sharing this recipe! Everyone LOVED it! Definitely a keeper!
Allison Day says
Oooh, I haven’t had Entenmann’s crumb cake in years! Now I’m craving it like crazy, thanks a lot. 😉 Oh, and it’s not just a New England thing – I’ve lived in California all my life, and we’ve had it here as long as I can remember. 🙂
Erren says
Thanks, Allison. I don’t know why I thought it was an east coast company, but I have updated the post and took that section out.
I know what you mean though, I can’t look at these photos without wanting to go bake another one of these cakes! It’s a real weakness!
Terry Carroll says
Where can you get Entenmann’s Crumb Cake in California??? I have lived here for 30 years and I have never, ever, seen it sold – and I mean every major store as well as Entenmanns direct stores. Are you sure you not mixing it up with the ‘filled’ crumb cakes? If not, please tell me where I can find it. Calls to Entenmanns HQ have been met the answer – and I’m not kidding – “we do not sell any of our Crumb Cake’s in CA and we never will”! they were adamant. I hope you are right! Tell me where – please!
Erren says
Hi Terry, I have no idea where you can find it in CA, but will let you know if anyone offers some info!
tcmalibu says
Thanks Erren – my daughter tried the recipe and it was fantastic – the only problem she had was that the crumbs were a little to ‘crispy’…any suggestions?
Erren says
Hi Terry, next time try covering the cake with foil for the first half of baking, but make sure you don’t open the oven before it’s half way through! I’m so glad you liked it! 🙂
Lynn says
Hi Terry! I lived in Sacramento, California 15 years ago. I’m from Long Island, NY and Entenmann’s was a regular part of my regular diet! I missed the local bakery my Dad would go to every Sunday after church. Entenmann’s was the closest thing to it!
The Entenmann’s delivery would come only on Tuesday’s, to the local Bel Air supermarket. They’d only deliver two crumb cakes each week (What? Only two?) The rest of the delivery items were the “Fat-Free” cakes that were so popular back then.
I’d buy one cake and leave the other for someone else. During the week if I saw that no one bought it, I’d buy it and put it in the freezer….I did this every week for months! One day my husband opened up the freezer and there were five boxes of crumb cake, and one in the refrigerator! What can I say, I love it!
Best of luck finding the cake Terry! Try to make your own, this recipe looks amazing. I can’t wait to make it!
Thank you Erren 🙂
Jersey Warren says
Entenmann’s is not “a New England thing.” It’s a New York thing. I discovered Entenmann’s in New York in 1970 and had to wait almost ten years after moving to Massachusetts until they showed up there.
Anyonita says
Erren, this looks amazing! 🙂 I MISS proper coffee crumb cake! Trying to finagle a way to make this gluten free & then I’ll be partaking! In the meantime, I’ve pinned it!
Erren says
Thanks, Anyonita! It really is a great recipe so if you find a way to make it gluten free, it will be well worth your trouble! 🙂 Thanks for the pin as well!
bittergrl says
Anyonita
I just made some gluten free crumb cake today. Hodgsen was the brand of flour. Since it gets crumbly I just added some yogurt. Surprisingly it turned out well.
Stelly says
Until reading your first sentence, I had no idea Entenmann’s was a NE thing. As a NY-gone-Jersey girl I can’t wait to make this! My husband always grumbles when the local bagel shop runs out of their crumb cake on the weekend well before we make it there so being able to make my own will be a very pleasant surprise for him 🙂
Erren says
Hi Stelly,
Thanks for the comment! I was under the impression Entenmann’s was not available nationwide (like some other cake companies available in the grocery stores), but after reading your comment, I looked it up on wikipedia and I may be mistaken. I will ask a friend who lives in TN and find out for sure.
That said, this is a great recipe and I bet your husband will love it! I have half a cake in the freezer and am itching to take it out because I’ve been thinking about this cake since I made it! Please let me know if you end up trying the recipe! 🙂
Debbie says
Entenmann’s was originally from Bayshore, NY on Long Island. They were only in the NE until the early 1980’s. I moved to northern CA in 1981 and soon after found Entenmann’s crumb cake and other items were available there!
Betty from NJ says
My dad wouldn’t eat any other crumb cake but Entenmann’s. He was born in NY. When they first moved to Va we would have to bring it to them but eventually they started getting it there. The more crumbs the better. I’m sure he has got it up even in heaven now. I’m going to try the receipe today.
Erren says
Thanks for sharing that with me, Betty. I hope the recipe also reminds you of your dad (even if he wouldn’t like it 🙂 as it’s not entemann’s). Enjoy!
bittergrl says
I haven’t found any Entanmenn’s here in rural Illinois. Lived in NYC for years and moved here, Illionois, been living here for seven years. Have not seen one single crumb of anything from them! Much to my dismay.
Rich says
I live near Nashville. Just recently they have Entanmenn’s crumb cake in an individual mini size. Have not seen the full size. Publix and Food Lion…none in Krogers.
Seems like southerners don’t have a clue about crumb cake. What do you expect from people that put mayonnaise and mustard on subs sandwiches. LOL
By the way! I make this regularly but cut the butter a little. over a pound of butter in the recipe is a bit rich for me.
Lindsey says
Hi Erren, i came across your crumb cake recipe and I’m going to be making it for my husband this weekend. I can’t wait to make this as I am a Jersey girl too and remember only eating Entenmann’s everything! Like you, I always thought Entenmann’s was an East Coast thing and I’m going to stick to that story because that’s all we grew up on. This reminds me of the coffee cake we would get at the mom-and-pop diners. I’m from the Bloomfield Montclair area. You would never have a morning cup of coffee or even a glass of milk without a delicious, crumby, buttery, coffee cake. That, and maybe a buttered roll from the corner deli. Thanks again for posting this recipe and giving me the chance to have my husband taste a little bit of something from home.
Erren says
Hi Lindsey, I love comments like this from fellow Jersey girls! Did you make the cake?