The fresh flavor of sweet and tangy apricot jam with accents of fresh tarragon – the perfect combo to make this cream cheese crumb cake absolutely scrumptious! With a hefty topping of buttery streusel crumbs, this tender cake has four layers that add up to perfection. Serve this with a cup of coffee or tea for breakfast, after a meal , or for a snack anytime.
If you’re in the mood for a treat, you have to try this delicious apricot and tarragon cream cheese crumb cake! This recipe can take advantage of seasonal ingredients or you can easily use items that are always available.
When certain fruits show up in local markets, that’s the perfect time to catch them during their sometimes short season, or they’ll be gone before you had a chance to enjoy. For this delicious crumb cake, you’ll be using apricot jam and fresh tarragon herb.
The slightly licorice-y or fennel-y taste of the fresh tarragon goes well with many fruits and it really pairs nicely with apricot.
Why You’ll Love This Apricot and Tarragon Cream Cheese Crumb Cake
- It’s complex flavors come about with simple ingredients.
- You can use store-bought apricot jam or make some yourself.
- This is a very easy recipe and it tastes great!
- It’s perfect for breakfast, snacking with coffee or tea, or as a dessert.
If you want to make apricot jam, I’ll give you some general guidelines in the recipe card below. But don’t worry; you don’t have to make jam just to make this recipe! It will be delicious if you use apricot jam that you find at the store.
For this recipe you’ll need:
Classic cake ingredients:
- butter
- flour
- sugar
- salt
- eggs
- baking powder
- baking soda
- vanilla extract
You’ll also need:
- cream cheese
- Greek-style yogurt or plain yogurt
- fresh tarragon
- apricot jam
Let’s Make Some Apricot And Tarragon Cream Cheese Crumb Cake
You’ll preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 9-inch cake pan (cheesecake pan or regular cake pan will do; I use a cake pan) and if you choose, you can also line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper— I don’t and mine comes out fine!
You’ll have to think ahead a little bit in order to get your cream cheese, the jam, and the butter for the cake softened to room temperature.
The first step is to make the crumbs for the topping. It’s important that the butter is cold when you make the crumbs and I pop crumble mix into the fridge until I have prepared the rest of the cake layers.
Next, you’ll make the cream cheese layer, by simply mixing the softened ingredients until smooth and creamy —I do mine by hand but you can use a hand-held mixer also. Set aside.
Then you’ll make the cake layer. This recipe calls for one egg and one egg yolk, which makes it extra rich, along with the yogurt or sour cream. I usually use Greek style thick yogurt when I make this recipe, but either will do. And you won’t have an extra egg white floating around waiting to be used because that is used in the cream cheese filling layer!
You’ll spread the cake layer evenly on the bottom of the cake pan.
Then, carefully spread the cream cheese layer on top of the cake layer and then very carefully spoon the jam over the top of the cream cheese layer – it’s so much easier to spread when the jam is room temperature so it will glide over the cream cheese layer. Spoon the jam making several large “blobs” over the cream cheese. Then carefully spread the blobs together until they cover the surface.
Now it’s time to get those gorgeous crumbs out of the fridge and sprinkle them all over the top of the jam layer. You might think that there are too many crumbs, but use them all! As the cake rises it will separate the crumbs and you will be so happy that you have so many big and small buttery crumbs that cover your cake in a nice, thick layer! Trust me on this one—more is better when it comes to crumbs on crumb cake!
Then pop the cake into the oven to bake. Don’t over-bake this cake! Be sure to do a toothpick check about two-thirds through the baking time, but you’ll have to slide the toothpick in at an angle to avoid it picking up the gooey cream cheese and jam layers. You don’t want the cake to be too dry. It’s ready when the crumbs are slightly browned around the edges and the toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
Apricot and tarragon cream cheese crumb cake is super delish and can be eaten warm or when cooled or refrigerated. We love it warm; it’s amazing! The little green flecks of tarragon look so pretty and its delicate flavor is a nice subtle addition to the cake. Of course, we also love it after it has been refrigerated. In fact, we’re surprised at how quickly the whole cake disappears in our house!
Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this recipe.
Apricot And Tarragon Cream Cheese Crumb Cake
Ingredients
For The Crumble Topping:
- 3 TBSP chilled butter
- ⅓ cup sugar
- ½ cup flour
For The Cream Cheese Filling:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 egg white
- ¼ cup sugar
For The Apricot Jam Layer (for homemade jam see notes below):
- 1½-2 cups apricot jam
For The Cake:
- 5.5 TBSP unsalted butter softened to room temperature
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- ¾ cup Greek style thick yogurt or sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cups flour
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 TBSP finely chopped fresh tarragon
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and grease and flour a 9-inch cake pan (a cheesecake pan or a regular cake pan will do; your choice; I use a cake pan but if you want to remove the whole cake for presentation, use a spring form pan). Optional: you can also line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper; I don't and the cake did not stick to the pan.
For The Streusel Crumb Topping:
- Combine the sugar and flour in a bowl. Cut in the cold butter and, using a fork or your fingers, crumble the ingredients together until they form crumbles that do not fall apart. Be sure that all the flour is incorporated into buttery crumbs! Set in the fridge until ready to use.
For The Cream Cheese Layer:
- Either by hand or with a hand held mixer, blend softened cream cheese and sugar together until creamy. Add the egg white and blend until just incorporated. Set aside.
For The Cake Layer:
- Mix the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together the butter and sugar on low-medium speed or by hand. Add the egg, egg yolk, and vanilla and blend together. Add in half of the yogurt and alternate half of the dry ingredients then the rest of the yogurt and flour until all ingredients are incorporated.
- Mix in the chopped tarragon and gently stir.
To Assemble:
- Spoon/pour the cake batter into the prepared cake pan and smooth to an even layer.
- Spoon the cream cheese onto the cake layer and gently smooth to the edges with the back of a spoon.
- Add the jam to the top of the cream cheese in large blobs and then gently smooth the blobs together to make one even layer without mixing the jam into the cream cheese. Leave about ¼ inch uncovered around the edges.
- Remove the crumble from the fridge and sprinkle the crumbs liberally over the top of the cake, trying to leave no area uncovered. Use all of the crumbs, even to the edges of the pan!
- Place the cake in a preheated oven and bake for approximately 45 minutes, or until a toothpick or tester comes out clean. Check at 30 minutes to make sure that you do not over cook the cake.
- Allow the cake to cool until just warm before slicing or removing from pan.
Notes
If you don’t have fresh tarragon, you can still make this cake! It will be yummy…
You can also substitute apricot jam with other fruit or berry preserves or with 1 – 1.5 cups of fresh fruit sprinkled over the cream cheese layer. For homemade apricot jam: Cut fresh ripe apricots into small chunks… about 4 cups of chopped fruit. Place the chopped fruit in the bottom of a large heavy-bottomed pot… I use a stainless one and you want to make sure it is heavy enough so the fruit does not burn while it’s cooking. Add 1 cup of sugar. Stir to coat the apricot pieces with sugar and bring the pot to a boil. As the sugar melts and starts to liquefy, add about 1/2 cup of water. You’re going to boil this on medium high heat until the fruit has softened and melted down, and the sugar has thickened so that the juice will hold its shape – I usually test it several times on a ceramic plate. If your apricots are very sweet and not tangy, you can add a tablespoon of lemon juice. Taste the jam for sweetness and add more sugar if needed. See, I told you, it’s not really a recipe!