Lemon Sugar Crumb Cake is a mile high coffee cake with a delicate fresh lemon flavor, it’s made with my special lemon infused sugar ~ an easy technique for punching up the citrus flavor in your favorite recipes!
lemon crumb cake is a classic New York style coffee cake
I patterned this recipe after one of my favorite coffee cakes on the blog, my Cardamom Crumb Cake. I made it for the family and realized it was too good not to share with you guys. It bakes up nice and tall, and it’s fluffy on the inside with a nice thick nubbly crumb crust on the top. But best of all it’s laced with the most delicate lemon flavor ~ that’s because the flavor is infused into the sugar that then bakes into the cake. The kitchen smells incredible, and everybody lunges for the first piece.
“I made the cake today and it turned out great! Super delicious. Thanks so much. Already looking forward to making it again. I’m so happy to have a ‘go to’ source.”
Jeanette
my easy lemon sugar technique infuses this lemon crumb cake with citrus flavor
You know I adore lemon, and I’m constantly on a crusade to figure out new and better ways to get lemon flavor into my food. This is a favorite technique of mine, you first saw it when I made my buttery Lemon Sugar Shortbread. That stuff is divine, by the way.
I knew the I could make an incredible lemony sugar by processing the zest of lemon with the sugar. The zest becomes a part of the sugar and flavors everything it touches with aromatic citrus. You see those little circles in the zest above? Each little bubble contains that aromatic citrus oil ready to burst into your sugar.
a food processor is the perfect tool for making lemon sugar
All I do is process the clean peel (minus any bitter white pith) with the sugar and it becomes a fragrant citrus sugar in seconds! This is a simple cake because the same dough is used for both the cake and the crumb topping, and everything can be made right in a full sized food processor. Since you’re using it to make your lemon sugar, there’s no need to dirty another bowl or mixer.
more cake for breakfast!
- Easy Rhubarb Breakfast Cake
- Cranberry Breakfast Cake!
- Super Easy Cinnamon Coffee Cake
- Lemon Yogurt Breakfast Cake (Ciambella)
- Orange Cardamom Crumb Cake
Lemon Sugar Crumb Cake
Video
Equipment
- full sized food processor
- 9×9 baking pan
Ingredients
- 1 lemon, organic preferred, well washed and dried
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter cut in small pieces
wet ingredients
- 2/3 cup milk
- 2 large eggs
- 1/3 cup sour cream
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
- preheat 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. This is optional.
- Use a serrated vegetable peeler to carefully peel away the zest from the lemon. You want only the yellow, not any of the bitter white pith.
- Put the sugar into the bowl of a food processor, along with the zest. Process, scraping down the sides if necessary, for about a minute or so, until the zest is completely incorporated into the sugar.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt into the processor and pulse to combine everything.
- Add the butter 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.
- Measure out 1 cup of the mixture and set aside.
- Whisk together the wet ingredients and add to the dry, mixing just until combined. Spread the batter into the pan, and top with the reserved crumbs. Note: I use my fingertips to make some larger, chunkier crumbs to create a nice texture on the top. Just compress the dry mixture a little between your fingers to make any size crumb you like.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out without wet batter clinging to it.
Notes
- I like to use organic lemons when I know I’ll be using the peel, and I wash them really well.
- If you don’t have a food processor you can do this by hand. Grate the lemon zest and mix with the sugar. I would use the zest of 2 lemons if you are doing it by hand.
Nutrition
Saw these on Foodgawker and immediately fell in love with them. Will definitely try this weekend!
Thanks Victor, I think you’ll love it!
Have you tried this recipe with gluten free flour?
No, but I’ve tried other similar recipes and a good gf mix usually works…the texture will be a little less fluffy, but you would expect that.
OMG this cake is straight from my DREAMS.
:))
I made this cake this morning. It is wonderful. I would like the crumb topping to be more chunky so next time I think I will add a bit more shortening to it and melt it to form chunks. Good job the lemon sugar is so bright tasting.
Thanks for the quick feedback Ellen ~ always appreciated! One thing I do when I add the crumb topping is to create larger, chunkier crumbs with my fingertips before adding it. I’ll go back and note that in the recipe, thanks for reminding me!
I’m glad you like the lemon sugar, I’m sure you’ll find more ways to use it 🙂
I never met a crumb cake I didn’t like. I’ve made your lemon sugar before, and it’s easy and has so many uses! Our Eureka lemon tree has been generous, so far… I know what I’m baking!
Me too Debby ~ I also never met a lemon ANYTHING I didn’t like 🙂
Absolutely beautiful! I love how light it looks and of course, lemon always wins in my book 🙂
Lemon is my favorite also! Can’t wait to try this on my ladies’ group!
This is the perfect cake for a ladies group 🙂
Does this freeze well? Any way to make ahead and finish later? Looks devine 🙂
I think most plain cakes can be frozen, Ali, especially if you wrap them really well, but it’s not my preference, since fresh baked is always best. You could mix up your dry ingredients ahead of time, make the lemon sugar, leave out your eggs, and pre-measure your liquid to make it a lot quicker to throw together.
Do you have any tips for making this at a high altitude, 7500 feet?
Hi Mary ~ here are a few tips from a fellow blogger, Mountain Mama Cooks, who actually lives at 7000 feet ~ hope this helps!
–Decrease Leavening Agents:
When adjusting a sea level recipe, for each 1 teaspoon of leavening agent called for, decrease it by 1/8-1/2 teaspoon. FOR MY RECIPES: If you live above 7000 feet, decrease the amount of leavening agent just a bit. If you live below 7000 feet, increase the amount of leavening agent called for by just a bit. I recommend starting with 1/8 teaspoon increase or decrease at a time.
–Increase Liquid:
Because at higher elevations, faster evaporation occurs and drier climates can lead to a drier product to begin with, it’s important to add additional liquid in any recipe. Also, flavors in baked goods can become weaker or less pronounced as there are fewer moisture molecules to carry the essence; adding 1/2-1 teaspoon extra of whatever flavoring you’re using will assure a flavorful baked good. When adjusting any sea level recipe, add 2-4 tablespoons more liquid per 1 cup called for.FOR MY RECIPES: If you live above 7000 feet, increase the amount of liquid 1-2 tablespoons. If you live below 7000 feet, decrease the amount of liquid by 1-2 tablespoons.
–Decrease Sugar:
The increased evaporation also results in the concentration of the sugar in the recipe. This leads to a weaker structure. As we noted above, a weak structure leads to fallen cakes and flat cookies. When adjusting a sea level recipe, decrease the amount of sugar by 1-3 tablespoons of sugar per cup called for. I rarely measure but generally do a scant cup for each 1 cup called for. FOR MY RECIPES: If you live above 7000 feet, decrease the sugar by 1 tablespoon. If you live below 7000 feet, increase the sugar by 1 tablespoon.
Hi Sue,
I made this cake TODAY and it is SO AMAZING! thank you for sharing!! One question, what kind of baking dish did you use? I used a glass baking dish and the center rose very high. I would like mine to come out nice and level like yours did. Thanks!!!
I use a 9×9 ceramic baking dish, and mine rises high in the center, too, maybe it just didn’t come across in the photos. I love how high it rises! Thanks SO much for your quick feedback Gina, that’s so nice of you!
Could I use buttermilk as I love to use it for flavour and texture?
Absolutely, I adore buttermilk and use it in a lot of my cakes, etc.