Coffee Coffee Cake
After searching for a delicious “coffee” coffee cake recipe to no avail, I developed my own recipe that is fluffy, super moist, and has a great balance of sweetness. My “coffee” coffee cake is moist and lightly spiced, layered with chocolate cheesecake filling, topped with chocolate brown butter streusel, and finished with a simple glaze. Seems complicated, but I promise it’s doable (and so delicious).
You can obviously enjoy this cake with coffee for breakfast, it’s not super sweet and sugary. Or, you can enjoy it for dessert! Really any time of the day works with this cake.
Let’s break it down into steps. You start by browning butter for the cake batter. After the butter is browned, add brown and white sugar and whisk until lightened in color. Then, add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla, salt, cinnamon, ginger, apple cider vinegar, instant espresso powder, and baking powder. Then alternate with the flour and milk until everything is well incorporated.
In a separate bowl, make your chocolate cheesecake filling by mixing together all those ingredients. In the recipe, I use homemade hazelnut praline but you can also use Nutella or your choice of nut butter.
Make the streusel as well by combining additional brown butter with sugar, flour, and cocoa powder.
Now, it’s time to layer. Add half your cake batter to a greased 9×13″ pan, scoop on the cheesecake filling and make sure it is spread evenly, then the rest of the cake batter and top with the streusel. Bake for 50-60 minutes at 350º, testing with a toothpick towards the end (make sure it comes out clean).
As the cake cools, make the glaze by combining powdered sugar with milk. Then just drizzle it over, wait for the cake to cool completely, and enjoy!
Check out some of my other cake recipes if you’re interested, including my tiramisu, summer swiss roll, and decadent chocolate cheesecake.
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp instant espresso powder
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups milk
Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup hazelnut praline, Nutella, or other nut butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
Streusel Topping
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Start by browning your butter in a small saucepan. Heat the butter on medium high, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon for about 7-10 minutes. When you start to see brown flecks swirling around, pour the hot browned butter into a glass or metal bowl.
- Add the white and brown sugar into the butter and whisk for 2-3 minutes until lightened in color. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking in between each egg.
- Add the vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, apple cider vinegar, salt, espresso powder, and baking powder. Whisk until incorporated.
- Add the flour and milk by alternating in five additions: flour milk flour milk flour. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mix together, stopping as soon as you don’t see any streaks left. Set the batter aside.
Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
- Mix together the cream cheese, vanilla, espresso powder, cocoa powder, sugar, hazelnut praline, and salt. Set aside.
Streusel Topping
- Brown the remaining 6 tbsp of butter (see instructions for browning butter in the cake batter section). Add the sugar flour, and cocoa powder, mixing gently so you see small pieces of mixture for the streusel.
- Grease a 9″x13″ baking dish, then begin the layering process. Add half of the cake batter into the dish, then spread over the chocolate cheesecake filling, then the rest of the batter, then top with the streusel.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool 10 minutes before drizzling the glaze on.
Glaze
- Add the powdered sugar and milk together, then drizzle over the cake while it is still warm. Then, let the cake cool completely (at least 2 hours). Enjoy! The cake can be kept at room temperature, tightly wrapped in plastic, for up to 4 days.
Coffee Coffee Cake
Equipment
- 9"x13" glass baking dish
Ingredients
Cake Batter
- 1 cup butter unsalted
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2/3 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tbsp instant espresso powder
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/4 cups milk
Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
- 4 oz cream cheese softened to room temperature
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp instant espresso powder
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup hazelnut praline or Nutella or other nut butter
- 1/2 tsp salt
Streusel Topping
- 6 tbsp butter unsalted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp cocoa powder
Glaze
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Start by browning your butter in a small saucepan. Heat the butter on medium high, stirring constantly with a silicone spatula or wooden spoon for about 7-10 minutes. When you start to see brown flecks swirling around, pour the hot browned butter into a glass or metal bowl.
- Add the white and brown sugar into the butter and whisk for 2-3 minutes until lightened in color. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking in between each egg.
- Add the vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, apple cider vinegar, salt, espresso powder, and baking powder. Whisk until incorporated.
- Add the flour and milk by alternating in five additions: flour milk flour milk flour. Use a rubber spatula to fold the mix together, stopping as soon as you don't see any streaks left. Set the batter aside.
Chocolate Cheesecake Filling
- Mix together the cream cheese, vanilla, espresso powder, cocoa powder, sugar, hazelnut praline, and salt. Set aside.
Streusel Topping
- Brown the remaining 6 tbsp of butter (see instructions for browning butter in the cake batter section). Add the sugar, flour, and cocoa powder, mixing gently so you see small pieces of mixture for the streusel.
- Grease a 9"x13" baking dish, then begin the layering process. Add half of the cake batter into the dish, then spread over the chocolate cheesecake filling, then the rest of the batter, then top with the streusel.
- Bake for 50-60 minutes until golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool 10 minutes before drizzling the glaze on.
Glaze
- Add the powdered sugar and milk together, then drizzle over the cake while it is still warm. Then, let the cake cool completely (at least 2 hours). Enjoy! The cake can be kept at room temperature, tightly wrapped in plastic, for up to 4 days.