Coffee Cake
This deliciously moist, vanilla-scented cake features a cinnamon-brown sugar swirl in the middle, and buttery streusel on top. As it bakes, the batter puffs up and creates delectably sweet, cinnamon-sugar laced peaks and valleys. Excellent served with coffee (hence the name), but equally fabulous with hot chocolate, tea, and warm apple cider. And since it’s easy to make (and make ahead), it’s ideal for cozy breakfasts and brunch all year long.
This recipe was written for the Arizona Republic.
Two bowls and a baking dish, that’s all you need. This cake requires very few ingredients (mostly pantry staples), two bowls, one whisk, and a baking dish. No electric mixer required! That means, it’s a cinch to prepare and clean-up is a breeze.
Ingredients for this coffee cake
- Flour. We use 3 cups of all-purpose flour for this cake, and any brand works. A gluten-free flour mix with a 1:1 ratio may be substituted.
- Sugar. Two types of sugar are used in this recipe – granulated sugar in the batter and brown sugar in the cinnamon swirl and streusel topping. The granulated sugar sweetens the cake portion, and the brown sugar adds caramel-like, molasses nuances. You may use light or dark brown sugar.
- Eggs. You’ll need 2 large eggs for this recipe, and they should be at room temperature – room temperature eggs incorporate better into batters.
- Oil. I like the way vegetable oil creates a moist crumb for this cake, and we use 1 cup. If desired, you may swap in ½ cup applesauce or yogurt for ½ cup of the oil.
- Milk. We use 1¼ cups milk for the batter, and I preferable whole milk for its richness. Reduced-fat and fat-free milk will work just fine.
- Butter. Drizzling butter over the cake before baking creates a crumbly, buttery top, and ensures that the brown sugar mixture adheres to the batter.
- Vanilla. Use pure vanilla extract for superior flavor.
- Baking powder. One tablespoon of baking powder provides the lift the batter needs to rise in the oven.
- Cinnamon. We use a hefty amount of ground cinnamon in this recipe, so make sure you have enough in your spice rack. If desired, you may swap in pumpkin pie spice.
- Salt. A pinch of salt elevates the sweetness of both sugars.
Tips and variations
- Use room temperature eggs. As mentioned above, room temperature eggs incorporate better. If you forget to remove the eggs from the fridge, soak them in room temperature water for about 10 to 15 minutes before using.
- Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon just before using. This ensures the brown sugar doesn’t clump.
- Dollop the batter over the filling. When adding the second half of the batter (over the brown sugar mixture), drop dollops evenly over the surface and then gently spread the dollops out using a silicon spatula or butter knife. It’s OK if some of the brown sugar mixture gets woven into the batter.
- Add fruit. For a fruit-filled coffee cake, fold about 1½ cups of diced apples, blueberries, strawberries, or mixed berries into the batter before baking. When using frozen fruit, there’s no need to thaw it first. When adding fresh and/or frozen fruit, you may need to increase the baking time by 5 to 10 minutes.
- Add nuts. For a nut streusel, add about ½ cup of chopped walnuts, pecans, or almonds to the brown sugar topping.
Storing this coffee cake. Once cool, transfer the coffee cake to an airtight container and store at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze up to 3 months (when freezing, you can also wrap the cake in plastic wrap and then foil). There’s no need to refrigerate this cake (and refrigerating can dry the cake out). Thaw frozen cake overnight at room temperature.
Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1¼ cups milk, preferably whole
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 1/3 cups packed brown sugar
- 4 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 13×9-inch baking dish with cooking spray or a thin layer of butter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla extract.
- In a separate bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt. Mix well.
- Add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and mix until well blended.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan.
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well.
- Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture evenly over the batter in the pan.
- Dollop the remaining batter over top and spread out to cover the brown sugar. It’s OK if some of the cinnamon sugar gets swirled into the batter.
- Sprinkle the remaining brown sugar mixture evenly over the batter.
- Drizzle the melted butter over the top.
- Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a wooden pick comes out with moist crumbs clinging to it. When checking, gently shake the pan. If it’s still jiggly in the middle, check again in 5 minutes.