This almond crumb cake is soft, tender, and incredibly moist, topped with a crisp, buttery almond crumble. Fresh strawberries are tucked into the crumble topping, adding bursts of flavor and a beautiful pop of color in every bite. Perfect for brunch, dessert, or a sweet afternoon treat.
My love to Breakfast Pastries has expanded to snack cakes, and this time its in Almond Crumb cake form.
This cake is a combination of moist muffin, buttery scones, tender pound cake, and light Almond Cupcakes. And to make everything even better, there is a crisp, extra crumbly layer of almond crumble dotted with vibrant pieces of strawberry. So its the perfect bake for literally any occasion: breakfast, brunch, afternoon tea gathering and with a scoop of ice cream, its the ultimate dessert.
The Key Ingredients
The complete recipe including measurements is at the bottom of this post, here is a quick recap to the key ingredients and substitutions when possible:
- Sour cream. I can not think of a different ingredient that will be as good in this cake as sour cream. It is the ultimate ingredient with high moisture content, as well as fat and its is acidic making it the best way to balance the sweetness coming from the sugar.
- Almond Extract and Sliced Almonds. The extract is what give the cake the almond flavor and the sliced almonds are what gives the crumble a crisp texture and toasted nutty flavor. Use a high quality extract for a substantial flavor without the bitterness.
- Fresh strawberries. It is not really a key ingredients and in fact you can skip it completely, or replace it with you favorite berry.
- Vegetable oil. The cake does not have a large amount of butter, so adding some oil adds another layer of moistness.
Now For The Fun Part: Baking
The cake is not as rich in fat and eggs as the classic pound cake, but it is made using the same mixing method: creaming the sugar and butter. Below are step-by-step images for a visual cue, but please take a moment to carefully read my tips and notes I learned while testing this cake:
- Preparation is key, start with making the crumble, prep the ingredients for the cake, then go head and start mixing. This is the best way to make sure you do not skip an ingredient or mistake the steps.
- All of the ingredients must be at room temperature in particularly the butter, sour cream and eggs. If some of the ingredient is cold out of the refrigerator, the batter won’t mix well and the cake might bake, short or uneven, dense and maybe even chewy.
- Use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as you mix and between adding new ingredients. Sometimes there are chunks of unmixed butter, or even eggs that you do not want to miss.
- You can make this recipe using an electric mixer, or a stand mixer.
- Note that the heavy layer of the crumbs makes it harder for steam to escape. So the cake is extra moist.
Pans Options
I used a 9-inch springform pan, and this recipe can also be baked in a 9-inch brownie pan and sliced in the pan.
Moist Strawberry Almond Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 3/4 Cup (90g) All-purpose flour
- 1/3 Cup (70g) Sugar
- 1 Cup (100g) Sliced almonds
- 4 Tablespoons (55g) Unsalted melted butter
- 3/4 Cup Fresh strawberries, washed, and cut into 1/4-inch pieces
Almond Cake
- 2 Cups (240g) All-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking powder
- 1 Cup (240g) Sour cream at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 Cup (200g) Sugar
- 1/2 Cup (113g) Unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1/4 Cup (60ml) Unflavored vegetable oil
- 2 Large Eggs at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon Almond extract
Instructions
Make The Crumb
- In a large bowl mix the flour (90g), sugar (70g), and almonds (100g). Pour in the melted butter and mix until there is no dry flour. Set aside.
Make The Cake
- Preheat your oven to 325°F and line one 9-inch pan with parchment paper.
- Prep the ingredients: Mix the flour (240g) with the baking powder (1 1/2 teaspoons)in a medium bowl. Mix the vanilla extract (1 teaspoon) with the sour cream (240g). Measure the sugar (200g) with butter (50g) in a large mixing bowl (or a bowl of a stand mixer). Have the vegetable oil ready to be used (60ml)
- Cream the sugar and butter until light and fluffy, then drizzle in the vegetable oil while mixing on high speed.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, waiting for each egg to fully incorporate before adding the next.
- Mix in the almond extract, then use a rubber spatula to scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl.
- Add the flour mixture in three parts alternating with the sour cream mixture (two parts).
- Fill the prepared pan with the batter, and spread it to make an even layer.
- Top the batter with half of the crumb topping, then sprinkle the strawberries on top, followed by the rest of the crumbs.
- Bake for 40-50 minutes over the middle oven rack, until a toothpick comes out dry from the center of the cake.
Notes
- Store the cake at room temperature, covered or in a cake dome for up to five days.
- Leftovers can be frozen: wrap in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil, place in a plastic bag and freeze for up to three weeks. When ready, unwrap at place on your kitchen counter until defrosted.
