Strawberry Sour Cream Streusel Cake

By Nigella Lawson

Strawberry Sour Cream Streusel Cake
Craig Lee for The New York Times
Total Time
1 hour
Rating
5(1,225)
Comments
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This strawberry streusel cake is the perfect end to a summer meal. But here's the interesting thing: Eat it slightly warm and it's dessert; let it get cold, and it makes a great coffee cake for breakfast the next day. The cake is slightly tricky to assemble, and at some point it may look like a mess. But everything comes together in the pan as it bakes, resulting in a tender, fragrant cake. This isn’t a recipe to embark on at the end of a long workday. Save it for the weekend.

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Ingredients

Yield:One 9-inch cake

    For the Strawberry Purée

    • 8ounces strawberries
    • 3tablespoons strawberry jam
    • 2teaspoons cornstarch
    • 2teaspoons vanilla extract

    For the Cake

    • Vegetable oil, for pan
    • ¾cup sugar
    • 2cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
    • 1teaspoon baking powder
    • ½teaspoon baking soda
    • 12tablespoons (1½ sticks) cold butter, cut into ½-inch cubes
    • 1cup sour cream
    • 1large egg
    • 1tablespoon vanilla extract

    For the Crumble Topping

    • 2teaspoons Demerara or turbinado sugar
Ingredient Substitution Guide
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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Prepare strawberry purée: In a blender, combine strawberries and jam. Make a paste of cornstarch and vanilla, and add to blender. Purée until smooth.Set aside.

  2. Step 2

    Prepare cake: Heat oven to 375 degrees. Oil a 9-inch springform pan and set aside. In a large bowl, combine sugar, flour, baking powder and baking soda. Sprinkle in butter cubes and rub them in by hand until mixture resembles large coarse crumbs. Remove ½ cup and set it aside. To large bowl, add sour cream,egg and vanilla. Mix well.

  3. Step 3

    Using a little over half the cake batter, drop dollops of batter into pan. Pat batter across bottom of pan and about 1 inch up sides; mixture will be very sticky and somewhat uneven. Add strawberry purée, making an even layer across bottom of pan and leaving a rim of dough above it. Cover with remaining cake mixture.

  4. Step 4

    Prepare crumble topping: In a medium bowl, combine reserved ½ cup dough and Demerara sugar. Stir with a fork to mix. Sprinkle evenly over cake.

  5. Step 5

    Bake cake until lightly golden, about 45 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Ratings

5 out of 5
1,225 user ratings
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Comments

Yvette

This was delicious but I wasn't sure it would turn out that way. The batter is very thick and sticky, almost like dough, though not hard to pat across the bottom of the pan. However the puree was very liquidy. Thick, sticky batter doesn't spread over a soft liquid surface. The batter and the puree just got mixed together as I tried to distribute the batter on top of the puree. I thought it would be a disaster but in the end it worked out great and everyone loved it.

Chris M.

Made a half recipe of this. It fits well in a 6" dia springform pan. I used canned apricot halves and apricot jam for the puree. Also diced up some dried apricots, then macerated overnight with a little Cointreau, to go on top of the puree. Swapped out 1 tsp vanilla with almond extract and added sliced almonds to the crumble topping. Got raves from the friend I made it for -- she says it needs to be in the permanent rotation.

Janet

I used a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry ingredients and it worked just fine. Have these tools gone out of fashion?

CindyB

Excellent recipe, and it was super quick and simple to prepare. I made it twice after the first one was finished in a day, YUM!!! Second time instead of a springform pan I used a 9-inch cake pan that is 3 inches deep (springform pan leaked some butter) and that change worked beautifully. The batter is akin to biscuit dough. You won't regret making this, definitely 5 stars!!!

Anita S.

I agree about using a pastry blender. Also, used a deep 9” round pan. Then no butter leaking out while it baked. Used an offset spatula to spread out the bottom batter. Used a melon baller to distribute the top layer of batter. Very quick and neat. And delicious!

Maria B

I used a 9” cake pan and it bubbled over and made a mess in the oven. Next time I’ll either reduce the recipe by a third (one stick of butter) or maybe try in a square pan for bars. But super tasty! Like other reviewers, I added a bit of salt, used normal sugar in the topping, and added sliced almonds to the top for crunch.

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