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Squares of Sour Cream Crumb Cake with Jam Swirl and crumb topping on a marble serving plate with a jar of raspberry jam.

Jammy Sour Cream Crumb Cake

A golden, buttery crumb cake—made extra rich and moist with sour cream—topped with a swirl of bright fruit jam and a crisp, shortbread cookie-like crumb. Double the recipe for a 13x9-inch pan.
Yield: 12 servings
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

For Crumb Topping:

  • 1 cup / 125 g all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup / 50 g granulated sugar
  • ¼ cup / 55 g packed light brown sugar
  • ¼ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 6 tablespoons / 85 g unsalted butter, melted

For Cake:

  • 6 tablespoons / 85 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
  • ½ cup / 100 g granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg, at room temperature
  • ½ cup / 130 g full fat sour cream, at room temperature
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ¼ cups / 157 g all-purpose flour
  • ¾ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ cup / 60 g whole milk, at room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon almond extract, optional
  • 6 tablespoons / 125 g jam of your choice

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8-by-8-inch square baking pan; line with parchment paper and lightly butter parchment.
  • To make topping, combine flour, sugar and salt. Add melted butter and mix until dough comes together (it will be on the crumbly side, but should hold together when squished). Set aside.
  • In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add egg and mix until emulsified.
  • In one small bowl, mix baking soda in with sour cream; in another, whisk baking powder and salt in with flour.
  • Add half of dry ingredients to mixing bowl, followed by half of sour cream, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, then add remaining flour. Finally, add remaining sour cream along with milk and extracts and mix until just incorporated. Give it one or two good swipes with your spatula just to make sure there isn't any dry flour hiding out on the bottom.
  • Spread batter into prepared pan. Drop dollops of jam on top and then spread into an even layer (if you jam is on the thick side, you can microwave it briefly to loosen it up a bit).
  • Crumble crumb topping on top, starting around the outside edges and working your way towards the center until the entire top is covered. If you want a little bit of the jam to show through you may not want to use all of the crumbs.
  • Bake for about 34 to 38 minutes or until the top is lightly golden and no longer wobbly in the middle, and a toothpick inserted near the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached (it's a bit tricky to test like this with the jam, so just use your best judgement).
  • Remove from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool completely, at least 1 hour, before cutting into pieces and serving.
  • Cake is best the day it is made, but will keep, covered in an airtight container, for up to 3 days (let come to room temperature before serving).