The Coffee Crumb Cake

We all love our coffee, the aroma of it is enough to kick us out of our sleepy selves in the morning. Have you noticed that while biscuits, mini cakes and savory snacks go well with tea, there are very limited goodies that pair well with a good cup of coffee? Well, this cake is one of them! It's a match made in heaven and trust me, you will not stop with one slice.

The name can be deceiving, as there's no coffee in this coffee cake. It's called so because of it's traditional partnership with coffee. The cake is a simple vanilla butter cake with a cinnamon sugar filling and a blanket of crispy cinnamon crumble on top. Doesn’t that sound perfect already? You don’t need to make any additional filling or icing like with most other cakes. It is possibly the easiest crowd pleaser for special occasions. So, let's get started!

The Coffee Crumb Cake

Servings: Serves 4-6

Prep time: 25 mins

Cook time: 30 mins

Ingredients:

For the crumble top:

◻ ½ cup brown sugar, packed

◻ ½ cup all-purpose flour

◻ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

◻ pinch of salt

◻ ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened

For the cinnamon filling(optional):

◻ ¼ cup brown sugar

◻ 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

◻ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the cake batter:

◻ 1½ cups all-purpose flour

◻ 1 cup sugar

◻ ¾ teaspoon baking powder

◻ ½ teaspoon baking soda

◻ pinch of salt

◻ ½ cup unsalted butter, softened

◻ 2 eggs

◻ 2 tbsp milk

◻ ½ cup yogurt/sour cream

◻ ½ tbsp vanilla extract

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and butter/spray the cake tin or bake-ware.

2. Make the cinnamon crumb topping by mixing the softened butter, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon with a fork or mix with hands to get a soft crumble. Place this mix into the fridge or freezer until it’s time to add it to the top of the cake, this will make sure that the crumble stays intact and not melt prematurely during the baking process.

3. The next step is making the filling, which is optional as the cake tastes delicious even without it. In an other small bowl, combine sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Set it to the side.

4. For the cake batter add flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in to a large bowl. Combine with whisk or if using a stand mixer, mix at low speed.

5. Add the softened butter and beat on medium-low speed for 2-3 minutes, or until all of the butter is mixed in and the mixture resembles moist sand.

6. In a medium bowl, whisk together the yogurt, milk, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients. Beat the batter on medium speed until you get a smooth batter.

7. Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar layer over the the batter in an even layer. This batter is thicker than usual and will need some extra care as we now spread the rest of it evenly over the filling, you can use a spatula or the back of the spoon to spread it out. And finally top it uniformly with the crumble mixture.

8. Bake for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 1 hour (or until the cake comes to room temperature) before serving.

P.S. For all the chai lovers, this cake can also be made with cardamom spice instead of cinnamon and tastes just as divine. This recipe gives us room to be innovative and use a fruit based (apples, strawberry, blueberry etc.) filling. Furthermore, the crumble can be made to have more texture by adding walnuts, pistachio or pecans to it. Although baking does require some preset measurements and ingredients, I believe the greatest revelations in freedom begin right in our kitchen.

A little bit of flour, a sprinkle of sugar and tons of love..

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