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This easy, gluten-free berry crumb cake is a soft, moist cake swirled with cream cheese and bursting with juicy red strawberries and blueberries! It’s the perfect red, white, and blue dessert for the 4th of July (or Memorial Day), and the house smells amazing while it bakes.
This moist, tender crumb cake is the best summer dessert to follow up a holiday cookout of hot dogs and hamburgers! I make this recipe gluten-free, and it’s just as easy to substitute all-purpose flour.
Delicious Details
- Cuisine Inspiration: American
- Primary Cooking Method: Oven
- Dietary Info: Gluten-free
- Skill Level: Easy
What Makes This Summer Berry Crumb Cake So Good
Years ago, I came across Martha Stewart’s recipe for New York Crumb Cake and promptly adapted a gluten-free version for the holidays. The house smelled amazing, and it disappeared FAST. When I needed a last-minute 4th of July dessert this year, I decided on this “red, white, and blue” gluten-free berry crumb cake bursting with fresh strawberries, blueberries, and sweet cream cheese filling beneath a buttery crumb topping.
- Decadent cream cheese filling. I added a rich, silky cream cheese layer as the “white” component alongside the bright red strawberries and blueberries in the cake. It’s sweet and tangy, and I love the contrast with the crunchy, sugary crumb.
- Easy to make. Baking a homemade berry crumb cake couldn’t be easier. You’ll mix the batter, layer it into a pan with the filling and berries, and bake!
- Patriotic (or not). This isn’t one of those star-spangled red, white, and blue desserts that are really only appropriate on patriotic holidays (if you’re looking for ideas, though, check out my 4th of July cupcakes!). This blueberry crumb cake is still great at Fourth of July and Memorial Day cookouts, but it’s just as delicious to make all summer long while berries are in season.
What You’ll Need to Make This Recipe
This crumb cake is similar to a coffee cake, with extra crumb. This recipe is a little different, and comes together in four easy layers: a tender cake, followed by a moist cream cheese layer, a berry layer, and crumb topping. This is an overview of the ingredients you’ll need. Scroll down to the recipe card for the printable list with the full recipe amounts.
For the Crumb Topping
- Gluten Free Flour – I recommend using a 1:1 gluten-free flour blend, like my favorite from Bob’s Red Mill. You’ll need it for the crumb, for tossing the berries, and for making the cake. Feel free to swap gluten-free flour for all-purpose if you’re not making this cake gluten-free.
- Brown Sugar – I use light brown sugar in my crumb, but you can use dark brown sugar if you prefer a more caramelized flavor.
- Cinnamon – You can use another warm spice, like nutmeg or cardamom, if you’d like.
- Butter – Melted and cooled.
For the Cake and Filling
- Oil – Choose a vegetable oil, like canola oil, or another neutral-flavored oil.
- Dry Ingredients – This is your gluten-free flour (see above), granulated sugar, and baking powder for leavening.
- Egg – You’ll need one whole egg for the cake, and one egg yolk for the cream cheese filling. The yolk lends just the right amount of richness and helps bind the cream cheese layer.
- Milk and Vanilla – I use whole milk, but you could also make this recipe with 2%, skim, or a non-dairy alternative like oat milk.
- Cream Cheese – Regular or light cream cheese, your choice! Remember to take it out of the fridge ahead of time so that it can come to room temperature.
- Powdered Sugar – It wouldn’t be a sweet cream cheese without a little sugar. Powdered sugar gives the filling a finer, smoother texture. Save some for dusting the finished cake!
- Blueberries and Strawberries – Rinse and dry your berries well, and cut the strawberries into slices. You’ll toss the blueberries in flour to keep them from bleeding color into the cake.
Can I Use Frozen Berries?
Yes! This crumb cake will work with fresh or frozen blueberries and strawberries. If you’re using frozen berries, they can be added straight into the cake without thawing. I still recommend tossing the frozen blueberries in flour first. Afterward, bake the cake as directed.
How to Make Berry Crumb Cake
Have a 9×13-inch baking pan greased and ready, and your oven preheated to 325ºF. It’s time to make some crumb cake! Follow the photo step-by-step here, and scroll down to the recipe card for the printable recipe instructions.
- Prepare the crumb topping. Whisk together the flour, sugar, and cinnamon, then pour in the melted butter. Cut the butter into the flour mixture until you have large, chunky crumbs, then set aside.
- Prepare the filling. Combine all the sweet cream cheese ingredients in a bowl and mix until smooth. Toss your blueberries in a bit of flour and set them aside for now.
- Mix the batter. Next, combine the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients separately. Add the flour mixture into the wet ingredients to form a thick batter that can then be spread into the bottom of your prepared baking pan.
- Assemble the cake. Start by smoothing a layer of cream cheese mixture over the batter. Follow this up by scattering the strawberry slices and blueberries on top. Lastly, sprinkle on the crumb topping. Don’t worry if some chunks are larger than others, that’s what you want in a crumb!
- Bake. Bake the crumb cake in a 325°F oven, rotating the pan about 10 minutes into the baking time. The cake is done when a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. Once the cake is out of the oven, leave it to cool completely before dusting with powdered sugar. I like using a dusting wand for a light, even coating.
Tips for Success
- Line the pan. If you’d like to remove the cake from the pan after you bake it, line the bottom and sides or the 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper before assembling the cake. Use chip clips to keep the paper from shifting. Before baking, unclip the parchment paper, then once it is baked and cooled, use the parchment to lift the whole slab from the pan for slicing.
- Don’t overmix. Like almost all cake recipes, don’t overmix the batter! This is the number one mistake that leads to a dense, tough cake. Fold in the blueberries and give the batter only a couple of turns with a spatula, until the ingredients are just combined.
