Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (2024)

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My Classic Coffee Cake has a thick layer of cinnamon pecan streusel, a sweet maple glaze, and the honor of being much, much better than what you can buy in a store.

By Gemma Stafford | | 461

Last updated on November 11, 2019

Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (1)

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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 streuseland 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. Asthe proud ambassador for GoodCook this pan will make sure you’refully 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, andpecan-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.

Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (2)

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.

Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (3)

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Classic Coffee Cake

4.49 from 304 votes

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My Classic Coffee Cake has a thick layer of cinnamon pecan streusel, a sweet maple glaze, and the honor of being much, much better than what you can buy in a store.

Author: Gemma Stafford

  • Dessert
  • Nuts
  • Baking Pans
  • Electric Mixer

Prep Time 25 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

My Classic Coffee Cake has a thick layer of cinnamon pecan streusel, a sweet maple glaze, and the honor of being much, much better than what you can buy in a store.

Author: Gemma Stafford

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

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.

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Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (10)

Arshiya

4 years ago

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 . IRead more »

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Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (11)

4 years ago

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

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Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (12)

Daniela

4 years ago

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!♥️

Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (13)

3 years ago

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!!

5

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Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (14)

Sandra James

3 years ago

Hello is there a substitute to sourcream ?

4

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Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (15)

Sue

4 years ago

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!

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Tineke

5 years ago

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 veryRead more »

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Andrea8335

3 years ago

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!!.

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Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (18)

Jibi

4 years ago

Hi,
Could you please post the recipe for the coffee flavoured cake… thanks in advance

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Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (19)

Lyn Handley

5 years ago

If I make this in a 9 x 13 glass pan is the cooking time the same?

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About Us

Meet Gemma

Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (26)

About Us

Meet Gemma

Hi Bold Bakers! I’m Gemma Stafford, a professional chef originally from Ireland, a cookbook author, and the creator of Bigger Bolder Baking. I want to help you bake with confidence anytime, anywhere with my trusted and tested recipes and baking tips. You may have seen one of my 500+ videos on YouTube & TikTok or as a guest judge on Nailed It! on Netflix or the Best Baker in America on Food Network. No matter your skills, my Bold Baking Team & I want to be your #1 go-to baking authority.

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Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (27)

Classic Coffee Cake Recipe - Gemma’s Bigger Bolder Baking (2024)

FAQs

Do bigger cakes take longer to cook? ›

Cakes in larger pans will generally bake faster (about . 9 minutes per ounce of batter in a 10-inch pan), while cakes in smaller pans will often take longer (up to two minutes per ounce for a 6-inch pan).

What makes coffee cake taste like coffee cake? ›

2) Add Coffee to Your Cream and Icing

Another way to add zing to a coffee cake recipe is to put more coffee in the cream, the icing and pretty much everything else. Again, you can do so in the form of super-strong liquid coffee if preferred, or go the dry way.

What's the difference between coffee cake and regular cake? ›

The difference between coffee cake and regular cake is the topping. Coffee cake and regular cake are made with the same ingredients like flour, sugar, eggs, and butter and a leavening agent like baking powder. The difference is that instead of frosting on top, coffee cakes have crumble or streusel.

How do you increase the flavor of coffee in a cake? ›

Here's how we made it happen:
  1. Infuse the Batter With Coffee Two Ways. Bakers know that that the easiest way to get coffee flavor into a baked good is to add instant espresso powder to the batter. ...
  2. Add a Mocha Swirl. ...
  3. Pack the Crumb Topping with Coffee, Too. ...
  4. Finish with a Boozy Latte Glaze.
Apr 28, 2015

How do you adjust the baking time for a large cake? ›

It is hard to tell how much you will need to adjust the time by as this will depend on the size difference but for a larger pan start checking 10-15 minutes prior to the stated time, and for a smaller pan add time in 5-minute increments until it is baked.

