coffeehouse cinnamon crumb cake
Buy a man a coffee cake, and feed him for a day. Teach a man to coffee cake, and feed him for a year.
Happy Thursday, fellas! This week has been real dumb. Real dumb. Not even going to hide the fact that I want to crawl into a storm cellar and just wait it out until Saturday. And I’ve still got two whole days to go.
What can you do? Persevere, that’s what. None of this is permanent, everything ends eventually, and while that’s sometimes a morbid reminder, others it’s a comfort.
To expedite the cozy process, we’re baking Coffeehouse Cinnamon Crumb Cake today. I’ve been deathly afraid of tackling a coffee cake for years, but the tides turned after last year’s Country Apple Fritter Bread. The batter is pretty much the same here, and the result of the former was one of my favorite recipes I’ve ever developed.
What we’ve got today? A soft and tender cake rippled with streusel and topped with a nice cinnamon crumb. It’s an easy snack, brunch, or dessert – highly recommend with a hot drink of some kind. As implied by the name, coffee would be ideal, but tea or cocoa are more than acceptable.
No matter what kind of day you’re having, a slice of this will turn that frownie upside downie.
Nothing Crumby About Crumb Cake
First step here is to prepare our cinnamon streusel.
First note: always use cold butter for that nice texture after baking.
Second: cube up that butter for easier incorporation into the other ingredients. Which I might as well share now. Once you cubed your lard, combine in a bowl with brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. You should have a variety of sizes in the crumbs, smaller bits and ones no larger than a pea.
Pop the bowl into the fridge to chill while you make the batter.
For the batter, beat together vegetable oil and sugar. Whisk in the eggs, one at a time, then vanilla and Greek yogurt. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. The batter will be very thick, and you will use every last drop of it.
Line a 9 x 9 inch cake pan with parchment. Carefully spread half the batter into the pan. I find that greasing a spatula lightly helps with moving the batter around without shifting the parchment too much. You may need to re-grease a couple times in this process.
Sprinkle on half the streusel. Top with the remaining batter – again, greasing the spatula as needed – and the rest of the streusel.
Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes, testing with a toothpick until you no longer see goop on the wood. Cool the cake in the pan for about 30 minutes. I like to set the pan on a wire cooling rack to air out the bottom.
Then, slice up your cake and enjoy the warming and comforting cinnamon-flavored mound of excellence.
Leftovers? Cool the cake completely, then slice and store in a container. It will last about 5 days in the fridge and up to 3 months in the freezer. To thaw, set a slice on the counter for about 30 minutes, or reheat in 15 second increments in the microwave until warmed through.
Boy, do I need a slice of this right now. Hang in there, kids! Only two days until the weekend!
Tried this recipe out? Leave a rating and comment below with your thoughts, and don’t forget to come say hi on Instagram and show me what you made!
Coffeehouse favorites, done better:
Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread
coffeehouse cinnamon crumb cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup plain whole milk Greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
cinnamon streusel
- 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
- 6 tsp butter, cubed and cold
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- 2 tsp cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9 x 9 inch cake pan with parchment.
- In a medium bowl, cut the butter with the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. You should have a good mix of larger pieces (about pea-sized) and slightly smaller ones. Set in the fridge while you make the batter.
- In a bowl, bear the oil and sugar until combined. Whip in the eggs, one at a time, then the vanilla and Greek yogurt. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix until just combined. The batter will be very thick!
- Spread half of the batter into the prepared baking sheet. Greasing a spatula lightly will help move the batter without jostling the parchment too much. Sprinkle half of the streusel overtop. Carefully spread the remaining batter, covering the streusel as thoroughly as you can. This takes some finagling but you can do it! I believe in you! Top with the remaining streusel.
- Bake 35-40 minutes until the center is set and an inserted toothpick emerges with just a few moist crumbs blah blah blah I say that every time. Let cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Slice and enjoy!
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