One of the first cakes I ever baked was a microwave coffee cake in my junior high home economics class. I remember going home that day and telling my mom all about it and making it again at home. It was like magic, it went in as batter and came out as cake. Thinking back, that coffee cake could not possibly have been very tasty, but it remains one of my earlier baking memories.
This crumb coffee cake is a recipe from one of my favorite stores, Williams-Sonoma. When I walk through their store I feel like I am in my happy place surrounded by All-Clad and Le Creuset as far as the eye can see. One of my favorite part of their website though, is their recipes section! I’ve made (and loved!) probably 50 or so recipes from their page. This recipe is one of those winners. Tender, tangy, with a crispy crumb topping. You may remember my other NY Crumb Coffee Cake or those delicious Banana Crumb Muffins I made earlier this week. What can I say? I am a creature of habit.
I normally don’t bake cakes as often as I’ve been posting but we were having a play-date for a friend who moved back to the midwest and I needed a delicious yet not too indulgent dessert to take with me. After some brainstorming with a couple of other friends, I decided on this recipe. It was a hit! The whole tray disappeared between about 10 of us.
Bonus points for this recipe? Super easy to make.
Preheat an oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 10-inch round cheesecake (springform) pan. To make the crumb topping, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar and lemon zest. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly. Put in the freezer while you make the cake batter.
To make the cake stir together all the dry ingredients: flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
In medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until smooth and well blended. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine with a whisk until completely combined.
Pour the batter into the pan. Toss the berries with 1/4 cup of flour. 
Put the coated berries on the cake in an even layer. 
Take the crumb mixture out of the freezer and dot the top of the cake with pinches of it. 
Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Let it cool completely in the pan on a wire cooling rack. 
Remove from pan, dust with powdered sugar. 
Triple Berry Sour Cream Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Crumb Topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 lemon zested
- 5 tablespoon unsalted butter , melted and cooled until just barely warm
- 1/2 cup sliced almonds
Cake:
- 2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 eggs and one yolk
- 1 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups mixed fresh blueberries, strawberries and blackberries
Instructions
Preheat an oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 10-inch round cheesecake (springform) pan.
- To make the crumb topping, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, brown sugar and lemon zest.
- Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.
- Put in the freezer while you make the cake batter.
To make the cake stir together all the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In medium sized bowl, whisk the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until smooth and well blended.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and combine with a whisk until completely combined.
- Pour the batter into the pan. Toss the berries with 1/4 cup of flour. Put the coated berries on the cake in an even layer.
Take the crumb mixture out of the freezer and dot the top of the cake with pinches of it.
Sprinkle sliced almonds over the top.
Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 55 minutes
- Let it cool completely in the pan on a wire cooling rack.
- Remove from pan, dust with powdered sugar.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Williams Sonoma
Don’t want to make this into a Triple Berry Cake? Substitute your favorite fruit! I’ve made it with a single berry, with peach and blueberry, with banana and mango, with red and green grapes and even with pear and fig. All delicious!
Recipe is slightly off. Almonds are listed in the ingredients but not the instructions, and in the cake ingredients regular sugar is listed but in the directions for the cake part is says brown sugar. It’s beautiful in the oven but I’m up to 70 minutes and the inside is still wiggling. My oven temp is spot on for everything I make, but not this
Thanks for letting me know it was missing.
Hi Sabrina – I have a bunch of blueberries which I’d like to use in this recipe. The cake part contains no butter then? Thanks!
Correct, we’re using sour cream in the cake part. Enjoy!
Can i use frozen berries? Or should they be thawed first? Thanks in advance.
You can use frozen but I would toss them in a little bit of flour before adding them. That will prevent them from bleeding while baking. Enjoy!
This cake looked amazing! After reading the recipe, I just had to try it. Total disappointment in the he end product. Flavor was still good but the time was way off. I added 20 minutes to the bake time, 75 minutes total, the middle was still wiggly, after checking multiple places the cake tester was coming out clean so I took it out, cooked it, removed the ring and sliced in! The entire center was completely uncooked. I replaced the ring renamed for 20 more minutes thought it had to be done. Nope, finally dug the center out, filled a loaf pan with the batter, berries and topping g all messed up and am renaming that! Hopefully I’ll end up with something cooked. Flavor is great, but watch the time!
Wow, this is a recipe we keep in rotation around here. Can I start by asking exactly what kind of pan you were using? And what size? Third, can I ask what temperature you are cooking at and if you’re 100% sure your oven temperature is calibrated correctly? Worst case scenaria, I guess a bundt pan might work best if you’re having cook through issues, but my immediate idea is perhaps the oven is just not hot enough or perhaps the pan is narrower and taller making it harder to cook through in the allotted time? If you want to troubleshoot, please feel free to email me at contact @ dev.dinnerthendessert.com 🙂
The baking time is way off. My oven is accurate and I used a large springform pan. Been adding 5 minutes at a time after the suggested 55 min. Still not done after 25 minutes!
Hello, Hubby doesn’t want the fruit baked in with the cake. He’d like a sauce like topping to go over the cake with vanilla ice cream. What do I mix the fruit with to make it a sauce like topping using blackberries, blueberries, & raspberries?
You can do it two ways….
Cooked: Add the berries to a pan with about a cup of water and sugar to taste (maybe a 1/4 cup for a 1/2 pound of berries?) Cook on low until the berries break down. Add more water if it gets too thick before you have the berries fully cooked. Strain or not depending on your tastes.
Uncooked: Berries in a blender, a hint of orange juice (or water) with it, maybe a couple of tablespoons? Sugar to taste (powdered sugar is good here too to prevent the grainy texture sugar may leave behind).
this is right up my alley – can’t wait to try it!
I love everything about this dessert! It’s perfect for summer!
Thanks!
Blueberries and strawberries always work so well together. This looks amazing!
I can’t wait to try this recipe! It looks insanely delicious.
Aww, thank you! How sweet!
I love sour cream cake, but when you add the fruit and nuts that just takes it to another lever. would love to try.
Thanks! I love adding sour cream too, it is a genius hack that I love someone else thought of, haha.
I’ve always wanted to try a sour cream cake! The triple berry is perfect for summer, so yummy!
The sour cream adds an incredible amount of richness to the dish! You’ll love it!
That looks amazing! And something right up my alley…. can’t wait to try this for my family!
Thank you!
This is the best looking crumb cake I have seen. I am also a fan of your NY Crumb cake. You make desserts look so delicious.
How sweet! Thank you!
Sigh, I love everything about Williams Sonoma! This crumb cake looks absolutely heavenly.
Me too! It is totally my happy place!
I’m a sucker for dessert, but I’m calling this breakfast. And I’m calling it breakfast for the next week!
I think that is a great idea! breakfast it is!