Cardamom Crumb Cake is a moist pillowy New York style crumb cake that takes coffeecake to a whole new level with the subtle warmth of cardamom.
the love of cardamom crumb cake is in my dna
I grew up in a suburb just outside New York City, and I have a pretty good dose of German heritage on my dad’s side. If you put those two things together in a hat and shake them up real good, you’ll come up with, among other things…crumb cake. Crumb cake is as New York as New York pizza, and it seemed like it was always sitting on the counter in our kitchen, sometimes homemade, mostly store bought, and always accompanied by a glass of orange juice that was puckeringly sour when it followed a bite of that sweet cake. Now that I’m grown up I’ve replaced the orange juice with lots of hot coffee, and it’s pure heaven.
watch me make it!
here’s what you’ll need
It’s rare to find a New Yorker who doesn’t love crumb cake, but it’s possible that if you live on the West coast, you might never have heard of it. It’s a very simple, unassuming but very buttery and moist cake topped with lots and lots of crumbs. And it makes the perfect cozy breakfast treat.
- all purpose flour
- granulated sugar
- unsalted butter
- milk
- large eggs
- sour cream
- baking powder
- salt
- vanilla extract
- cardamom
why cardamom?
Cardamom is an aromatic spice in the ginger family. It grows in green or black pods filled with tiny seeds. When you grind the seeds you’ll get an incredibly fragrant spice. You can also use the pods whole in savory dishes, just crush them lightly to release the seeds.
This lovely cake stands out from others because it’s spiced with warm, fragrant cardamom, which is not traditional, but really wonderful. Cardamom is more subtle than cinnamon, and if you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend you do. Switching out cinnamon for cardamom is a tiny little change that can freshen up a lot of your favorite recipes. I happen to love the spice, and use it in everything from meatballs and roast chicken, to Christmas cookies!
There are lots of ways to make a crumb topping — sometimes the crumbs are like little boulders all over the top, and other times it’s more like a streusel topping. This one is the latter. The crumbs are made from a bit of reserved cake mixture, so it’s super easy. The cake will take you about 15 minutes to get in the oven. Easy peasy.
more cake for breakfast!
- The Best Pumpkin Crumb Cake
- Lemon Sugar Crumb Cake
- Easy Rhubarb Breakfast Cake
- Lemon Yogurt Breakfast Cake (Ciambella)
- Cranberry Breakfast Cake
Reader Rave ~
“This. Is. DELICIOUS. Go ahead and make it, share it with your friends and family and coworkers. It will go down in history as one of the best things you’ve made.”
~ JESS
Cardamom Crumb Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 Tbsp ground cardamom
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F
- Spray a 9×9 square baking pan and line with parchment paper if you want to be able to lift it out for cutting. That part is optional.
- Put the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cardamom in the bowl of a food processor and pulse to combine, You can also do this by hand in a large mixing bowl.
- Cut the butter in small pieces and add it to the bowl. Pulse to combine, maybe about 20 pulses. The mixture should be crumbly with the butter well distributed and in very small pieces. You can also do this by hand with a pastry cutter.
- Measure out 1 cup of the mixture and set aside.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients and mix with the dry, just until combined. Spread the batter into the pan, and top with the reserved crumbs.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.
Cook’s notes
- I hope you try this with cardamom, but if you’d like to substitute another spice, you can use cinnamon, or allspice.
- This is a very tall cake, so do not use a smaller pan or you will have too much batter.
88 Comments
Kay
February 15, 2022 at 8:17 amI made this delicious cake for my Valentine! We loved it! The cardamom is a new spice for me. It’s lovely! Thank you for creating and sharing this pillowy, New York style crumb cake.
Sue Moran
February 15, 2022 at 8:34 amSo glad I could introduce you to a new favorite flavor!
Kay
February 15, 2022 at 7:40 pmSue, I just had to send you this message:) . . .My husband kept thinking about this cake on his drive home from work today! (Tee Hee:) He went right to the cake pan upon his arrival home and evened out the edges with a tasty morsel to satisfy his craving!! That is proof this cake is a keeper!
Sue Moran
February 16, 2022 at 9:29 amLove it, thanks Kay <3
Etta Lanuti
January 23, 2022 at 9:37 pmAs a little girl in Queens NY, my mother would buy two things for sure. Pecan Danish Ring, and Crumb Cake. The crumb cake had big crumbs that burst in your mouth! She bought them from “The Dugan ” man. There was a company that sold baked goods from a shiny green truck ( looked like the UPS trucks of today), that came to the neighborhood once a week. Kids would run in to the house yelling, ” The Dugan man is here! ” . Fond memories.
That and the Good Humor man, and Bungalow Bar , (another ice cream truck) are memories I cherish.
Sue Moran
January 24, 2022 at 8:40 amGlad I could bring some of that back Etta, I grew up on crumb cake too!
Beth Anne
May 19, 2022 at 7:20 pmOh how I LOVED Dugan’s Bakery truck! Their raspberry filled sugar doughnuts and crumb cake and their chocolate chip cookies were to die for!!! I like this recipe a lot and I love ?? cardamom spice!!! Yum! Thank you ? so very much!
Susan
January 22, 2022 at 7:18 pmHi Sue,
This cardamom crumb cake is next on my list. With all your other crumb cake recipes, do you have a banana crumb cake recipe? I have 3 over ripe bananas and was hoping to make a crumb cake out of them.
I appreciate any help you can give me.
You are a favorite!!!
Jodie
January 19, 2022 at 10:43 amThis cake is so delicious! I made it in a 9″ springform pan and it was done in 55 minutes. It bakes up tall and light and made my kitchen smell heavenly. The only thing I did differently was adding another 2 teaspoons or so of butter to the topping to make it more chunky. Definitely making again, thank you Sue.
Stephanie scatie
January 18, 2022 at 1:47 pmI have this in my oven as I write this. It’s been in the oven for 50 minutes so far and it is not cooked. I do have an oven thermometer so I know the temperature is right. Is the 40-45 min correct as written in the recipe ? Thanks
Sue Moran
January 18, 2022 at 7:44 pmOvens and pans do differ and I’ve always found little variations can make big differences in baking, so just keep cooking until you know it’s done.
Lisa
October 22, 2021 at 7:25 amIt seems 2 cups of sugar too much is that measurement correct
Sue Moran
October 22, 2021 at 8:10 amThat sugar will sweeten the cake batter but will also be used in the crumb topping, so it works out perfectly.
Kelly
August 26, 2021 at 11:22 pmYou had me at cardamom!
Nina
August 26, 2021 at 8:37 pmThis cake is fantastic! I used cinnamon, husband doesn’t like cardamom 🙁 But the cinnamon is a perfect substitution. My husband also wanted raisins and apples so we added about 1/2 cup of each. I will make this cake over and over again. Thanks for sharing!!
Christine
August 26, 2021 at 3:53 pmThank you, Sue! DELICIOUS!!!