Strawberry Sour Cream Streusel Cake

Moist and buttery with a fruity layer of puréed fresh strawberries and sweet raspberry jam with a delicious crunchy streusel topping, this lovely Strawberry Sour Cream Streusel Cake was inspired by a recipe by Nigella Lawson that was featured in the New York Times back in 2004. In the recipe, she suggests enjoying it slightly warm as a dessert, or served chilled as a coffeecake for breakfast the following day. The cake is slightly tricky to assemble, and at some point it may look like a mess, but everything comes together in the pan as it bakes, resulting in a tender and fragrant cake that's berryliciously good.

Strawberry Sour Cream Streusel Cake
Serves 8-10
Adapted from a recipe by Nigella Lawson, 'At My Table' in New York Times, 2004

Strawberry Purée:
8 oz fresh strawberries, hulled
3 tbsp strawberry or raspberry jam
2 tsp cornstarch
2 tsp vanilla extract

Cake and Crumb Topping: 
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
12 tbsp or 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 cup sour cream
1 large egg
1 tbsp vanilla extract
2 tsp turbinado sugar


In a blender, combine the strawberries and jam. Make a paste of the cornstarch and vanilla, and add it to the blender. Purée until smooth then set aside.

Heat oven to 375°F. Oil a 9-inch springform pan with a some vegetable oil and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the sugars, flours, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Sprinkle in the butter cubes and rub them in by hand until the mixture resembles large coarse crumbs. Remove 1/2 cup of the mixture and set aside. To a large bowl, add the sour cream, egg and vanilla and mix well.

Using a little over half of the cake batter, drop dollops of batter into the greased pan. Pat the batter across the bottom of the pan and about 1 inch up the sides — the mixture will be very sticky and somewhat uneven. Add the strawberry purée, making an even layer across the bottom of the pan, then cover with the remaining cake mixture.

In a medium bowl, combine the reserved 1/2 cup of dough and the turbinado sugar, and stir with a fork to mix, then sprinkle evenly over the cake. Bake until lightly golden, about 35-45 minutes. Cool slightly before releasing the cake from the springform pan, and allow to cool further before serving with some whipped cream or warm custard.