Crumbl Copycat Butter Cake from Cookies and Cups

Crumbl Copycat Butter Cake - made May 19, 2025 from Cookies and Cups 

1 cup salted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar plus more for coating the ramekins

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 large eggs

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup buttermilk

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Prepare 6-ounce ramekins by spraying with nonstick cooking spray, lining the bottoms with a parchment round and coating with large sugar granules.
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and 1 cup granulated sugar on medium speed for 5 minutes, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl to keep mixture even textured. 
3. Add the vanilla extract, baking powder and salt; mix for 30 seconds.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition. On low speed add the flour and buttermilk in alternating additions, beginning and ending with the flour, until just combined and smooth.
5. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared ramekins, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the centers comes out with a few moist crumbs.

It's no secret that I love Crumbl's Butter Cake. And although I haven't gone to Crumbl in weeks (I know, I know, who am I?), I always make it a point to go when the Butter Cake or the Caramel Butter Toffee Cake are on the menu. So I was glad to find this copycat recipe to try out, especially since it's from Cookies and Cups, who reliably has very good recipes.

This one was good too, as a butter cake. I don't know that I quite consider it a copycat though. One of the reasons I like Crumbl's version so much is the denseness of the cake and this one was a bit lighter. That doesn't make it bad, just not quite an exact replica of the original. The other reason I like Crumbl's are the sugar crystals on the outside which give the cake a bit of crunch. I didn't have large sugar crystals but I did have larger-than-granulated-sugar crystals that I coated the ramekins with. In hindsight, I should have been more generous with the coating as the sugar crystals seemed to melt more into the cake rather than stayed intact to provide the crunch. Or else I need larger sugar crystals.

So, ultimately, this was a great, very buttery cake. But I will still be going to Crumbl's for theirs and am still looking for more copycat recipes to try.