Outrageously Buttery Crumb Cake

4.6
(106)

This simple crumb cake is the best I ever tasted. The cake is so moist, and there is a ton of buttery crumb topping to die for. It's my aunt's recipe from the 1970's (hence the 1 pound of butter) and therefore of uttermost decadence, but oh so delicious! I've made this recipe so many times, with so many compliments.

close up on a bunch of buttery crumb cake squares
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Prep Time:
15 mins
Cook Time:
30 mins
Additional Time:
1 hr
Total Time:
1 hr 45 mins
Servings:
16
Yield:
1 (12x18-inch) sheet cake
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Ingredients

Original recipe (1X) yields 16 servings

  • 1 (15.25 ounce) package yellow cake mix

  • cup water

  • 3 large eggs

  • ½ cup butter, softened

  • 1 ⅓ cups packed brown sugar

  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon, or to taste

  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

  • 4 ½ cups all-purpose flour

  • 1 ½ cups cold butter, cubed

  • 1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar for dusting (Optional)

Directions

  1. Gather all ingredients.

    all ingredients gathered to make buttery crumb cake.

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  2. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12x18-inch jellyroll pan.

  3. Beat yellow cake mix, water, eggs, and 1/2 cup softened butter together with an electric mixer in a mixing bowl until thoroughly blended, about 2 minutes on medium speed. Pour the cake batter into the prepared jellyroll pan.

    batter mixed together and poured into prepared pan.

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  4. Bake in the preheated oven until the edges of the cake are light brown but the middle of the cake is still slightly gooey, 15 to 17 minutes.

    cake baked until edges turn light-brown.

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  5. Meanwhile, make the crumb topping: Mix brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla extract, and flour together in a large bowl. Rub in 1 ½ cups butter until the mixture forms medium crumbs.

    crumb topping ingredients mixed together until medium crumbs form.

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  6. Remove cake from the oven, and press about 3/4 of the crumb topping onto the top of the almost-baked cake. Reserve the remaining topping.

    3/4 of the crumb topping pressed into the cake

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

  7. Return cake to the oven, and bake an additional 10 to 12 minutes, until the crumb topping is firm and cake is cooked all the way through.

  8. Remove cake from the oven, and sprinkle with remaining crumb topping. Let cake cool to room temperature, and sprinkle with confectioners' sugar.

    cake baked until crumb topping is golden-brown, then sprinkled with remaining crumb topping.

    Dotdash Meredith Food Studios

Cook’s Note

There will be a lot of crumb topping — just cut amounts back if it's too much.

You can use a 13x9-inch dish if you prefer and increase the first cooking time from 15 to 17 minutes to 25 to 27 minutes.

201 home cooks made it!

Nutrition Facts (per serving)

559 Calories
28g Fat
71g Carbs
7g Protein
Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 16
Calories 559
% Daily Value *
Total Fat 28g 36%
Saturated Fat 16g 78%
Cholesterol 97mg 32%
Sodium 395mg 17%
Total Carbohydrate 71g 26%
Dietary Fiber 2g 5%
Total Sugars 33g
Protein 7g 13%
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 81mg 6%
Iron 3mg 14%
Potassium 111mg 2%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

** Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-) Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.

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