Coffee Crumb Cake Recipe
Coffee Crumb Cake
Mine is delightfully simple and a real classic. It is chock-full of fabulous flavors, and needs no help from butter or other dairy ingredients. Leave it as is, dairy-free.
A huge all-time favorite in my house and beyond. My children grew up eating coffee crumb cake, it is my son Yakov’s favorite cake. “Mommy, almost as good as Entenmann’s,” he would say when he was a little boy. If you knew Yakov, you would understand the enormity of the compliment. The cut slices are so pretty, with a swirl of cinnamon undulating around the center of each, and the Crumb topping provides a wonderful crunch. You will be amazed how incredibly fragrant the whole house will get from baking the coffee crumb cake, thanks to the cinnamon and the crumb topping.
Kids Love it Too!
I was just making this Coffee Crumb Cake with my grandchildren and their little neighbors the other day. Little neighbor Nachi, impatient to see the cake go into the oven, asked me why I was layering the cinnamon sugar part of the coffee crumb cake; why not just mix it all in, just like that, he asked, twirling his hand in the air in a mixing motion. I said, because we want the nice brown wavy pattern the cinnamon layer makes in the sliced finished coffee crumb cake. He answered “So? Can’t you be creative?” Well I’m trying, buddy!
Natural Apple Cider
Please be sure to use only the natural kind cider, the one that looks nice and murky. It is unfiltered, unsweetened, and marvelous, and is my main team player in the making of this apple crumb cake. You will find it easily in the refrigerated section of supermarkets and health food stores.
Crumb Topping Lovers
Lately my kids asked me what it would take if we wanted more cake surface exposed to crumbs. So I take a much wider mold, and the cake comes out lower and chock-full of streusel.
Thanks to my nifty center cake ring, I end up with a smaller cake I give away as gift, or freeze.
Gluten-Free Coffee Crumb Cake
It comes out unbelievable. In this case use the wider mold (I used a detachable bottom 14” round mold) so the cake is low and doesn’t need to rise too much. Also, you’ll need more crumb topping for a wider cake mold
We’re lucky to have terrific brands of gluten-free flour blends on the market. Here are just two of my favorite brands, Namaste and Bob’s Red Mills
Ingredients
For the batter:
- 3 cups flour (all purpose, whole wheat pastry or spelt)
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- Pinch of salt
- 11⁄4 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup vegetable oil, or olive oil marked “light”
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup natural apple cider
For the cinnamon mixture:
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons cinnamon
For the crumb topping:
- 1⁄2 cup flour
- 3 tablespoons natural "margarine spread" or coconut oil
- 3 tablespoons sugar(if you used a wider mold, use 3/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup natural margarine and 1/4 cup sugar)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
To make the batter: Mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl and set aside. In a food processor, or with hand or electric mixer, mix the sugar with the eggs until light and fluffy. Add the oil and vanilla and process just until combined. Beginning and ending with the dry ingredients, add the flour mixture in thirds, alternating with the juice. Pulse 2 to 3 times after each addition, or mix, just enough to incorporate.
Pour half the batter evenly into a greased 10-inch springform pan or tube pan, or in 3 greased loaf pans (as I did)
Mix the sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly on top of the batter. Pour the second half of the batter evenly over the cinnamon sugar.
Mix the crumb topping ingredients, mixing lightly with your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Sprinkle this crumb topping evenly over the cake batter.
Bake for about 1 hour, or until a knife inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Invert the cake onto a rack, let the steam escape a few seconds, then turn the coffee crumb cake right side up again so the topping doesn’t fall off. Makes 12 generous servings
I don’t see any coffee in the crumb cake – was it left out or is it called coffee cause of the color?
Bayla there is no coffee in the coffee crumb cake. It’s called coffee cake because it is a good breakfast item that goes well with morning coffee.