by Diana Rattray
Strawberry crumb cake is a unique 9-by-13-inch cake made with layers of strawberries and a brown sugar pecan crunch mixture. It’s an excellent cake to enjoy as a breakfast or coffee cake. Or add a scoop of whipped topping or ice cream for a delicious dessert cake. The cake calls for large tub of frozen sweetened strawberries in juice. If you can’t find the strawberries with juice, you can use sugared sliced fresh strawberries or frozen strawberries that have been sliced and sweetened.
How to Make Strawberry Crumb Cake
- First, Drain the syrup from the strawberries into a bowl; put the syrup in the fridge. You’ll be using it later.
- Heat the oven to 350 F and grease and flour the baking pan. You’ll need a 9-by-13-inch baking pan for this cake.
- Prepare the batter in a mixing bowl with an electric mixer. Combine the crunch mixture ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Spread half of the batter in the prepared baking pan and top with the drained strawberries and half of the pecan crunch mixture.
- Spoon the remaining batter evenly over the crunch layer and spread to cover. Sprinkle with the remaining crunch mixture.
- Bake the cake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Put the reserved syrup in a saucepan with the cornstarch and lemon juice. Whisk and bring to a simmer; cook until thickened. You might not have as much juice if you’re using fresh, sugared strawberries, so plan to use about 1 teaspoon of cornstarch for each 1/3 cup of juice.
- Serve the cooled cake with a drizzle of the thickened syrup.
How to Make Fresh Sugared Strawberries
To use fresh strawberries in this recipe, rinse, hull, and slice about 2 pints of strawberries. Put the strawberries in a saucepan with 3/4 cup of granulated sugar; bring to a simmer and continue cooking for about 5 to 10 minutes.
For a quick and easy way to use fresh strawberries, take a look at these lemon cream cheese filled strawberries or this fresh strawberry sauce. Or make this fabulous strawberry shortcake.
How To Store
- Cover and refrigerate leftover strawberry crumb cake.
- To freeze, arrange slices on a baking sheet and place it in the freezer. When the cake portions are frozen solid, wrap them in plastic wrap and foil and then place them in a resealable freezer bag.
Strawberry Crumb Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 12 to 16 servings 1x
- Category: Strawberries, Cakes
- Method: Bake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 20 to 23 ounces frozen sweetened strawberries (reserve the juice)
- 1 cup (8 ounces) butter, softened
- 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup buttermilk, well shaken
- 2 cups (248 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
For the Crunch Mixture
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons softened butter
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
For the Sauce
- Reserved strawberry syrup
- 4 teaspoons cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons lemon juice
Instructions
- Drain the syrup from the strawberries into a cup or bowl; cover and refrigerate until serving time. Put the drained strawberries in a separate bowl and set aside.
- Heat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
- In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, combine 1 cup of softened butter and 1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar; beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes, until light in color and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt; stir to mix. Add about 1/3 of the dry mixture to the first mixture and beat on low speed until barely blended. Add half of the buttermilk and beat just until mixed. Repeat with another one-third of the flour and remaining buttermilk, then beat in the last of the flour mixture just until combined.
- In a small bowl, combine the chopped pecans, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of softened butter, and cinnamon.
- Spoon half of the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread to cover. Top with the drained strawberries and half of the pecan mixture.
- Spoon the remaining batter evenly over the strawberry layer and gently spread to cover. It is a thick batter, so don’t worry if some of the strawberries are peeking through. Sprinkle the remaining pecan mixture over the second layer.
- Bake the cake for about 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Cool the cake on a rack.
- When the cake is cooled, make the strawberry sauce. Put the reserved strawberry syrup in a saucepan with 3 teaspoons of cornstarch and 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. Place the pan over medium-low heat and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring, until the sauce is thickened and clear.
- Serve slices of strawberry cake with a drizzle of warm syrup.
