Moist buttermilk coffee cake with a buttery cake and a crumb topping, made from scratch for an easy homemade crumb cake everyone will love.
This cake is called a coffee cake, but it does not have coffee in it. That’s just what these types of cakes are called, basically because they’re good to have at breakfast with a cup of coffee. You can, of course, eat this cake any time you like though!
Another term for this cake would be a crumb cake. It could go by either name really.
Whatever you want to call it, it’s simply delicious and everyone I’ve shared it with, just loves it.
It kind of reminds me of those Little Debbie crumb cakes, but so much better since it’s made from scratch. There’s just something so comforting about it.
What’s special about this cake?
- Moist & buttery
- Delicious crumb topping
- Made from scratch
- Versatile – for breakfast, dessert, or snack
Pro Tip!
Use a food processor to make the crumble topping. It makes it so much quicker and easier! Also, make sure that the butter is cold!
How to make buttermilk coffee cake:
(The full printable instructions are in the recipe card below.)
Step 1:
First, make the crumble topping. Add all of the crumble dry ingredients to a large bowl or a food processor. Add the cold butter and cut in with a pastry cutter, a fork, or use the food processor.
Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a sand texture or is coarsely crumbled. Set the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to use and continue making the cake batter.
Step 2:
To make the cake batter, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 13×9 inch baking dish. In a medium sized bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk well and set aside.
Step 3:
In a large measuring cup, add the buttermilk and vanilla extract, whisk and set aside.
Step 4:
In a large mixing bowl, add the butter, oil and sugars. Mix on high for several minutes until light and fluffy.
Step 5:
Add half the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix on medium only until just combined. Add the liquid ingredients and mix on medium only until just combined. Add the last half of the dry mixture and mix on medium until just combined.
Step 6:
Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and mix again but only for about 15 more seconds. Do not mix scratch cake batter very long or the cake will come out rubbery and dense. Only mix until it’s well combined. The batter will be thick and fluffy.
Step 7:
Add half the batter to the prepared pan and smooth it out. Sprinkle half of the crumb mixture over the cake batter. Add the last half of the batter over the crumbly mixture you just added and smooth. Sprinkle the last half of the crumb mixture over the top.
Step 8:
Bake at 350 degrees F for about 50 minutes. Ovens vary. If the top starts to brown a bit too much, just set a piece of foil over the top.
The cake is baked when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out either clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
Set the baked cake on a cooling rack and let it cool for about an hour. This cake is great served slightly warm or at room temperature.
Note About Recipe Measurements: I write recipes using volume (cups) measurements because here in the U.S., this is what people are more familiar with and I don’t want anyone to feel intimidated when baking. For metric/weight measurements, click the ‘metric’ button under the ingredients in the recipe card below. The weights are converted by a program, not me, and it’s just a best guess. I can’t guarantee that weighing the ingredients will produce the exact same results, since I test recipes using volume measurements.
Recipe
Buttermilk Coffee Cake (13×9 Inch Crumb Cake)
Ingredients
For the crumble:
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, cold and cubed
For the cake:
- 2 ¾ cup all purpose flour (measured correctly: spooned into the measuring cup, not packed in)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅔ cup buttermilk, close to room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
- 3 large whole eggs, close to room temperature
- 1 egg yolk, close to room temperature
Instructions
For the crumble:
- Add all of the crumble dry ingredients to a large bowl or a food processor. Add the cold butter and cut in with a pastry cutter, a fork, or use the food processor, which is much easier. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles a sand texture or is coarsely crumbled. Set the mixture in the refrigerator until ready to use and continue on to making the cake batter.
For the cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 13×9 inch baking dish.
- In a medium sized bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk well and set aside.
- In a large measuring cup, add the buttermilk and vanilla extract, whisk and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the butter, oil and sugars. Mix on high for several minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add each egg, one at a time, mixing on medium speed for about 20 seconds after adding each egg.
- Add half the dry mixture to the butter mixture and mix on medium only until just combined.
- Add the liquid ingredients and mix on medium only until just combined.
- Add the last half of the dry mixture and mix on medium until just combined.
- Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl and mix again but only for about 15 more seconds. Do not mix scratch cake batter very long or the cake will come out rubbery and dense. Only mix until it’s well combined. The batter will be thick and fluffy.
- Add half the batter to the prepared pan and smooth it out.
- Sprinkle half of the crumb mixture over the cake batter.
- Add the last half of the batter over the crumbly mixture you just added and smooth.
- Sprinkle the last half of the crumb mixture over the top.
- Bake at 350 degrees F for about 50 minutes. Ovens vary. If the top starts to brown a bit too much, just set a piece of foil over the top.
- The cake is baked when a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out either clean or with a few moist crumbs on it.
- Set the baked cake on a cooling rack and let it cool for about an hour. This cake is great served slightly warm or at room temperature.
Notes
Nutrition
How to Share
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FAQs:
It’s best if you can use unsalted since you can control the amount of salt in the recipe. Unsalted butter also has a lower water content and is a little more predictable. That said, if you only have access to salted butter, go ahead and use it but omit the salt that the recipe calls for.
It’s really best if you use real buttermilk. It does a lot for the flavor and texture. It makes a soft moist and delicious cake and you will not be able to actually taste the buttermilk in the cake. That said, if you can’t get buttermilk, you can make a homemade version easily by adding 1 ⅔ cups of regular milk to a container take out a little less than two tablespoons (about a tablespoon and a half) of the regular milk and replace that with the same amount of lemon juice or white vinegar. Stir and let it sit for 5 minutes. This will work in a pinch, but it will not be the exact same as if you’d used buttermilk
Yes, but with a caveat. Technically, this cake can be frozen and it will still taste good, however the crumb topping will lose some of its crunch and be a little more moist and potentially soggy once defrosted. The choice to freeze is up to you.
This cake can be stored, covered well, at room temperature for up to five days. It will stay fresh a bit longer, covered and stored in the fridge.
This cake is best served warm, but feel free to enjoy it however you like.
I have not tried this recipe out as muffins or cupcakes, so I’m not sure how they would turn out. If you try it, bake at 350°F and start checking at around 12 minutes, although they’ll likely take a bit longer to bake.
I have not tried this recipe out in layer cake pans, but it would probably work, just bake in two 8 inch round cake pans.
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