The Recipe
This the coffee cake recipe comes from King Arthur Flour and won the Nina Ries Coffee Cake Tasting (suck it!, LAUSD recipe)!
While this is not the most simple of coffee cake recipes (3 parts!), it is incredibly delicious. It is awesome as a very impressive potluck brunch dish (people do that, right?). It is the antidote to every dry, stale, blah coffee cake served at coffee shops and conference rooms everywhere.
To take it to the next level, double the topping and layer half of the topping into the middle of the cake instead of the brown sugar & cinnamon filling.
KAF Coffee Cake
Yield: 24
Decadent sour cream coffee cake recipe from King Arthur Flour that ticks off all the boxes. Moist, soft cake. Ample, cruchy streusel topping. Strong cinnamon flavor.
Ingredients:
For the Topping
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 cup (140g) All-purpose flour
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 6 tablespoons (85g) butter, melted
For the Filling
- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar, packed
- 1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp cocoa powder, unsweetened for color, may omit)
For the Cake
- 12 tablespoons (170g) butter, room temperature
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 cups (300g) granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup (67g) brown sugar, packed
- 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- 3/4 cup (170g) sour cream or greek yogurt, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups (283g) milk, at room temperature
- 3 1/4 cups (455g) All-purpose flour
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, or two 9" round cake pans or line with parchment paper.
- For the topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. Combine well with melted butter. Set aside.
- For the filling: In another small bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Set aside.
- For the cake: In a large bowl (or bowl of your stand mixer fixed with the paddle attachment), 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. Add the flour to the butter mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the milk/sour cream mixture. Mix until just combine and no lumps of flour remain. Avoid over beating.
- Spread half the batte into the prepared pan, evenly. Sprinkle the filling evenly over the batter. Spread the remaining batter over the filling, by dropping spoonfuls over the filling and using a spoon or off-set spatula to gently spread. Use a butter knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter. Don't combine filling and batter thoroughly; just swirl the filling through the batter.
- Sprinkle the topping over the top, evenly.
- 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.
Notes:
You can use any percentage of milk you would like. Nut milks will work as well. You can substitute greek yogurt or creme fraiche for the sour cream. Add chopped, roasted pecans to the topping for an extra crunch.
