CINNAMON-STREUSEL COFFEECAKE
CINNAMON-STREUSEL COFFEECAKE
in guaranteed classic
Looking for everyone's favorite comfort-food coffeecake? This is it. Soft and moist, nicely cinnamon-y, this is the quintessential breakfast coffeecake.
Note: For those of you looking for a cake with less filling, one where the golden cake itself is the main attraction, reduce the amount of brown sugar in the filling to 1/3 cup, keeping the remaining ingredients the same.
Our guarantee: This golden cake is tender and moist, with a middle layer of dark cinnamon filling and a crumbly streusel topping.
AT A GLANCE
PREP 30 mins.
BAKE 50 mins. to 60 mins.
TOTAL 1 hrs 30 mins.
INGREDIENTS
STREUSEL TOPPING
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)
- 1 cup King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
FILLING
- 1 cup brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
CAKE
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1 teaspoon salt (1 ¼ teaspoons if you use unsalted butter)
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
- 1 1/4 cups milk (anything from skim to whole)
- 3 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
INSTRUCTIONS
- Note: As a result of reader feedback, as of 3/24/17 we've adjusted the ingredient amounts in the streusel to yield a less dry, more pleasantly crumbly topping.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, or two 9" round cake pans.
- Make the topping by whisking together the sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, stirring until well combined. Set the topping aside.
- Make the filling by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Note that the cocoa powder is used strictly for color, not flavor; leave it out if you like. Set it aside.
- To make the cake: In a large bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, baking powder, and vanilla until well combined and smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt and milk till well combined. You don't need to whisk out all the lumps.
- Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk/sour cream mixture, beating gently to combine.
- Pour/spread half the batter (a scant 3 cups) into the prepared pan(s), spreading all the way to the edges. If you're using two 9" round pans, spread 1 1/3 cups batter in each pan.
- Sprinkle the filling evenly on the batter.
- Spread the remaining batter atop the filling. Use a table knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter, as though you were making a marble cake. Don't combine filling and batter thoroughly; just swirl the filling through the batter.
- Sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan.
- Bake the cake until it's a dark golden brown around the edges; medium-golden with no light patches showing on top, and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes for the 9" x 13" pan, 50 to 55 minutes for the 9" round pans. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve cake right from the pan.
TIPS FROM OUR BAKERS
- Since butter and sour cream are both key ingredients in this cake, we encourage you to use the best quality you can get. We highly recommend Cabot, a superb Vermont brand available nationally.
- It's easy to spread half the batter in the pan when you know how much it weighs. If you have a kitchen scale, half the batter weighs about 28 ounces.
- Want to prepare this coffeecake the night before, then bake in the morning? It's easy; simply cover the unbaked cake with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. Next morning, bake the cake as directed. Start testing for doneness at the end of the suggested baking time; you'll probably have to add 5 minutes or so to the total time, to account for the batter being chilled.
- Dress it up for guests: Make a glaze with ½ cup confectioners' or glazing sugar and 1 tablespoon milk; drizzle glaze over the cooled coffeecake.