Cinnamon Coffee Cake
For me, cinnamon coffee cake is one of those nostalgic foods that bring back memories of sitting at a coffee shop, studying biology late into the night. Wondering what I would ever do with a biology degree. Who knew the coffee cake I was snacking on would have way more to do with my future career than the books I so dutifully poured over.
Does Coffee Cake Have Caffeine?
Does coffee cake have coffee? No! Traditional coffee cake doesn’t have caffeine or coffee. It’s called coffee cake because it’s a cake you eat while drinking coffee.
What is coffee cake made of?
In doing research for this recipe I found one of the most common questions about coffee cake is “what is coffee cake made of?” It’s a fair question. Unlike other cakes it’s made with layers, only one of which is cake batter. The mystery ingredient most of us are curious about is the coffee cake with streusel.
What is streusel?
Streusel has German origins and is a crumbly mixture made of butter, flour, sugar, and sometimes spices. (Not to be confused with strudel which is a dessert made of layers of pastry and fruit). Coffee cakes come in lots of different shapes, sizes, and textures. Some only have streusel on top, while others (like mine) have layers of the sweet, buttery crumb throughout the cake.
How do you make coffee cake?
Layers of buttery cake batter are sprinkled with cinnamon sugar streusel and baked to perfection. Optionally a sweet icing is drizzled on top to just a hint of vanilla.
How do you store coffee cake?
If you’ve got a crowd to feed the good news is this cake stays fresh at room temperature for 2 days. Just keep it in the pan and cover with plastic wrap and keep in a cool, dry place on the counter. But, if you’re like me, and only have a couple mouths to feed then freezing is a great option. To freeze slice the cake into individual slices and wrap each slice in plastic wrap, then aluminum foil. Next place those slices in a zip top freezer bag. They’ll keep in the freezer for 2-3 months. When you’re ready to eat a slice simply place it on the counter the night before (keeping it wrapped in its plastic and foil) and enjoy it in the morning.
The best Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup molasses
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbs cinnamon
- 1 1/2 sticks melted butter
- 2 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1 1/8 cup white sugar
- 1 tbs baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 sticks butter softened, but not all the way to room temp
- 1 & 1/3 cup sour cream (separated)
- 4 eggs
- 1 tbs vanilla
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Splash of warm water (until desired consistency is reached)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- In a small bowl add 1 cup white sugar and 1/4 cup molasses.
- Using a fork combine until the molasses is fully incorporated into the sugar.
- In a large bowl combine the rest of the streusel ingredients (flour, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter) and stir to combine.
- The texture will be crumbly and a little sticky.
- Cover and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low to combine.
- Dice your softened, but still slightly chilled butter into chunks and slowly incorporate those chunks into the flour mixture with the stand mixer on low.
- Slowly add 1/3 cup of the sour cream to the flour butter mixture and mix on low until incorporated.
- In a separate medium sized bowl add the remaining 1 cup of sour cream, 4 eggs, and 1 tablespoon vanilla and whisk until fully combined.
- With the stand mixer on low add the wet egg mixture to the dry flour mixture in three separate pours. (Add 1/3 of the wet mixture to the flour mixture and mix until incorporated, then repeat with the remaining 2/3 of the wet mixture).
- Don’t over mix! Scrape the bowl as needed and continue to mix on low until all ingredients are fully combined. Some chunks will remain in the batter and that’s ok.
- Prepare a square or rectangle casserole dish by spraying non-stick baking spray.
- Add 1/3 of the cake batter to the casserole dish. Then sprinkle 1/3 of the streusel topping on top. Repeat with the remaining 2/3 of the cake batter and streusel mixture.
- Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, check to make sure the cake and streusel are not getting too brown. If it looks like it is getting too brown loosely cover with aluminum foil for remainder of baking time.
- Bake another 15 minutes, then check for doneness by inserting a knife in the center of the cake. If the knife comes out clean, then your cake is done. If it doesn’t continue baking until the knife comes out clean.
- Cool cake for 20-30 minutes then prepare your icing by mixing 1 cup of powdered sugar with a splash of warm water until the desired icing consistency is reached.
- Use a spoon to drip your icing onto your cake.
- Enjoy immediately! Store on in a cool dry area of your counter covered with plastic wrap for 1-2 days. See article for details on freezing.
