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 tasty 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).
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.