This juicy Vegan Cherry Crumble Cake is a popular German pie from Grandma’s recipe book that’s easy to make and so delicious! The fruity cake consists of a crumble dough for the crust and crumbly streusel topping as well as a juicy cherry pie filling.
The Best Cherry Cake with Crumble Topping
There are few things more tempting than a freshly baked cherry pie with a juicy filling and crunchy crumbles on top. The combination of juicy cherries, buttery pie crust and sweet crumbles makes this cake a real treat. In this blog post I would like to show you how you can bake this delicious vegan cherry crumble cake at home according to grandma’s old-fashioned recipe!
Cherry pie with fresh cherries or from the jar?
For this cherry pie recipe you can use fresh cherries as well as sour cherries from the jar. Of course, frozen cherries are also suitable! No matter which cherries you use – just make sure that they are pitted so that you don’t have any hard stones in the juicy cherry filling and you can enjoy the cake!
Are Cherries Good for You? – Health Benefits of Cherries
There are many benefits of eating cherries. In fact, cherries are a superfood! This small yet powerful red fruit is packed with vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds. They can also boost exercise recovery and may help improve your sleep quality. Here are some more health benefits:
Ingredients for the crumble cake with cherry filling
First of all, you need the following ingredients for the dough:
- all-purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- sugar
- vanilla sugar
- vegan butter
- slivered almonds (optional for the topping)
For the cherry filling you need the following ingredients:
- cherries
- cherry juice (from the cherries)
- cornstarch
- sugar
How to make the Best German Cherry Crumble Cake
As always, I recommend you watch the recipe video and check out step-by-step instructions first. For the full recipe with exact quantities, check out the recipe card below!
Step 1: Make the crumble dough
The first step is to make the dough. Put the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla sugar in a bowl and mix everything together. Next, add the cold vegan butter in small pieces and knead everything into a crumbly dough.
Now press about 2/3 of the dough evenly into a greased baking pan, forming a rim. Then put the baking dish with the dough base and the bowl with the remaining crumble dough in the refrigerator and prepare the filling in the meantime.
Step 2: Cook the cherry pie filling
For the cherry pie filling, first drain the cherries in a sieve, reserving the juice. Now bring 400 ml of cherry juice to a boil in a saucepan. Stir the remaining 100 ml of cherry juice in a measuring cup with the cornstarch until smooth.
As soon as the cherry juice in the pot comes to a boil, remove from the heat and stir in the slurry mixture with the sugar. Then bring the mixture to a boil again, stirring until it thickens. Then remove from the heat, fold in the cherries and let the compote cool a bit.
Step 3: Assemble the crumble cake
Now comes the exciting part – assemble the cherry crumble pie and bake it! First, get the baking pan with the batter out of the fridge. Then, prick the bottom a few times with a fork and spread the cherry compote on top. Finally, spread the rest of the crumble mixture, the almond flakes and some brown sugar on top. And the cake can finally go into the preheated oven. At 180 °C, the crumble cake needs about 45-50 minutes until it is lightly browned and baked through.
Serve Cherry Crumble Cake with Ice Cream or Whipped Cream
Just like apple pie and apple cake – homemade warm cherry pie fresh out of the oven tastes best, of course! However, to make the cake firm to the touch, let it cool completely after baking. Then remove it from the pan, cut it into pieces and dust with powdered sugar as desired. Enjoy with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of yogurt or freshly whipped cream for an extra creamy experience!
Tips for making the Best Cherry Crumble Cake
Here are some tips to make the perfect German cherry pie:
- Use fresh cherries if they are available. You can also use pitted cherries from a jar and use the drained juice directly for the compote!
- Be careful not to knead the dough too long. Mix the ingredients only until they are just combined. This will ensure that the dough stays nice and tender. Otherwise it will become though and chewy.
- If you want an extra crunchy crumble topping, you could add some ground almonds or chopped nuts to the crumble. This will give you extra flavor and texture variation.
- Bake the cherry pie on the middle rack in the preheated oven to ensure even browning. Follow the baking time in the recipe and check the cake occasionally to make sure it is not getting too dark. If it browns too quickly, simply cover loosely with parchment paper.
- After baking, allow the cake to cool completely before removing it from the pan. This will allow the cherry filling to firm up so the cake doesn’t fall apart.
How to store Cherry Pie?
