Declassified Coffee Cake
Time:
1h20m
Difficulty:
Easy
Loot:
(1) 9x13 pan
You have no idea how hard it was for me to give up this recipe…
Seriously. For three years, this was my trademark. It was what I made for every birthday breakfast in my family, every Valentine’s day (fellas, it’ll get you some attention, trust me), every potluck. But dammit, it’s singlehandedly too good to keep to myself. So it’s time to blow the cake’s cover.
Starbucks is the reason I made this. When the first girl I liked moved away a long time ago…it was a pretty shitty day. But one Doordash order later (thanks Dad), I was able to go back to my roots a bit and calm down with the familiar simplicity of coffee and a little pastry.
As the cinnamon crumbs patted against the paper of the wrapper and I sunk my teeth into the simple fluff of the buttery cake, I instantly knew I had to recreate this. Scouring dozens of recipes online, and a few weeks of tweaking later, this happened. Granted, it was a bit of an ugly duckling. But when I sulkily took that first bite, I knew I’d forged something sensational. It’s a sleeper agent coffee cake with a rough, rocky exterior but a soft, buttery crumb of an interior that is simply unrivaled. As tradition suggests, it’s the ultimate breakfast when paired with a cup of coffee.
Pan Size: 9x13 pan
Word to the Wise
When you spread the top layer of your batter, spread very carefully. I make this mistake a lot, but if you spread too roughly, you’ll end up mixing the streusel into the batter and losing that signature bronzey sand layer in the middle. Even if you’re Anakin Skywalker, you don’t want to lose your sand.
Not a unique tip, but make sure you butter the edges of your pan extremely well. With the stickiness of this batter in particular, and the amount of butter and cinnamon involved, it will be a nightmare to cut, and an even greater nightmare to clean otherwise.
Be smart about your batter budget. The main thing I do wrong making this cake is putting too much batter on the bottom and not leaving enough to cover the top or vice versa. For an even, photogenic cake, try to divvy up your batter as equally as possible.
The consistency of this batter is supposed to be THICK, with a viscous pour. However, if you find it a little too difficult to move, add in a splash of extra milk to loosen it just a bit. Do NOT make it too runny though.
COMPLETELY cover the top of your batter with streusel. This cake rises quite a bit, and if your streusel layer is too thin, you’ll get a couple of bald spots on the surface. Be THOROUGH with your streusel spreading before you pop it in.
If your test toothpick/chopstick comes out with just a few cinnamon-sugar crumbs, it’s ready. That’s just the center cinnamon-sugar layer. If there’s some sticky batter on there though, that’s a different story. Leave it in for 3-4 more minutes in that case.
Ingredients
Cake
1 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup milk
1 cup white granulated sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tsp baking powder
½ tsp kosher salt
Cinnamon Layer
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup all-purpose flour
Streusel Topping
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
Instructions
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Grease a 9x13 baking sheet.
In a large mixing bowl (preferably of a stand mixer) combine oil, eggs, vanilla and milk together. Using the paddle attachment, beat into one liquid.
In a medium bowl, blend together sugar, flour, baking powder and salt. Whisk lightly until combined.
Stirring at a medium speed (around 4 on a stand mixer), gradually add your dry ingredients to the wet until just combined. Make sure there are no lumps. It should look thick and viscous.
Spread half of the batter into your pan, using a spatula to smooth out the surface.
Melt your butter in the microwave and leave it out to cool to room temperature.
In a separate bowl, whisk together ¾ cup brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1 cup all-purpose flour. Evenly distribute this over the surface of your cake batter.
Carefully spread the remaining half of your batter over the top. Be sure to spread in a smooth, gentle motion, to avoid blending or turning over the cinnamon-sugar layer in the center.
In a medium bowl, prepare your streusel by whisking together 1 cup brown sugar, 1 cup all-purpose flour, ¼ teaspoon salt, and 2 tsp ground cinnamon. Drizzle in your melted butter from earlier and whisk until you get nice, big crumby clumps of streusel.
Cover the surface of your cake batter with your streusel, ensuring there are no gaps in the surface. Once the top of the cake is thoroughly berried in streusel, cover the top of your pan with tin foil.
Bake for around 25-30 minutes. Take off the foil and bake for at least an additional 10 minutes. If a toothpick/chopstick inserted in the center doesn’t come out clean, give it 3-4 more minutes.
Serving
Let the cake cool to room temperature (at least 20 minutes before serving). Slice it up, and be sure to store it with either air-tight Saran wrap across the top or lid for the pan. It can be stored at room temp.