In the Czech kitchen: How to make a perfect crumb cake at home

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1.Preheat your oven to 165°C (325°F). Grease a 30 cm round pan with cold butter and dust with flour.
2.In a mixing bowl, combine all the cake ingredients except the farmer's cheese. Gently mix with an electric mixer until just combined.
3.Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
4.Arrange your sliced fruit over the top and spoon small dollops of sweetened farmer's cheese across the surface.
5.For the crumble, combine flour and sugar, then add the cold butter. Rub the mixture between your fingers until coarse crumbs form. Sprinkle the crumble evenly over the cake.
6.Bake for 30–35 minutes, or until the topping is golden brown and the cake is baked through.

Use quality ingredients: Don’t skimp on the basics—choose free-range eggs, high-quality flour, full-fat yogurt, and fresh, ripe fruit. Pastacaffé's most popular variations feature strawberries, raspberries, or apricots, but you can also use rhubarb, blueberries, gooseberries, cherries, or blackberries.
Prep your pan: Grease the pan with cold butter for the best non-stick result. The butter creates a film that holds the flour in place.
Baking powder basics: Mix baking powder with flour first to ensure it doesn’t activate too early. This keeps your cake light and airy, as the baking powder reacts with the liquid ingredients only when needed.
Perfecting the crumble: Chop your cold butter into small pieces and keep it chilled until you’re ready to use it. Work quickly to prevent the butter from melting into the flour. You can even prepare the crumble a day in advance and store it in the fridge or freezer. Want to jazz it up? Add a pinch of cinnamon, nutmeg, or citrus zest for extra flavor.