You can store this vegan cherry crumble cake just like traditional American Cherry Pie. To preserve its freshness for as long as possible, you should follow the steps below:
- First let the cake cool completely and then cover it with a tea towel or kitchen paper. This will prevent moisture from forming on the cake.
- Cover the cake with a cake lid or store it in a container. This will prevent the cake from drying out or taking on strange odors.
- Store the cherry cake in a cool, dry place, preferably on the top shelf in the refrigerator. The lower temperature slows the growth of microorganisms and keeps the cake fresh longer.
- If you want to keep the cherry crumble cake for more than a few days, you could also freeze it. To do this, wrap the cake in several layers of plastic wrap and place it in a freezer bag. When thawing, let the cake thaw slowly in the refrigerator or at room temperature.
This Vegan Cherry Crumble Cake Recipe is:
- Easy to make
- Eggless
- Dairy-free
- Fruity
- Juicy
- Creamy
- with Cookie-like Crumble Topping
- Heavenly delicious
- The perfect dessert for coffee or tea for any occasion and every day!
More Vegan Cherry Cake Recipes
- Chocolate Cherry Cake
- Cherry Cheesecake Brownies
- Stracciatella Cherry Cake
- Cherry Pie
- Danube Wave Cake
- Mole Cake
- Vegan Chocolate Cake
- Tiramisu
- Black Forest Cake
- Cherry Poppy Seed Cheesecake
- Black Forest Cake Roll
- Cherry Yeast Rolls
Recipe Video
If you try this easy vegan German cherry cake with crumble topping, feel free to leave a comment and a rating below the recipe! And if you take a photo of your cherry pie and share it on Instagram or Facebook, please tag me @biancazapatka and use the hashtag #biancazapatka so I don’t miss your post! Happy baking! 😊
The Best Vegan Cherry Crumble Cake
Author:You do not have a fitting cake pan at hand right now? Try my Cake Pan Conversion Calculator!
Ingredients
Crumble Dough
- 3 ⅓ cup (400 g) flour all-purpose, spelt or gluten-free brand
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 pinch of salt
- ¾ cup (150) sugar
- ½ tbsp vanilla sugar or 1-2 tsp vanilla extract
- 8.5 oz (230 g) vegan butter cold & diced
Cherry Filling
- 24.7 oz canned cherries* pitted and drained
- 500 ml cherry juice from the cherries
- 10 tbsp (74 g) cornstarch or vanilla pudding powder
- 4 tbsp sugar
Topping
- 4 tbsp slivered almonds
Instructions
*Note: Check out the recipe video + step-by-step pictures above!
Crumble Dough
- Lightly grease the sides of a 10.2-inch (26 cm) springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla sugar. Add the cold diced vegan butter and knead briefly with your hands (or with the dough hooks of a food processor or hand mixer) until you have a crumbly dough. Press about ⅔ of the dough evenly into the prepared baking pan, forming a high rim (this is most easily done with the back of a tablespoon as shown in the video).
- Then place the baking pan and the bowl with the remaining crumble dough in the refrigerator and prepare the filling in the meantime.
Cherry Filling
- Drain the cherries in a sieve, reserving the juice. Bring 400 ml of cherry juice to a boil in a saucepan. In a measuring cup, stir the remaining 100 ml of cherry juice with the cornstarch until smooth. Once the cherry juice in the pot comes to a boil, briefly turn off the heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture with the sugar. Turn the stove on and bring the mixture to a boil again, stirring until it thickens. Then remove from the heat, fold in the cherries and let the compote cool a bit.
Crumble Cake
- In the meantime, preheat the oven to 356 °F (180 °C).
- Take the baking pan with the dough out of the refrigerator. Prick the bottom a few times with a fork. Spread the cherry compote on top and smooth it out. Sprinkle the rest of the crumble dough on top, and optionally some slivered almonds and a little brown sugar. Bake the cake for 45-50 minutes, until the crumble topping is lightly browned (if the cake gets too dark, cover the top with parchment paper. I cover it after 20 minutes).
- Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely on a cooling rack.
- Once the cake has cooled completely and is set, you can cut it into pieces and dust with powdered sugar as desired and/or serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of yogurt.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- Instead of canned cherries, you can also use fresh or frozen pitted cherries.
- The cake tastes freshly baked and the next day equally good! Find more information on storage and shelf life here.
- Many helpful tips and more information about the recipe are mentioned in the blog post above!
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