With fresh stone-fruits and berries in abundance every summer, this blackberry nectarine crumb cake is a must make. A simple, easy and effortless recipe bursting with the flavor of sweet nectarine, the light zing from the tart blackberries and a rich buttery crisp crumb topping that just melt in the mouth. Perfect on its own for tea or with a side of ice cream for dessert.
Ain't nothing like a crumb cake made with fresh fruits in summer. Is there? With berries and stone-fruits in such abundance, there is no better treat to enjoy and entertain.
Last week, was the kids last day of school so we were invited to Rhea's school her end of year celebration. Of course, each one was requested to bring a dish so it can be served at the end of the celebration. Always, the sweet treat is kept aside for me. I knew exactly, what I wanted to take with me.
Yesterday, I shared with you my plum peach jam without pectin which I made with the extra peaches we had. I had some nectarines too so I used up these in this cake. Peaches work a treat in this recipe too. It was such a winner! Everybody enjoyed it so much, I had them asking for the recipe. Which is why I am making haste to post it this week instead of my planned schedule for next week.
The mom kinda cake with fresh fruits
This is one of those cakes that remind you of your mom. Well, it is for me. It really reminds me of my mom. My mom loved crumb cakes and we loved it so much she'd always make extra crumbs just so we can enjoy it. In fact, my kids love crumb topping very much too - so often I make extra and save it in the fridge. When the kids have fruit salads, or just greek yogurt and honey for dessert a few crumbs on top is all it takes to make it better. If you have not tried Greek yogurt with honey and crumb topping, you absolutely must.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Nectarine - I like to use nectarines that are ripe but firm that way they do not become soft and jammy in the recipe. I have cut them into semi-circle but you can't really see these with the crumb topping so go ahead chop them any way you like. Peaches are absolutely delicious in this too.
- Blackberries - You can honestly use any berries that work for you. I usually use either blackberries or raspberries. I think these two make a perfect combination of nectarine, peaches, and apricots.
- Jam - This is like the secret ingredients in this recipe. I got the tip from my mom. She liked to add a bit of jam in the batter when making cakes with fruits. This really does enhance the flavor of the fruit in the cake. It feels like as if the nectarines have all juiced into the cake on the bottom but it's the jam that does the trick.
- Spices - well, in summer I like just a little zing from the fresh lemons. If I were to make this cake later in the year, I love adding some spices like gingerbread, cinnamon, nutmeg or pumpkin spice.
Step by step instructions (Save/Pin)
- Preheat the oven to 160C/320 F
- Cut the nectarines in half, and slice them thin.
- If you cut them in advance - drizzle 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to prevent them from oxidizing.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt - set aside.
- Chop the butter for crumb into small pieces but keep them chilled in the fridge until ready to use.
Prepare crumb topping
- Place the flour, almond meal, sugar, lemon zest and spices in a food processor
- Lastly, add the chilled butter cubes
- Pulse for a few seconds at a time until it resembles breadcrumb consistency
- Alternatively, you can use your fingers to cut the butter into the dry mixture until it reaches breadcrumb consistency.
- Keep the crumb topping chilled in the fridge until ready to use.
Prepare batter
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add eggs one at a time.
- Followed by the jam - combine well.
- Add the flour mix along with the sour cream and buttermilk.
- Lastly, add the vanilla.
- Pour the batter into an 8 x 8 square cake pan or 9 x 13 sheet pan (see notes above)
- Sprinkle the blackberries all over.
- I like to tuck them into the batter so they sink in.
- Layer the chopped nectarine slices on top - they won't really be seen under the crumb.
- Sprinkle the prepared crumb topping all over generously.
Bake
- Bake in a preheated oven for almost an hour until a skewer inserted in the center comes clean
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before you attempt to cut into it.
- This can be served as is and needs nothing else - but you are feeling indulgent serve with some freshly whipped cream.
