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Oh. My. Goodness. This is truly my new favorite recipe! This Lemon Crumb Cake is perfectly moist, sweet, lemony, and may I say DELICIOUS. I tested this recipe many times, including in a loaf pan and as muffins, and I never actually got tired of eating it! It turned out delicious each way, I I left some notes for how to make it in a loaf pan or muffins if that’s what you would prefer. I am so happy with how this recipe turned out, and I know you will be too!
Nutritional benefits of this recipe
These aren’t all the benefits, but a few of my favorite!
- We’re using natural sweeteners in this recipe: Coconut sugar and honey. These sweeteners are natural, unrefined, and generally lower-glycemic compared to refined sugars.
- Lemon is rich in Vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and folate. It’s great for immunity, vibrancy, detoxification, digestion, and more!
- I’m a big believer in high-quality flour. I use Sunrise Flour Mill for all my baking because it’s non-GMO, unbleached, properly grown, properly milled, and organic. Wheat products in America are highly sprayed with Glyphosate which is shown to wreak havoc on our gut microbiome. Properly grown and prepped wheat products are not inflammatory, are easier to digest, and are actually nutrient-dense.
Ingredients for Lemon Crumb Cake
Flour – I have successfully used white flour as well as bread flour from Sunrise Flour Mill. They both turned out delicious! White flour does help a recipe be more fluffy/moist for reference. But I do recommend measuring by grams instead of cups if substituting bread flour.
Honey
Eggs
Milk
Lemon – both the zest and the juice
Vanilla
Baking powder
Baking soda
Salt
Method for Lemon Crumb Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and rub an 8×8 pan with avocado oil, butter, or coconut oil.
- Make the streusel: Melt the butter in a small bowl then combine with the flour and sugar using a fork until it becomes a moist crumb. Set aside. If desired for more lemon flavor, you can add some lemon zest to the crumb.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In another medium or large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold together. Do not over-mix.
- Immediately transfer to the baking dish, sprinkle the crumb on top, and place in the oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the center is set (you do not want it to be jiggly at all) and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. To help prevent over-browning on the edges, you can place a piece of parchment paper on top of it for the last 20 minutes of cooking. (Foil would work better, but I generally stay away from cooking with aluminum)
- Let it cool for 15-30 minutes before slicing. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, the refrigerator for up to a week, or the freezer for up to 3 months (tightly wrap individual slices and also place in a freezer friendly container).
Modifications
- Make in a loaf pan: Grease a 9×5 glass loaf pan with butter or avocado oil. Put the prepared batter into the pan, then spread the crumble on top. Bake for 45-55 minutes (350ºF) until the center is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Let it rest in the pan for 15 minutes before removing, then let it cool on a wire rack. To help prevent over-browning on the edges, you can place a piece of parchment paper on top of it for the last 20 minutes of cooking. (Foil would work better, but I generally stay away from cooking with aluminum)
- To make as muffins: Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Divide the batter between the muffin liners then sprinkle the crumble on top. Bake for 20-24 minutes (350ºF) until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack. This will completely fill the muffins from my experience, feel free to make it into 13-14 muffins (cook for 18-22 minutes) if you don’t want them overflowing!
Other recipes you’ll love
I hope you love this Lemon Crumb Cake! Please be sure to leave a comment and rating if you give it a try. I would LOVE to know how it turned out for you!
PrintLemon Crumb Cake
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 9 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Oven
Ingredients
Dry
2 cups flour, spooned and leveled (270g)
1/2 cup coconut sugar (92g)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
Wet
1/2 cup avocado oil
1/3 cup honey (125g)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup grass-fed milk
1 1/2 Tbsp lemon zest (zest of 3 large lemons)
1/4 cup lemon juice (juice of 1 1/2 –2 large lemons)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Crumb topping
2/3 cup flour (90g)
1/3 rounded cup coconut sugar (65g)
4 1/2 Tbsp butter, melted (63g)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and rub an 8×8 baking pan with avocado oil, butter, or coconut oil. I used stainless steel as reference.
- Make the streusel: Melt the butter in a small bowl then combine with the flour and sugar using a fork until it becomes a moist crumb. Set aside. If desired for more lemon flavor, you can add some lemon zest to the crumb.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In another medium or large bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet and fold together. Do not over-mix.
- Immediately transfer to the baking dish, sprinkle the crumb on top, and place in the oven. Bake for 40-50 minutes until the center is set (you do not want it to be jiggly at all) and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. To help prevent over-browning on the edges, you can place a piece of parchment paper on top of it for the last 20 minutes of cooking. (Foil would work better, but I generally stay away from cooking with aluminum).
- Let it cool for 15-30 minutes before slicing. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days, the refrigerator for up to a week, or the freezer for up to 3 months (tightly wrap individual slices and also place in a freezer friendly container).
Notes
- Make in a loaf pan: Grease a 9×5 glass loaf pan with butter or avocado oil. Put the prepared batter into the pan, then spread the crumble on top. Bake for 45-55 minutes (350ºF) until the center is set and a toothpick comes out clean. Let it rest in the pan for 15 minutes before removing, then let it cool on a wire rack. To help prevent over-browning on the edges, you can place a piece of parchment paper on top of it for the last 20 minutes of cooking. (Foil would work better, but I generally stay away from cooking with aluminum)
- To make as muffins: Line a muffin pan with paper liners. Divide the batter between the muffin liners then sprinkle the crumble on top. Bake for 20-24 minutes (350ºF) until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool for a few minutes then transfer to a wire rack. This will completely fill the muffins from my experience, feel free to make it into 13-14 muffins (cook for 18-22 minutes) if you don’t want them overflowing!
