Equipment
Ingredients
Brown Butter Base
- 230 g unsalted butter, diced
Crumb Topping
- 125 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g light brown sugar, packed
- 3 g ground cinnamon
- 1 g salt
Cake Batter
- 250 g all-purpose flour
- 4 g baking powder
- 2 g baking soda
- 3 g salt
- 150 g light brown sugar, packed
- 50 g granulated sugar
- 2 eggs, room temperature
- 5 ml vanilla extract
- 180 ml buttermilk, room temperature
- 300 g peaches, diced into 1cm cubes
Maple Glaze (Optional)
- 60 g powdered sugar
- 30 ml maple syrup
- 15 ml milk
Nutrition (per serving)
Nutrition is estimated per serving. Nutrients without complete source data are omitted.
Full nutrition
- Calories
- 537 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbohydrates
- 78 g
- Fat
- 23 g
- Fiber
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 45 g
- Sodium
- 339 mg
- Saturated Fat
- 13 g
- Monounsaturated Fat
- 7 g
- Polyunsaturated Fat
- 1 g
- Cholesterol
- 97 mg
- Potassium
- 208 mg
- Calcium
- 102 mg
- Iron
- 1.1 mg
- Magnesium
- 20 mg
- Phosphorus
- 110 mg
- Zinc
- 0.7 mg
- Vitamin A
- 202 mcg
- Vitamin C
- 2 mg
- Vitamin D
- 0.2 mcg
- Vitamin E
- 1.0 mg
- Vitamin K
- 3 mcg
- Vitamin B6
- 0.1 mg
- Vitamin B12
- 0.2 mcg
- Thiamin
- 0.07 mg
- Riboflavin
- 0.16 mg
- Niacin
- 0.9 mg
- Folate
- 20 mcg
- Water
- 69 g
- Alcohol
- 0 g
Sources: USDA FoodData Central
Method
Place the diced unsalted butter in a light-colored skillet over medium heat. Cook until the butter melts, foams, and the milk solids at the bottom turn a deep golden brown while releasing a rich, nutty aroma.
Immediately transfer the browned butter, including all the toasted flecks from the bottom of the pan, into a heat-proof measuring jug. Allow it to cool to room temperature.
Preheat the oven to 175C/350F.
Line a 23x23cm square baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides for easy removal.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, light brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt for the crumb topping. Whisk to distribute evenly.
Pour exactly 65g of the cooled brown butter into the crumb dry ingredients. Toss briskly with a fork until cohesive clumps and coarse crumbs form, then set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, whisk the remaining cooled brown butter (approximately 115g) with the light brown sugar, granulated sugar, room temperature eggs, and vanilla extract until deeply combined and smooth.
In a separate small mixing bowl, thoroughly whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt for the cake batter.
Using a rubber spatula, alternate folding the dry ingredients and the buttermilk into the wet brown butter mixture. Begin and end with the dry ingredients, mixing just until no dry streaks remain.
Gently fold the diced peaches into the batter until evenly distributed.
Scrape the thick batter into the prepared baking pan, smoothing the surface into an even layer. Scatter the reserved crumb topping generously over the entire surface.
Bake in the preheated oven at 175C/350F for 45 to 55 minutes, or until the cake is set.
Remove the cake from the oven and set the pan on a wire cooling rack. Allow the cake to cool completely before attempting to remove or slice it.
While the cake cools, whisk the powdered sugar, maple syrup, and milk in a small bowl until a smooth, pourable glaze forms.
Once the cake has cooled, use the parchment overhang to lift it onto a cutting board. Drizzle the maple glaze evenly across the crumb surface, then slice and serve.
Chef's Notes
- Browning butter evaporates its water content, which concentrates the fat. A 230g portion of raw butter will yield roughly 180g of liquid brown butter. Always use a spatula to scrape the pan well to capture all the deeply toasted milk solids.
- For the most vibrant peach flavor, use firm but ripe fresh peaches. Leaving the skin on provides beautiful flecks of color and a slight tartness that balances the rich brown sugar and maple flavors.
- When alternating wet and dry ingredients, starting and ending with the dry ingredients helps the fat absorb the liquid more evenly, preventing the batter from breaking or separating.
- Do not rush the cooling step for the brown butter. If it is too hot when added to the eggs, it may scramble them. If it is too hot for the crumb topping, it will create a dense paste rather than distinct streusel clumps.
Storage
Refrigerator: 5 days — Store in an airtight container to prevent the crumb topping from becoming soggy.
Freezer: 3 months — Wrap individual slices tightly in plastic wrap before freezing.
Reheating: Microwave a chilled slice for 15 to 20 seconds, or warm in a 150C/300F oven for 5 minutes.
Troubleshooting
Crumb topping melted into the cake during baking.
Cause: The brown butter was too warm when mixed with the crumb ingredients, causing the fat to melt the sugar prematurely.
Fix: Cannot be fixed texturally, but it will still taste delicious as a caramelized crust.
Prevention: Ensure the brown butter is completely cooled to room temperature before forming the crumb. Chill the crumb mixture for 10 minutes if it feels overly greasy.
Cake texture is dense, rubbery, or heavy.
Cause: Overmixing the batter after the flour was added, which develops too much gluten.
Fix: Cannot be fixed
Prevention: Fold the dry ingredients and buttermilk into the batter gently by hand, stopping the moment the last streak of flour disappears.
Peaches sank directly to the bottom of the cake.
Cause: The peaches carried excess moisture, or the batter was too thin to suspend them.
Fix: Cannot be fixed
Prevention: If using thawed frozen peaches or very juicy fresh peaches, pat them dry with a paper towel and toss them in a small pinch of flour before folding them into the batter.
Cultural Context
Crumb cake, or Streuselkuchen, originated in Germany and was heavily popularized in the United States by European immigrants opening bakeries in New York. This variation modernizes the classic coffee shop staple by incorporating French browned butter, known as beurre noisette, which elevates the traditional profile with deeply toasted, nutty undertones. The addition of fresh summer peaches and maple syrup transforms it into a bridge between late summer harvests and early autumn baking.