- Cut the cake with a serrated knife. When slicing your crumb cake, use a serrated knife and wipe it clean in between slices for smooth, clean cuts.
How to Store Crumb Cake
- At room temperature. This gluten-free berry crumb cake will keep fresh when wrapped or stored airtight at room temperature for 3 days, or you can keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Freeze. I love making two of these berry crumb cakes, one to serve and one to freeze! Wrap the cake with plastic wrap, followed by a layer of foil, and store it in the freezer for up to 2 months. Thaw the cake on the counter. I like to give mine an extra dusting of powdered sugar before serving.
Berry Crumb Cake
This gluten-free berry crumb cake is swirled with sweet-tangy cream cheese and bursting with fresh blueberries and strawberries beneath a buttery streusel topping.
Servings: 12 servings
Ingredients
For the crumb topping:
- 2 1/2 cups 1:1 gluten free flour
- 1 cup light-brown sugar packed
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), melted and cooled
For the cream cheese layer:
- 4 oz cream cheese regular or light, at room temperature
- 1 egg yolk
- 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
For the berry layer:
- 1 tsp 1:1 gluten free flour
- 1/2 cup blueberries rinsed and dried
- 1/2 cup strawberries sliced
For the cake:
- 1 1/2 cups 1:1 gluten free flour
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
For the crumb topping:
- In a medium bowl, blend together 2 1/2 cups 1:1 gluten free flour, 1 cup light-brown sugar, and 2 tsp ground cinnamon with a fork.
- Pour melted 3/4 cup unsalted butter over the flour mixture, and toss together gently with the fork until large crumbs form. Don’t break up the crumbs. Set aside.
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Spray a 9×13 inch baking pan with cooking spray or line with parchment paper. Use clips to attach the parchment to the side of the pan so it doesn’t shift. Set aside.
- For the cream cheese mixture, combine 4 oz cream cheese, 1 egg yolk, 1/4 cup powdered sugar, and 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract in a small bowl and stir until smooth. Then in a separate small bowl, toss 1 tsp 1:1 gluten free flour with 1/2 cup blueberries and set aside. Set aside the 1/2 cup strawberries that hve been sliced.
- In a medium bowl, sift or whisk together 1 1/2 cups 1:1 gluten free flour, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 2 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/2 tsp salt.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together 1 large egg, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tbsp canola oil, and 2 tsp pure vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and fold together with a rubber spatula.
- Spread batter in an even layer in the prepared pan (batter will be thick).
- Spread the cream cheese mixture over the batter.
- Distribute the strawberry slices and blueberries over the cream cheese layer.
- Sprinkle crumb mixture over the batter, leaving some large chunks.
- Bake for 10 minutes, rotate the pan and bake for another 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick or cake tester inserted in the middle comes out clean.
- Cool completely in the pan, and dust with powdered sugar.
- If you prefer, use the parchment paper to gently lift the cake out of the pan. You can also leave it in the pan. Cut with a serrated knife.
Nutrition Facts
Berry Crumb Cake
Amount Per Serving (1 slice)
Calories 358
Calories from Fat 153
% Daily Value*
Fat 17g26%
Saturated Fat 9g45%
Trans Fat 1g
Polyunsaturated Fat 1g
Monounsaturated Fat 5g
Cholesterol 61mg20%
Sodium 110mg5%
Potassium 155mg4%
Carbohydrates 48g16%
Fiber 1g4%
Sugar 23g26%
Protein 5g10%
Vitamin A 492IU10%
Vitamin C 3mg4%
Calcium 68mg7%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
Disclaimers: Please discuss your individual dietary needs (i.e. gluten free) with a physician. Even when not specified, be sure to verify all ingredients are gluten free, if needed, by reading labels on all packaging and/or confirming with the manufacturer this varies by brand and can change at any time. Nutrition information shown is an estimate and not guaranteed to be accurate.
Did you make this?
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This is a lot of topping, twice the thickness of all they other layers combined. Is it supposed to bake into it? It just stayed on top and stayed dry and powdery. Is the topping just supposed to fall off when you serve it?
Yes, this is fairly typical of a New York-style crumb cake.
Delicious cake. I love any cake with blueberries.
Is that supposed to read 1/2 stick of butter for the crumb topping?
It’s actually 1 cup or 2 sticks. Sorry for the typo. It was an error in the formatting of the recipe card.
Sounds really good. Thank you.
Thansk!
Aha, that may be it, then. I did use a glass pan. I kept checking every 5 minutes until it wasn’t wobbly anymore, and it took closer to an hour before I was comfortable taking it out of the oven. It did still wobble a bit when I pulled it out, but it’s almost cool now, and I think it’s going to be fine. Thank you for your advice. I’m a new reader, and I’m loving what I’ve read so far.
Glad it worked out for you. Yes, the one I made too thick was fine once I baked it longer. Sorry for the discrepancy. I’ll make a note about glass pans.
I have this in the oven right now. I’ve followed the directions exactly, as you should the first time trying out a new recipe. My cake has already been in the oven for 35 minutes, and I’m having the problem you described in the body of your post. It’s still wobbly and not setting up.. not even around the edges. What could I have done wrong?
It might “wobble” a little depending on how soft your berries are. Honestly without being there with you, it’s hard for me to say. You did use a 9×13 inch pan, correct? I typically use a metal pan. If you used glass, perhaps it needs to bake longer.
I saw this on a 4th of July roundup and just had to pin it. I hope you’ll share your best post of the week on my Friday Flash Blog Linky Party going on ALL weekend at The Jenny Evolution.
Jennifer
thejennyevolution.com
Brianne this looks so yummy sharing on my FB and Twitter today!