Bakery-style vegan strawberry crumb cake with layers of vanilla cake, jammy strawberries and a golden crumb topping. This is the perfect dessert for using leftover fresh strawberries and enjoying with a cup of coffee.
Ingredients you’ll need
The full list of ingredient quantities and instructions are in the gray recipe card at the bottom of this post.
Notes about the ingredients
Fresh strawberries that are ripe or overripe are best for this recipe. If you’re in a pinch, frozen strawberries will work, but your cake will take longer to bake and your cake may have some mushy patches.
Dairy-free yogurt or applesauce adds moisture to the cake and thickens the batter, without adding too much flour to the recipe. The yogurt/applesauce adds more structure to the cake so it’s less likely to collapse or sink under the weight of the strawberries and crumble.
Oil adds more moisture to the cake, and vegan butter for the crumble.
Granulated sugar is the main sweetener in the cake and crumble, and elevates the flavor of the strawberries.
Ground cinnamon for the crumble topping. It’s an easy way to add a nostalgic bakery-style flavor!
This recipe is just like a coffee cake, but with strawberries!
Preparing the crumb topping
The crumb topping is easy to make as you just mix all ingredients in a bowl, then chill it in the fridge until needed. The mixture should be flakey, without any sticky bits.
If your melted butter is still hot, your crumble will be more pasty than crumbly. Don’t worry because the crumble will firm up in the fridge.
Prepare the strawberry mixture
To prepare the strawberry layer, toss them with flour and sugar and set aside until needed.
Strawberries have A LOT of water and can make a cake mushy. However, the flour and sugar soak up any excess liquid so the strawberries turn jammy and are less likely to sink in the cake.
Make the cake batter
The batter for the cake layer comes together in one bowl and is made by mixing the dry ingredients, adding the wet ingredients and mixing until combined.
For the best vegan strawberry crumb cake:
- Make sure you measure your flour accurately, otherwise your cake might be dry
- Use room temperature ingredients, especially the milk and yogurt. Cold ingredients don’t mix with other ingredients well and can make the final cake denser.
- Avoid overmixing the batter as this can make the cake chewy and tough.
The final cake batter should be thick. A thick batter will hold the weight of the strawberries and crumble, whereas a thin batter will sink under the layers.
Assembling the strawberry crumb cake
Pour the cake batter into your square cake pan, and smooth the surface.
Then scatter the strawberries on top of the batter. You don’t need to press them into the cake and it’s okay if they overlap.
Finally, sprinkle the crumb topping on top.
The cake will take about 70-80 minutes to bake – I know it sounds like a long time. The crumb topping shields the cake, and the strawberries have a lot of moisture so it takes a while for the cake to bake through. Don’t worry, your cake won’t dry out because it contains yogurt and enough oil.
Customizing this recipe
I imagine so, but I haven’t tested it. Strawberries have a higher water content than raspberries, blueberries and most berries so you probably don’t need to bake the cake for as long.
I have only tested this recipe with all-purpose flour. It may work with a high-quality flour such as King Arthur’s measure for measure. I don’t recommend using only gluten-free all-purpose flour or only almond flour.
This cake bakes well in a 9-inch square pan and will take around 60-70 minutes to bake.
I don’t recommend baking it in a smaller cake tin or an 8-inch round tin (which has less surface area than an 8-inch square tin) as the cake will take too long to bake.
If you want to bake strawberry crumble muffins, I recommend using my raspberry muffin recipe and replacing the raspberries with strawberries.
More vegan strawberry recipes
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Vegan Strawberry Crumb Cake
Bakery-style vegan strawberry crumb cake (or strawberry coffee cake) with layers of vanilla cake, jammy strawberries and a golden crumb topping. This is the perfect dessert for using leftover fresh strawberries!
Servings: 16 slices
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Instructions
Prepare the strawberries:
Make the vanilla cake:
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Add all the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder and salt) to a large mixing bowl. Whisk until the mixture is well combined. Add all the wet ingredients (yogurt, milk, oil, vinegar and vanilla) and whisk until just combined. A few lumps are fine.
Assemble and bake the cake:
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Pour/scoop the cake batter into your prepared pan and smooth the top. Scatter the strawberries on top (don’t press them into the batter). If there’s any excess flour from the strawberry mixture, sprinkle it over the strawberries. Sprinkle the crumble on top.
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Bake the cake for 70-80 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, tent the pan with aluminum foil. The cake is ready when you can insert a toothpick in the center and it comes out clean. If you press the middle of the cake, it should bounce back and feel slightly firm.
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Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 30 minutes then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
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Use a serrated knife to cut the cake into slices. Serve the cake as is or with some yogurt or ice cream. Store the cake in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 days, in the fridge for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 1 month.
Notes
- Fresh strawberries that are ripe or overripe are definitely best for this recipe. If you’re in a pinch, frozen strawberries will work but might make parts of the cake mushy. Defrost the strawberries beforehand and drain away any excess juice.
- For extra depth of flavor in the cake, use 3 tablespoons (45g) oil and 3 tablespoons (45g) melted vegan butter.
- Make sure your yogurt and milk are room temperature otherwise your batter won’t emulsify as well, and your batter may be too thick.
- If your butter is still hot, your crumble mixture may resemble a thick paste rather than a flaky crumble. Don’t worry, because when you chill the mixture will firm it up and become more crumbly.
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