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Hi Bold Bakers!
One of my favorite things to teach is how to make the things you think you can only buy at your local store. My Classic Coffee Cake is definitely like what you can buy in the store — but better and easier to make than you think. It comes complete with a thick layer of cinnamon pecan streusel and a sweet maple glaze that will wow any brunch!
This moist cake is packed with texture and sweetness, and it bakes up in no time into the most impressive bundt-style coffee cake thanks to my GoodCook 9 1/2 inch Angel Food Cake Pan. As the proud ambassador for GoodCook this pan will make sure you’re fully equipped to make a coffee cake 1000 times better than one you’ve ever bought.
[ In the mood for breakfast? Here’s my recipe for Perfect Pancakes! ]
Is There Any Coffee IN Coffee Cake?
So American coffee cake is a traditional sweet pound cake layered with a brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecan-laced streusel. The reason this beauty is called coffee cake is because it’s the perfect complement to a cup of coffee or a foamy latte — not because it has coffee in it! In Ireland, however, Coffee Cake is different — it’s a coffee flavored cake that you’d have with tea. My recipe is for the former!
The cake part of this recipe is similar to a pound cake. It’s super moist and tender thanks to sour cream. The difference in flavor and texture between a homemade coffee cake and one you pick up at the store is massive, as mine has 2 super thick layers of streusel and a glaze that isn’s just sweet but filled with maple flavor.
What is Streusel?
Without streusel, coffee cake is just a cake.
There’s no question about it, it’s this crunchy crumb topping that transforms the cake from regular, into Classic territory. And my recipe goes above and beyond as it doesn’t just have streusel on top, but a layer thick in the middle of the cake itself. For those of you who have never made a streusel, it’s a crumb-like topping made by combining butter, sugar and flour.
It’s really important to make this crumbly topping by hand, as it’s the different sized lumps of butter in the streusel mixture that bake up into a crunchy crumb. Streusel is honestly one of my favorite things, it’s what makes this coffee cake so iconic.
What Do I Use To Bake My Coffee Cake?
Coffee cake can be made in a flat sheet pan, but then it wouldn’t have the deep walls to allow for not one, but two layers of streusel. My GoodCook 9 1/2 inch Angel Food Cake Pan is the secret to not only the beautiful finish to this bundt-style cake, but it’s the depth of the pan that allows you to successfully layer up the cake and streusel.
I know using bundt tins or angel food pans can be intimidating as it can be sometimes be hard to remove the cakes, but the GoodCook 9 1/2 inch Angel Food Pan is complete with 2 pieces that are similar to a spring from tin. This means you can easily push the bottom of the pan up releasing the sides and removing the middle in one swoop.
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Classic Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Coffee Cake Streusel
- 1 ¾ cups (8 ¼ oz/247 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cup (7 ½ oz/213 g) pecans , chopped
- 1 cup (6 oz/170 g) dark brown sugar
- 1 ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup (6 oz/170 g) butter , cold and cubed
Coffee Cake Batter
- ½ cup (4 oz/115 g) butter , at room temperature
- 1 cup (8 oz/225 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs , at room temperature
- 1 cup (8 oz/225 g) sour cream
- 2 cups (10 oz/284 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Coffee Cake Maple Glaze
- ¾ cup (3 oz/85 g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons whole milk
Instructions
To Make the Coffee Cake Streusel
- In a large bowl, combine the flour, pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
- Using your fingers (or with a pastry cutter), rub in the butter until the mixture is crumbly. Set aside.
To Make the Coffee Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C), then butter and flour a 10 inch (25 cm) angel food cake pan.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (or using an electric mixer), cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Then mix in the sour cream until fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add this mixture into your wet ingredients and mix on low until just combined.
To Assemble the Coffee Cake
- Spoon half of the batter into the prepared angel food pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle half of the streusel over the batter.
- Top with the remaining batter, smooth the top and finish with the remaining streusel.
To Bake the Coffee Cake
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan for about 15 minutes.
To Make the Coffee Cake Maple Glaze and Decorate
- In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, maple syrup and milk until smooth.
- Remove the cake from the pan while still slightly warm and drizzle over the glaze.
To Serve and Store the Coffee Cake
- Serve warm with a cup of coffee or tea! Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Hi Gemma I made this cake today and OH MY GOD it was sooooo gooood . It was the best cake I have made yet.Even though I am just 12 but my family , friends,and my teachers loved it and all of them were asking for the recipe . Thankyou so much gemma for this . It is all because of you .You are the reason I started baking and now it is like my dream to be baker when I grow up . You have taught me how to do fearless baking . Thankyou soooo much Gemma . I… Read more »
I find your web site so full of ads and comments that it totally distracts from your recipes, I tried using your coffee cake recipe, had to read if 5 times to get it right, things keep popping up on the screen
Hi Gemma! I tried this recipe the other day and it was excellent! Thank you. I was just wondering, If I were to make this recipe in a regular loaf pan how much time should I bake them and to what temperature? Thanks again!♥️
Girl Girl Girl This cake should come in first place..Absolutely Delicious,My Husband said honey this is the best cake you have ever made!!
Hello is there a substitute to sourcream ?
Each year I make a coffee cake for our family Christmas brunch. I gave this recipe a trial run this week and it is a real winner! So moist and absolutely delicious! I know it will be a hit when I make one for Christmas this year. I only made two tiny change and that was to add a teaspoon of vanilla extract to the batter and to cut the salt back by half since I use salted butter in my baking. Beyond that, I made it as written and it’s perfection!
Thanks Gemma for another great recipe!
I did Gemma´s recipe in a cast iron pot with 24cm diameter, because i don´t have such a cake pan like in the recipe. It took 10 minutes longer in the oven but i went very well. The cake was crumbly, fluffy & moist at the same time. What i really like about the option baking it in a cast iron pot, is that i feel like, its longer fresh and does not dry out as fast because of the heavy lid. Sorry for any written mistakes i may have made, i´m not a native english speaker. Thank you very… Read more »
Hi Gemma, made this coffee cake last night for a friends gathering and was a BIG hit! ????.
I made this cake today, excellent!!!. I had to use a smaller pan ( do not have an angel food cake pan); reduced cooking time to 40 minutes and it came out perfect!!.
Hi,
Could you please post the recipe for the coffee flavoured cake… thanks in advance