How long it takes: 20 minutes to prep, 55 minutes in the oven Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowls, measuring utensils, electric mixer, cake pan, oven Servings: 9 But what could be more perfect than coffee cake, especially homemade streusel coffee cake. Crunchy, crumbly, cinnamon sweet streusel just rings all the happy bells for me. You’re going to love this classic coffee cake recipe. I have a feeling you’ll be coming back to it again and again. Just the other night, I made this coffee cake for my book group and they raved about it. You know what? We discovered that coffee cake is not only perfect with a cup of coffee or tea but it’s also delicious with a glass of wine, too.
coffee cake Made From Scratch
Many coffee cake recipes start with a boxed mix but this coffee cake recipe is completely homemade. You probably have all the ingredients you need already in your pantry. While the ingredient list may look kind of long initially, you’ll notice the repetition of butter, flour, sugar, and cinnamon in each of the layers.
Three Layers:
moist buttery cake sweet cinnamon filling crunchy streusel topping
To make the cake: Butter, sugar, and eggs are beaten together until the mixture is nice and fluffy. The dry ingredients (flour, etc.) are added alternately with sour cream. The cake batter will be thick. Add the filling: A simple mixture of sugar and cinnamon with a teaspoon of cocoa (for a rich brown color) is sprinkled onto the batter and baked right in the cake. Spread half the batter into a pan, sprinkle on the filling mixture, and spread the other half of the batter on top. Sprinkle on streusel. The streusel is the “frosting” so this cake is ready to serve immediately – no need to frost it. That’s one of the reasons this coffee cake recipe is perfect for breakfast or brunch. Enjoy this homemade streusel coffee cake for a special brunch, afternoon coffee time with the neighbors, or as the sweet ending to a home cooked dinner.
What Is A Coffee Cake?
Maybe you’re wondering, does a coffee cake have coffee in it? Perhaps some thrifty cooks have used leftover coffee to make their cake but more often, sour cream is used, which gives the cake a rich flavor and light texture. Really, any kind of sweet cake that you enjoy with a cup of coffee can be called a coffee cake. Usually a coffee cake has a streusel or crumb topping which takes the place of frosting so that the cake is ready to eat when it comes out of the oven. Often a coffee cake will also contain fruit, like this cranberry orange coffee cake or peach coffee cake.
Possible Recipe Variations
Add nuts. Add a generous half cup of chopped walnuts or pecans to the streusel mixture before baking. Since my family has nut allergies, I have to skip the nuts but they are a great addition to this coffee cake recipe. Skip the filling if you want. This cake is delicious even without the cinnamon filling. Don’t have sour cream? Substitute Greek yogurt or buttermilk for the sour cream. Fancy version: Make a simple powdered sugar glaze to drizzle over the coffee cake after baking. Add a topping. Top with whipped cream or vanilla bean ice cream.
Storage Tips
Streusel coffee cake will keep 1 to 2 days at room temperature. To freeze: Wrap the cake very well, and freeze it for up to 3 months. Allow it to thaw about 90 minutes before using.