Frequently asked questions
Well, a crumb cake is a coffee cake topped with crumbs
This blackberry nectarine crumb cake will stay at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. Up to a week if kept wrapped well in the fridge and up to a month if frozen well.
Yes, in fact, brown sugar has a lovely flavor of molasses that does pair well with nectarines.
yes, you can add up to 1 cup of nuts (any nuts) in the cake batter for this crumb cake.
You can either substitute the almond meal with oats in equal quantity or substitute half the flour with oats. Everything else will remain the same.
Yes, try raspberries, cherries, blueberries or even mixed berries.
You can use peaches, apricots or fig instead of nectarines.
Nectarines are very versatile and can be substituted for any stone-fruit. Try my Nectarine Cream Cheese Tart or Nectarine Frangipani Tart.
Don't forget to save this recipe on Pinterest for later.
You can find a collection of my tutorials and recipes here on Pinterest.
Printable Recipe
Blackberry Nectarine Crumb Cake Recipe
Print Pin Rate Share by Email Share on FB Save GrowDescription
Video
Conversions Used
1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,
Ingredients
For the cake
- 8 oz (226 g) Unsalted butter ((2 sticks))
- 1 cup (200 g) White sugar
- 3 Eggs (large)
- 2 cups (250 g) All-Purpose Flour
- ½ cup (120 ml) Peach Jam (others work too)
- ½ cup (120 ml) Sour cream
- ½ cup (120 ml) Buttermilk
- 2 teaspoon Vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- 3 Peaches ((medium))
- 7 oz (200 g) Blackberries
- ½ teaspoon (0.5 teaspoon) Salt
For the crumb topping
- 1 cup (125 g) All-Purpose Flour
- 4 oz (113 g) Almond Flour ((almost 1 cup))
- ½ cup (100 g) Sugar ((about ½ cup))
- 1 teaspoon Mixed spices - Cinnamon, nutmeg, all-spice ((optional))
- ½ teaspoon Lemon zest
- 4 oz (113 g) Butter ((1 stick))
- ½ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 160C/320 F
- Cut the peaches in half, and slice them thin.
- If you cut them in advance - drizzle 1 teaspoon of lemon juice to prevent them from oxidizing.
- Sift the flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt - set aside.
- Chop the butter for crumb into small pieces but keep them chilled in the fridge until ready to use.Prepare crumb topping
- Place the flour, almond meal, sugar, lemon zest, salt, and spices in a food processor
- Lastly, add the chilled butter cubes
- Pulse for a few seconds at a time until it resembles breadcrumb consistency
- Alternatively, you can use your fingers to cut the butter into the dry mixture until it reaches breadcrumb consistency.
- Keep the crumb topping chilled in the fridge until ready to use.Prepare batter
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy
- Add eggs one at a time.
- Followed by the jam - combine well.
- Add the flour mix along with the sour cream and buttermilk.
- Lastly, add the vanilla.
- Pour the batter into an 8 x 8 square cake pan or 9 x 13 sheet pan (see notes above)
- Sprinkle the blackberries all over.
- I like to tuck them into the batter so they sink in.
- Layer the chopped peaches on top - they won't really be seen under the crumb.
- Sprinkle the prepared crumb topping all over generously.Bake
- Bake in a preheated oven for almost an hour until a skewer inserted in the center comes clean
- Cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes before you attempt to cut into it.
- This can be served as is and needs nothing else - but you are feeling indulgent serve with some freshly whipped cream.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Dominic
Made this cake last week. Use more blackberries than you mentioned and still turned out good. Was a bit sourer because of the blackberries but we liked it very much. Next time I will keep the same amount as you did so it's not so sour.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Roble. So happy you enjoyed this recipe and enjoyed it. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a lovely day.
Angel
Made this recipe last week. I used peaches instead and frozen blackberries. Was so good. The jam does really make a huge difference. THank you for sharing.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you, Roble. So happy you enjoyed this recipe and enjoyed it. Thanks for coming back to write this feedback. Have a lovely day.