Strawberry Streusel Sour Cream Coffee Cake features rich and buttery cake with a hint of vanilla aroma and strawberry flavor; you can customize it with any kind of fruit jam you like!
Even though I eat low-carb most of the time, I always enjoy baking. Spending an afternoon in the kitchen watching ingredients like flour, sugar, and eggs cohesively meld into something beautiful and delicious is like magic (or if you want to realistic, it’s chemistry, lol). When I have houseguests I always try to get in as much baking as I can, not only to feed them well (I’ve been told I feed people the way a 90-year-old Italian grandma does, lol!), but also because it lets me get in my baking fix, which is like therapy for the soul.
Streusel Crumb Topping
If you’ve ever had a New York-style crumb cake (this pumpkin one is my personal favorite), you’re probably familiar with streusel topping! It’s a crumbly topping of butter, sugar, and flour (and of course any flavors you like, such a vanilla or cinnamon) that can be baked on top of cakes, muffins, pies, etc. As it bakes, it takes on a golden color and somewhat crisp texture, and it tastes rich and buttery.
Where Does Coffee Cake Come From and Does It Really Have Coffee in It?
Coffee cake is said to have evolved from several types of cakes throughout a span of generations. The Danish are credited with making the earliest versions of what we think of as coffee cake today, and supposedly they actually did contain coffee. The word “streusel” means “granules” in German, and refers to the crumble topping. (Read more about the origin of coffee cake on Brewed Coffee and Foodimentary.)
Different Types of Coffee Cake
There are so many different varieties of coffee cake! Coffee cakes can often have cinnamon or nuts (such as walnuts). They can be leavened with baking powder and/or baking soda for a cake-like texture, or yeast for a more bready texture. Coffee cakes can have swirls of flavor (like the brown sugar cinnamon swirl in this recipe). Various fruits or jams can be added, such as cherries or strawberries.
Strawberry Season
I love using fresh strawberries as a garnish for this cake! Strawberry season is such a short-lived time; it’s only about three weeks long (maybe four if you’re lucky), basically you blink and it’s over. It’s well worth the wait and anticipation because the sweetness and intense strawberry flavor of fresh local strawberries is unparalleled by any commercially-produced strawberry! I always look for the smaller berries because I find they have the best flavor.
In the U.S., strawberries are grown in every state and depending where you live, peak season is typically April through June (earlier if you’re in a hotter climate, and later if you’re in a colder climate). Here in Florida, peak strawberry season is in February; when I lived in Buffalo, peak strawberry season was in June.
How to Store Fresh Strawberries to Keep Them Fresh Longer
Strawberries can be a bit delicate and prone to molding, but with a couple tips, they’ll last up to five days (maybe even a week) in the fridge. No matter how long you want to store them (whether it’s one day or five), don’t wash them until right before you’re eating or using them.
If You’re Just Storing Them Overnight
Keep the strawberries in the crisper drawer of your fridge to not only keep them cold, but also to regulate the humidity.
To Store Strawberries for About 5 Days in the Fridge
Arrange the strawberries in a single layer on a paper towel-lined baking sheet; cover with plastic wrap and store in the fridge up to five days (sometimes they’ll even last seven days stored this way!).
Bake it Sweet by The Cooking Doctor
When my sweet friend Dr. Jehanne Ali told me she was coming out with a baking cookbook, I was pretty thrilled! She’s not only a medical doctor, but a master baker and all together amazing person.
Jehanne’s beautiful cookbook, The Cooking Doctor’s Bake it Sweet Cookbook has 100+ recipes for beautiful baked goods like Victoria Sandwich Cake (so elegant and perfect for tea time), Sesame Cookies (which I think would be a perfect afternoon treat along with a cup of Turkish coffee), Butterscotch Hazelnut Praline Cake (what a lovely sounding flavor combination, right?!), Frangipane Croissants (there is nothing better than a fresh, homemade croissant), and even healthier options, such as Applesauce Spelt Brownies and Vanilla Oat Waffles. I should also mention that she’s a master at macarons; I want to start with her Crème Brulee Macarons!
She also includes useful information for beginner bakers, such as baking tools and pantry basics. I like that there are method recipes included at the beginning of the book, like how to make things like Simple Sugar Syrup, Chantilly Cream, Salted Caramel Sauce, Swiss Meringue Buttercream, Lemon Curd, and Raspberry Coulis.
I had a difficult time choosing a recipe to start with, but right from the first time I saw it, the recipe for Cherry Streusel Sour Cream Cake caught my eye. I love the use of sour cream in cake and paired with fruit, there’s no way you can go wrong. Using Jehanne’s recipe for inspiration, I put a few of my own tweaks on it, mainly using store-bought strawberry preserves instead of homemade cherry compote and omitting the milk in favor of adding another egg, and just a few other small tweaks.
I made this gorgeous cake for one of my mom’s recent visits and she raved about it. The cake is rich and buttery with a hint of vanilla aroma, and similar to pound cake in texture. Strawberry preserves were lovely, but you can use your favorite fruit jam. The streusel topping takes it to the next level and makes it feel more special, and it’s equally perfect for brunch, an afternoon tea break, or dessert. It would make a wonderful addition to your Mother’s Day spread, and mom is sure to love it. If you want to order Jehanne’s lovely book, she can be found on Instagram!
It’s less than a week away…Happy Mother’s Day to all the moms! We appreciate you every single day. xoxo, Faith
- Coconut oil or spray, for the pan
- 12 tablespoons (170 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¾ cup (175 g) sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ cup (120 ml) sour cream
- 2 cups (255 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup strawberry preserves (I used 1 (10 oz) jar of Crofter’s Organic Strawberry Premium Spread)
- 3½ tablespoons (50 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (75 g) sugar
- ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (80 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 pinch salt
- Preheat the oven to 350F; line the bottom of a 9-inch round cake pan with a piece of parchment paper that’s been trimmed to fit inside. Brush or spray coconut oil on the inside of the pan.
- Cream together the butter and sugar, and then cream in the eggs, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into the wet ingredients, and stir just until combined, being careful not to overmix.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and use a rubber spatula to spread it out evenly. Dollop the preserves on top of the batter and spread them around (leaving a ¼-inch rim along the outside).
- For the topping, add all ingredients to a medium bowl and use your fingers to crumble it together until it forms large crumbs. Sprinkle the crumbs on top of the cake.
- Bake until the cake is golden on top and along the outside, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 to 50 minutes.
- Cool before cutting and serving.
I’m Faith Gorsky, the writer, cook, and photographer behind An Edible Mosaic. My goal is to inspire you to get in the kitchen and try something new! Feel free to 
Good morning Faith –
I have a Bed & Breakfast – Kelley & Young Wine Garden Inn in Cloverdale, CA. I receive nearly every food blog and have made so many thing, I’m completely jaded by new recipes, however, this caught my eye and I made it this morning for our guests. Let me just say – Oh my God! It was easy to follow and so delicious. Only down side was that it did take 75 minutes to cook, but it was so very good. Can’t wait to serve it again, maybe next time in individual serving size muffin tins.
Thanks so much!
Kathleen