How do you adjust the baking time on a bigger cake pan? ›

Just increase the oven temp by 25 degrees F and decrease the bake time by a quarter. In this particular example, since your pan is 1 inch larger, more surface area will be exposed. The liquid in the cake batter will evaporate quicker, which means it will bake faster.

What is the fancy name for coffee cake? ›

American Coffee cake—also referred to as gugelhupf or Austrian German: kaffekuchen—evolved from other sweet dishes from Vienna. In the 17th century, Northern/Central Europeans are thought to have come up with the idea of eating sweet cakes while drinking coffee.

Why is my coffee cake so dry? ›

A dry cake is usually the result of one of the following pitfalls: using the wrong ingredients, making mistakes while measuring or mixing the batter, or baking the cake too long or at too high a temperature. Once you understand which common cake-baking blunders to avoid, you'll know how to bake a moist cake every time.

Why is my coffee cake so dense? ›

Six common baking-fails, and how they can be prevented. Your cake is too dense A cake that is overly dense typically has too much liquid, too much sugar or too little leavening (not excess flour, as is commonly thought).

What coffee is best in cake? ›

A dark roast or robust espresso will give rich, hearty treats plenty of depth, while a lighter, fruitier variety won't overpower a delicate dessert. Follow the recipe's instructions for coffee temperature, too.

What is in a Bakers Treat coffee cake? ›

Sugar, enriched flour (bleached wheat flour, malted barley flour, niacin, ferrous sulfate or reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), water, soybean oil, brown sugar, corn syrup, butter (cream, salt), contains 2% or less: modified cornstarch, glycerin, egg, cinnamon, tallow, palm oil, salt, natural ...

Is a king cake a coffee cake? ›

The name “king cake” comes from the Biblical story of the three kings who bring gifts to Baby Jesus. A blend of coffee cake and cinnamon roll, king cake is usually iced in yellow, green and purple – the colors of Mardi Gras -- and is frequently packed with fruit fillings and decadent cream cheeses.

What enhances coffee flavor? ›

9 Things to Put in Your Coffee to Up the Ante
  • Cinnamon. If you find yourself ordering autumnal drinks at your closest coffee chain, this powder should be your new at-home staple. ...
  • Cardamom. This Turkish tradition adds an earthy, almost floral taste to your brew. ...
  • Mint. ...
  • Cocoa Powder. ...
  • Salt. ...
  • Vanilla Extract. ...
  • Ginger. ...
  • Espresso.
Aug 17, 2023

Why is my coffee cake batter so thick? ›

It might be meant to be thick or you missed something or put too much of a dry ingredient in. You could just add a little water or milk to loosen it up. You could just bake it see what comes out. If it is very dense try soaking it with a bit of syrup.

How do you make coffee taste thicker? ›

Whip your coffee and Xanthan gum together with a whisk or a blender or beater to create a thicker coffee that is simple to make and enjoyable. Xanthan gum will not impact the flavor of your coffee, which makes it preferable over other commonly used thickeners like cornstarch or potato starch.

How long does a big cake take to cook? ›

Loaf-type cakes tend to take longer - often 50 minutes to 1 hour. Rich fruit cakes will take 1 1/2 hours or more, depending on size. Some cupcakes and muffins are cooked at higher temperatures - 190c (375F/Gas Mk 5) or 200c (400F/Gas Mk 6) - this tends to make them slightly more peaked.

Can I bake two 8-inch cakes at the same time? ›

If you need to cook three cakes at a time, place two on the bottom rack, spaced apart, and one on the rack above and in between the other two. Move the cakes twice during cooking so that each cake spends an equal amount of time in each position. TOP = PALE Cakes stacked above each other disrupt heat flow in the oven.

How does the size and shape of cakes affect the baking times? ›

If you are using a larger pan or a square pan instead of a round pan, your batter will be thinner and baking time may decrease. If you are choosing to use a smaller pan, the baking time may need to be increased.

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