Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Want the ultimate streusel coffee cake? This easy recipe has a little cake topped with an unholy amount of sweet and spicy cinnamon streusel. A sugar coma is guaranteed with this coffee cake recipe, so I only bring it out on special occasions.

This recipe, adapted from The Foster’s Market Cookbook, is everything a coffeecake should be: copious amounts of crumb topping nestled into a little bit of cake and then liberally dusted with powdered sugar. I’m not talking meh-equal-parts crumb: cake here. I’m talking about a 2:1 ratio.  Two parts crumb to one part cake! Like my grandmother’s fried dough, it’s not an everyday treat.

In fact, think of the cake solely as a delivery method to get the crumb to your mouth.  

Why you’ll love this cinnamon streusel coffee cake

• It’s a simple streusel coffee cake that delivers big on the cinnamon streusel topping.
• It uses all the sugars: granulated, brown sugar, and powdered sugar.
• It can be made ahead of time.
• It freezes well.
• The recipe can be doubled.

Ingredients needed for streusel coffee cake:

• All Purpose Flour
• Light Brown Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Nutmeg
• Allspice
• Butter (a lot of butter)
• Pecans
• Granulated Sugar
• Baking Powder
• Salt
• Milk
• Eggs
• Canola Oil
• Vanilla Extract
• Confectioners Sugar

There are two sticks of butter in the topping alone.  But it’s the holidays.  We don’t do this all the time, so a sliver of over-the-top indulgence is worth it!  

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Seriously, how often are you rendered speechless by cinnamon streusel coffee cake?

What is streusel topping made of?

In this case, sugar, flour, spices, and butter. A lot of butter. Many streusel recipes use cold butter and cut it into a flour and sugar mixture giving it more of a crumbly vibe. This recipe uses melted butter to coat the flour and give the cinnamon streusel topping more of a New York crumb cake feel.

How to make the cinnamon streusel topping:

1. In a large bowl, add the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice and whisk to combine.
2. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add the melted butter to it.
3. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to mix the ingredients together, then add the pecans and mix together with your clean hands.

How to make the coffee cake batter:

1. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.
2. Mix milk, oil, egg, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. Whisk.
3. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. (You don’t even need a hand mixer).
4. Pour the coffee cake batter into the prepared pan.
5. Layer the cinnamon streusel topping evenly across the top of the batter.
6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean
7. Let the streusel coffee cake cool for a few minutes in the pan before removing it.

Pro-Tip:

To make it easier to get the cinnamon streusel coffee cake out of the pan for serving, line it with parchment paper that overhangs the sides of the pan.  Just lift the ends and transfer the cake to a cutting board or cake dish when it’s cooled.

Swaps and Variations:

• Use walnuts instead of pecans in the topping or go sans nuts for pure cinnamon streusel indulgence.
• Substitute 1 tablespoon of apple pie spice or pumpkin pie spice for the other spices called for in the cinnamon streusel topping.
• Instead of dusting the streusel coffee cake with powdered sugar, drizzle on a glaze made with 1/2 cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of cream.

FAQ’s

I mean look at that!  It’s cinnamon streusel coffeecake nirvana!  And just in time for your holiday morning.  

This cake is perfect as is, but if  you want to gild the lily even further — powdered sugar will amp up the festive-factor!  

Serve steaming cups of hot coffee and flutes of chilled mimosas (or both) to wash down this heavenly confection while watching the kids tear into their presents!

More coffee cakes (with and without streusel) that you’ll love:

• Cranberry Coffee Cake with Leftover Cranberry Sauce
• Glazed Cherry Almond Coffee Cake
• Mixed Berry Buckle (Streusel Coffeecake)
• Pineapple Coconut Streusel Cake (a.k.a. Buckle Cake)
• Lemon Strawberry Crumb Cake
• Raspberry Almond Cream Cheese Braid

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4.22 from 14 votes

Cinnamon Pecan Crumble Coffee Cake

This recipe is adapted from Sara Foster’s New York Style Crumb Cake. I’ve halved the recipe and added more spices. Her version is nut free – but we love a little crunch!

Author: Lisa Lotts

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword brunch dessert, cinnamon, coffee cake

Prep Time 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour

Servings 16

INGREDIENTS:

US Customary – Metric

For Topping

• 2½ cups all purpose flour
• 1 cup light brown sugar firmly packed
• 2¼ teaspoons cinnamon ground
• ¼ teaspoon nutmeg freshly ground
• ¼ teaspoon allspice ground
• 2 sticks unsalted butter melted
• 1 cup pecans chopped

For Cake

• 1½ cups all purpose flour
• ½ cup sugar
• 2¼ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
• 1 large egg
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 2½ teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2-3 tablespoons confectioner’s sugar for garnish

DIRECTIONS:

• Preheat the oven to 325°. Prepare a 8×8 inch square baking pan by spraying with vegetable spray and lining the bottom and sides of a pan with parchment paper. (Cut the paper 8″ wide and about 12″ long so that the bottom and two sides are covered and there is overhang on either side of the pan). Spray the parchment paper with vegetable spray and set aside.

Make the topping

• in a large bowl combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and allspice and whisk. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the melted butter to it. Mix to combine, then add the pecans and use your clean hands to thoroughly mix them in. Topping should have a loose, crumbly consistency. Set aside.

For the cake

• Add the flour sugar, baking powder and salt to a small bowl – and whisk to combine.
• In a medium bowl, whisk together the milk, oil, egg and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients and stir just until combined.
• Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan. Add the crumble topping evenly across the batter. (It will look like you’ve got WAY TOO MUCH topping — but use it all.)
• Bake for 35-40 minutes until the cake rises and the topping bakes into the dough.
• Remove from the oven and cool slightly in the pan. Run a knife along the edge to loosen the cake and lift it from the pan to a cutting board. Cut into 9 equal squares. Sprinkle with powdered sugar and serve.

NUTRITION:

Calories: 323kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 42mg | Sodium: 87mg | Potassium: 126mg | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 380IU | Calcium: 57mg | Iron: 1.7mg

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