And not just any cake. This here is a Peach and Rhubarb crumb cake. It starts with a soft vanilla cake, slightly tangy and dense from the addition of sour cream. It is then covered with a mixture of fresh peach and rhubarb, tossed in sugar, and finished off with a brown butter streusel, which is quite possibly one of the best things I have ever tasted. The fruit cooks down and lightly soaks the top of the cake, and each bite is lifted by the addition of the crunchy brown butter streusel. We ended up testing this recipe 5 or 6 times, each tweak improving the recipe slightly, experimenting with different fruit and quantities of streusel. And I think we are onto a winner here. This is going to be my go-to this summer, topped with whatever fruit is in season. It is fuss-free, you can transport and serve it from the tin that it is cooked in, and it is amazing either fresh and warm from the oven, or at room temperature.
A few wee notes:
- This cake is extremely versatile - you can use whatever fruit you have on hand. I made it with frozen rhubarb as a test - keep the rhubarb frozen and adjust the cooking time slightly so that you don't lose the moisture it gives while the fruit defrosts.
- If you don't have sour cream on hand you can sub greek yoghurt
- It can be kind of tricky to tell when the cake is cooked, as the fruit and streusel tends to hide things slightly, and the fruit can coat your cake tester. If you notice cake batter on your tester, leave it in the oven for a bit longer, but make sure you are not mistaking fruit juice for uncooked batter.
- If you are using ripe, sweet peaches, you will likely only require about 2 tablespoon brown sugar, however if they are slightly tart, adjust the sugar by adding an additional tablespoon
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Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Peach and rhubarb crumb cake
- Yield: Makes one 9" cake 1x
Description
Peach and rhubarb crumb cake
Ingredients
Streusel
- 11 tablespoons (155 gm) unsalted butter, diced
- 1 cup (210 gm) brown sugar
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1-½ teaspoons vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract can be substituted)
- 1-⅔ cup (200 gm) all-purpose flour
Cake
- 2 cups (240 gm) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (55 gm) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (150 gm) sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 2 tablespoons milk (any variety), at room temperature
- ⅔ cup (160 gm) full-fat sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract can be substituted)
- 2 cups of ½” diced rhubarb (washed and trimmed of tops and ends, about 240 gm/ 8-½ ounces before trimming)
- 2 cups of ½” diced and peeled peaches (about 450 gm/1 lb of small unpeeled peaches)
- 2-3 tablespoons of brown sugar
Instructions
STREUSEL
- Add the diced butter to a small saucepan or skillet set over medium heat. Stir with a whisk or swirl the pan occasionally to ensure the butter is melting evenly. Once melted, the butter will sizzle, foam, and eventually start forming little golden bits on the bottom of the pan. Continue cooking and stirring regularly until the butter has taken on an amber color and nutty aroma. Take care not to burn the butter. Remove the pan from heat and pour the brown butter into a medium sized mixing bowl.
- To the mixing bowl, add the brown sugar, salt, and vanilla bean paste, and stir to combine. Add the flour and fold until large crumble clumps form and the flour is well incorporated. Set aside in the fridge while you prepare the cake.
CAKE
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9” square or round baking pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with a square of parchment paper for easy removal, if desired. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Add the egg, vanilla bean paste, and milk and beat on low until well combined. Scrape the bowl, if needed, to ensure that everything is evenly incorporated. Add about ⅓ of the dry ingredients and beat on low speed to combine.
- Add ½ of the sour cream and beat to combine. Repeat this process once more and then add the remaining dry ingredients, stirring on low to combine. Scrape the sides of the bowl and fold in any unincorporated bits. Your batter will be quite thick.
- Spread the batter evenly in the bottom of your lined pan. In a separate bowl, toss the rhubarb and peaches together with the brown sugar (see notes), and spread this mixture on top of the cake batter. Gently press the fruit into the batter a bit. Crumble the brown butter streusel evenly on top of the fruit and place the pan in the preheated oven. Bake for about 45-55 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted comes out clean (See notes). Allow to cool slightly before eating. Cake will keep best at room temperature, covered tightly in plastic wrap.
Comments
Marlinde says
Absolutely loved making and eating this, thank you so much!
Sheenagh says
Hi
Help please! :)I would like to make your peach and rhubarb crumb cake as I have loads of frozen fruit from last summer. Should I keep the fruit frozen? Should I increase the baking time as the fruit will be wetter when defrosted and make the make extra moist? Many thanks
Erin Clarkson says
Freezing fruit doesn't make it wetter - it retains the same amount of liquid. I know what you mean though - I would defrost and then drain off any extra liquid maybe? I haven't tried it with frozen fruit sorry!
Lauren C says
This recipe is amazing (as have all of Erin’s recipes I’ve tried). The cake baked up beautifully, spot-on baking times. And the brown butter streusel is amazing. I used rhubarb and strawberries, leftover from jam making, instead of peaches. When peaches are in-season in my area (Ontario) I’ll be making this cake again. I always love baking with the accuracy of weights- recipes turn out perfect every time. I might also try it again soon with a berry native to my area, the Haskap berry.