Can you say comfort food? I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the smell of anything cinnamon baking in the oven. It’s such a warm, homey smell. Your home will be filled with that very aroma with today’s recipe. This is a traditional coffee cake recipe that Mom always made when I was growing up. I just made some over the weekend and thought I would share. It is all made from scratch, but it is quick and very simple to make!
It is soo good. So grab your baking materials and let’s get started!
***Tip #1: I used all organic ingredients, and because shortening is a trans fat that is bad for you, I personally used a different kind of shortening called “Spectrum Organic All Vegetable Shortening”. It doesn’t affect the taste of the cake.
Homemade Streusel Topped Coffee Cake: 
Ingredients-
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 5 tsp. baking powder
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/2 cup shortening (see not above for a healthier organic version I use)
- 1 1/2 cup milk
- 2 eggs
- Topping (see below for how to make)
I heat the oven at a temp between 350 and 375 degrees F. Spray the bottom of a 13×9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray (can also grease with shortening). Put all of the above ingredients in a pan (minus the topping) and blend together. (Tip #2– I tend to mix the dry ingredients first, before adding the wet ingredients and beating.) Beat vigorously until just combined. Tip #3 :I do not use a mixer- I do all of my mixing by hand with a wooden spoon :). I think these two tips make for a more tender, moist cake. Spread batter evenly into pan.
- 2/3-3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/2-3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 1-1.5 tsp. cinnamon
- 6 Tablespoons firm butter
Mix all of the dry topping ingredients together and then cut in the butter with a pastry blender. Or…you can do like I did and break up the butter with your hands as you work in the dry ingredients. After mixed, sprinkle the topping evenly over the cake batter. Bake for 25-30 min. or until a toothpick inserted near middle comes out without dough on it.
Tip # 5: Coffee cake is not so good dry. Make sure to watch your oven. I start checking the cake 15 min. in to baking and check it frequently (every 2-3 minutes) until it is done (meaning not doughy), but with moist crumbs. Sometimes you can’t go 100% by the baking times stated for the best results.
Did I mention it is moist! (be sure to heed my tips though for best results 😉 )
Variations: You can do different things with the Streusel topping. Try pouring half the batter in the pan, sprinkling some streusel on top, covering it with the other half of the cake batter, and then topping the cake with the remaining streusel. You can also cut through the batter with a knife (after pouring the topping on top of cake) to have the flavor marbled throughout. Also- Mom used to make this same coffee cake with blueberries in it. Just mix your blueberries in a bowl with 1/2 cup extra flour and then add to cake batter before spreading in pan. It is super yummy with blueberries in it too 🙂
If you try it , let me know what you think! ~Rebekah
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oh my, two Yums ( thumbs) up. Thank you for sharing at the Thursday Favorite Things Hop xo
Thanks Katherine. You are welcome!
Baking it as i type it smells so yummy cant wait to dig in
I have no clue how I didn’t see this until now, but I wanted to respond ( I try to respond to every comment here). I know what you mean about the smell Lynda, cinnamon and sugar baking in the oven is just SO yummy. How did yours turn out? I hope you enjoyed it!
I so have to make this. I want to pull it out of my computer and eat it right now!
It really is good! Too bad computers aren’t that advanced , huh? Then again, if it was THAT easy to get any food we desired we would all be in trouble. I think we would all gain weight like crazy!
Is there a whole 5 tsp of baking powder? The baking powder was evident when tasting the batter. I’ll see how it bakes up. It’s in my oven!
Somehow this comment didn’t show up in my inbox, and I just happened to see it today. Sorry about that Karen! To answer your question , yes. I checked Mom’s recipe, and it does call for 5 tsp. However, you could use 4 and it would still be fine. I wouldn’t go with less than 4 though. I hope it turned out well for you! The main tip is to not over bake it 🙂
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