April 7th is National Coffee Cake Day & what better way for you to celebrate than with a piece of coffee cake & some coffee! The interesting thing about coffee cake is that is does not even contain coffee in its ingredients list. Coffee cake just goes REALLY well with coffee just like cookies & milk go together! Now, I do not like coffee in the least, but I love a good iced Chai Tea Latte which also goes well with this coffee cake recipe! My favorite part of the whole cake is the streusel that tops the moist vanilla cake. You can make this cake very easily and it will last you for awhile each morning with your coffee (or tea)! Heck! This cake would be delicious as a night cap dessert with maybe some decaf coffee. At least try it out & have an awesome National Coffee Cake Day!
- I cup of oil
- 1 cup of sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 t vanilla
- 3 cups of cake flour
- 3 t baking powder
- ¼ t salt
- 1 cup of milk
- 2 cups of brown sugar
- 3 t cinnamon
- ¾ cup butter, melted
- Preheat oven to 350-degree F.
- Sift the flour, baking powder, & salt in a medium bowl.
- Add the oil and the sugar to a large bowl and incorporate together with a mixer.
- Add eggs on at a time. Add vanilla.
- Add ⅓ of the flour mixture with a ⅓ of the milk & mix. Add another ⅓ & mix. Add the last ⅓ of the flour mixture & milk until completely combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl & mix for another 30 seconds.
- In the medium bowl begin making the streusel. Mix the cinnamon & brown sugar together. The melted butter will be used at the end.
- If you are making cupcakes: Line your muffin tin & add the cupcake batter ⅔ full. Sprinkle the streusel mixture on top of each cupcake. Then drizzle the melted butter on the top of each streusel. Bake for 16 minutes. Turn the cupcakes around in the oven & bake an additional 2 minutes until done.
- If you are making mini cupcakes: Bake for 9 minutes. Turn the cupcakes around in the oven & bake an additional 2 minutes until done.
- If you are making a cake: Butter a 9x13 pan. Pour half of the cake batter into the pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel mixture on top. Pour the rest of the cake batter into the pan. Sprinkle the rest of the streusel on top. Drizzle the melted better topically over the top of the cake. Bake uncovered for 25- 30 minutes.
- Let the cupcakes or cake cool completely before serving for best results.
- Enjoy!
Kitchen Tips ♡
♡ I use cake flour for my vanilla cupcakes instead of all-purpose flour. AP flour will work, but cake flour makes the cake light & spongy whereas the AP flour will create a texture that can be heavier & dense. I like to make my own cake flour because it is less expensive to make than to buy it & it is easy to make! Scale 1 cup of flour in bowl & then take 2 tablespoons of the flour back out of the bowl. Replace that with 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. Yes! Cornstarch! Cornstarch has a silky feel to it & it helps take out some protein content which makes a difference with gluten forming.
♡ I sift my dry ingredients of flour, salt, & baking powder. Sifting is important in cupcakes because it makes the flour lighter which helps all the ingredients to incorporate easier. To sift, a strainer is needed & a medium sized bowl. Simply put the flour, salt, & baking powder through the strainer by hitting the sides of the strainer or if the flour is going outside the bowl, use a spatula to push the ingredients through.
♡ In order to try & keep my cupcakes uniform, I use a scoop & a bowl of water when I am putting batter in the muffin tin. I use a 1/4 cup scoop for regular cupcakes & a tablespoon for mini cupcakes. The bowl of water keeps the batter from sticking to the scoop. I place my scoop in the water in between each cupcake scoop. A little bit of water won’t affect the baking process!
♡ My oven has hot spots which means that the oven is hotter in certain places than in others. When I check my cupcakes, I turn the cupcake tins around & switch the sides of the cupcake tins. This helps me cook my cupcakes more evenly!