COFFEE CRUMB CAKE

Although I am not a fan of coffee; on the other hand, this cake is an all-time favorite of mine, and obviously doesn’t require any coffee! It is really hard to find a coffee cake that isn’t dense, dry and overly thick with not much flavor. It was my mission to create the complete opposite. Some may argue that it should be dense and don’t mind it being a little dry because they can always dunk it in their coffee, and if it isn’t, it will fall apart in their cup. In my eyes, nothing is worse than a dense dry cake, i’d rather have something moist, with a wet crumble that i can eat alongside my coffee. That way it wont ever call apart in your coffee. Usually when creating recipes where I want a lot of moisture, I think of every wet ingredient that would help bring out flavors as well as not dry it out.

If you have ever had the boxed coffee cake, they were so incredibly good growing up and were extremely easy to make. Another favorite was Starbucks, they have a really amazing coffee cake that, when warmed up, was fresh tasting, moist and made you want to go back and order more. These two childhood memories were exactly my inspiration for creating a boxed coffee cake meets Starbucks version. There is absolutely nothing better than creating your own take on a fan favorite. Growing up I always thought coffee cake had coffee, but when I learned it is quite honestly just a cake with cinnamon sugar swirl and topped with streusel, it changed the game for me.

So here we have, my very own Coffee Crumb Cake, made with a delicious crumble of sugar, cinnamon, butter & flour on top of two buttery soft cake layers swirled with cinnamon sugar nestled between.

TIPS

LAYERING MAY BE DIFFICULT – although it does not need to be perfect, you may find it difficult to spread the second layer of batter on top of the cinnamon sugar mixture without it getting stuck and lifting up the batter with the cinnamon sugar. I usually put less batter on the bottom layer, leaving more for the top layer which will make it easier to spread. Put several dollops of batter all over the top of the cinnamon sugar, take an offset spatula, spread the batter to the edges bringing the spatula to the end and scraping it all the way across the edge of the pan . If you bring your spatual to the edge and then lift upwards it will bring the batter with the spatial and end up making the cinnamon sugar lift as well. Scrape your spatual all the way across scraping the excess batter off on the side of the pan each time. You want to use one motion each even spread. The edge of your pan all the way around will have batter up against it and that is okay. Again, this isn’t rocket science and does not require a perfectly layered cake.

PAN SIZE – pan size does not matter just make sure to adjust the baking time accordingly. I know this recipe requires a larger pan but if you feel you don’t need that much and want to make a thicker cake in a smaller pan, by all means do not hesitate to switch things up. I have used an 8 x 10, 9 x 13, and a 9 x 9 as well. I have also made these into muffins, baked donuts and a bundt cake. It is really all about preference and presentation. If you are making a bundt cake just remember that, when flipped out of the pan, the crumble will be on the bottom and not the top. It will always taste the same no matter the pan or shape, it will just look a little different. Be sure to add a vanilla or cinnamon glaze on top if you would life especially after flipping over the bundt cake and the streusel is on the bottom. Just remember, adjust the bake time accordingly!

Always want your toothpick to come out with some moist crumbs on it. If it comes out dry it may have been baked too long and obviously if it is still wet it needs more time. If some moist crumbs stick to the toothpick that means it has cooked perfectly – moist, soft and fluffy!

COFFEE CRUMB CAKE

Recipe by sugaredkneadsCourse: CAKES; DESSERT

Servings

9-12

servings

Prep time

30

minutes

Cooking time

35

minutes

Ingredients

• COFFEE CAKE

• 2 cups of All Purpose Flour

• 1 Teaspoon of baking powder

• ½ teaspoon salt

• 2 eggs; room temperature

• 1 cup of granulated sugar

• 1 cup of sour cream/plain greek yogurt

• ½ cup unsalted butter; softened

• 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

• 1/2 cup buttermilk

• FILLING

• ½ cup of brown sugar

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

• CRUMB TOPPING

• 1 cup of flour

• 1 cup of brown sugar

• 4 teaspoons cinnamon

• ½ cup melted butter

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 8×10 (what I use) or 9×14 in pan or line with parchment paper
• Beat 1 stick of softened butter (1/2 cup) and 1 cup of sugar for 2 mins
• Whisk dry ingredients together – flour, baking soda, baking powder, & salt; set aside
• Make the filling by adding the brown sugar & cinnamon together, set aside
• Make streusel topping by melting butter and adding all ingredients to a bowl; combine using fork or spatula; set aside
• Whisk sour cream and buttermilk in a bowl
• Add eggs one at a time to butter and sugar mixture. Add Vanilla extract
• Take off of stand mixer and add in buttermilk/sour cream mixture & dry ingredients; stir to combine
• ASSEMBLING CRUMB CAKE
• Take half of your batter and spread it out in the baking dish
• Add the cinnamon sugar filling mixture evenly all over
• Add the remaining batter – this will seem difficult, use a small offset icing spatula for easier spread
• Sprinkle all the streusel on top
• Bake for 35-40 mins until a toothpick comes out with a few wet crumbs