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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
Streusel topping and center:
- 1 3/4 cups (8 3/4oz/247g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (6oz/170g) brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (6oz/170g) butter, cold and cubed
- 1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cup (7 1/2oz/213g) pecans, chopped
Coffee cake:
- 1/2 cup (4 oz/115g) butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup (8oz/225g) sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup (8oz/225g) sour cream
- 2 cups (10oz/284g) all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
Maple Glaze:
- 3/4 cup (3oz/85g) powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C), then butter a 9.5 inch GoodCook Angel food cake pan.
Make the streusel topping:
- Make the streusel topping: Mix together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or rub in with your fingers until small to medium clumps form. Mix in pecans.
For the Coffee Cake:
- On a stand mixer or using an electric hand mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Beat in eggs 1 at a time.
- Add in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sour cream and mix until just combined.
- Spoon half the batter into the prepared angel food pan. Sprinkle 1/2 the streusel mixture evenly over batter. Top with remaining batter, and spread evenly using a spatula. Lastly, sprinkle remaining streusel topping evenly over the top.
- Bake for 55 to 65 minutes or until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
While the coffee cake is baking make the glaze:
- In a small bowl whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and maple syrup until you have a smooth shiny glaze.
- Once the cake is baked remove it from the oven and transfer the pan to a wire rack, and let cool slightly. Remove from the pan and while the cake is still warm drizzle over the glaze.
- Cover and store the coffee cake at room temperature for 3-4 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 »
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
If I make this in a 9 x 13 glass pan is the cooking time the same?