Classic Coffee Cake Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What makes a coffee cake a coffee 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.

Melted butter is key for moist coffee cake, but this dessert tends to get drier over time. If you want to prevent coffee cake from getting stale for as long as possible, storing it in an airtight Tupperware is your best bet.

Overmixing

Overworking the batter, especially if it contains gluten, will result in a tough, chewy cake. You'll often see the instructions, “mix until just combined,” in cake recipes. This means to stop mixing as soon as you see that all ingredients are evenly incorporated.

Yogurt is your best substitute for sour cream. Whether you're baking or making a dip or sauce, yogurt is a 1:1 sub. That means if your recipe calls for 1 cup of sour cream, you can replace it with 1 cup of yogurt. Full-fat Greek or natural yogurts work best, but low-fat or even nonfat can be used, too.

Thus, it became commonplace in these countries to have a small sweet served alongside a coffee. It wasn't until 1763 before coffee cake was first mentioned, though technically even then by another name, the German “gugelhupf”.

You need to incorporate as much air into the eggs as possible, as this is what levels the cake and will give you a light and fluffy sponge. Set a timer for 7 minutes and allow the electric mixer to do the work before adding any sugar. The eggs should triple in volume and look pale, thick and shiny.

Oh yes, you sure can. This recipe has a combination of butter and oil to give off that nice buttery taste while keeping it soft and moist at the same time. Cake using pure butter tends to be more dense and dry compared to adding oil into the batter.

The most crucial tip? Instead of buying an entire box of cake flour, simply incorporate two tablespoons of cornstarch into 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour. This blocks the formation of gluten in the flour, which produces a lighter, fluffier cake.

Basically, it's a case of not looking at coffee exclusively as a dry ingredient - try adding it to your cake mix in its liquid form. And don't be afraid to keep it nice and punchy, as the rest of the ingredients will dilute the flavor significantly.

Can I use coffee grounds in cake? ›

This method is versatile: Cookies, scones, muffins, cakes, and more are all great vehicles for a spoonful of your favorite ground coffee. And don't worry about grittiness - the grounds soften slightly in the oven, and provided they're used in relatively small amounts, the texture is pleasant, not gritty.

Boxed cake mix isn't as good as scratch-made, but it's fast and convenient. If you are relying on a box, give it a helping hand by swapping the water in your batter for coffee. It'll give the final cake a deeper, richer flavor.

Where regular cakes typically have frosting or glaze, coffee cake does not. Instead, it often has some type of crumb or streusel topping that is typically made with a combination of flour, sugar, butter, and cinnamon.

These were adapted from Kuchen (cookie/cake) and Gugelhupf (spice cake). Coffee and other ingredients to make the cake were expensive and a little rare so to have coffee in the cake was not needed.

Curiously, coffee cake contains zero coffee itself. I think (and I am totally speculating here) that it's meant to be served with coffee, sort of in the tradition of tea. My sleuthing on the internet points to origins in German yeasted cakes, but it's not entirely clear.

Tea cakes are individual, coffee cakes are sliced. In the US, there's no functional difference. Size might be a factor when it comes to some labeling, but it's not consistent. Ingredients for either can be the same or change as any other pastry or cake recipe might change.