The BEST Damn Coffeecake Ever

Whether your choice of hot drink is coffee, tea or hot chocolate, a huge piece of this coffeecake should always accompany each mug. With the Holidays around the corner, many of us will have family visiting from all over, and this is the perfect snack cake to serve when it’s finally time to sit down and catch up. It is based on the recipe I use for hot milk cake, and truly shows the versatility of this batter.

The important part here is to introduce a caramel layer in the center which adds a gooeyness to the filling that is just delicious. To achieve this, I make my streusel recipe in 2 different ways. For the caramel interior, I use ¾ cup of flour and for the crunchy streusel top I use 1 cup of flour. I also added chopped, roasted pecans and shards of darks chocolate. To make it a real coffeecake, I drizzled my milk sugar glaze on top…try this, it’s just heavenly.

Streusel For Center of Cake

1 stick cold salted butter

¾ cup flour

½  cup packed brown sugar

½  cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

Streusel For Top Of Cake

1 sticks cold salted butter

1 cups flour

½  cup packed brown sugar

½  cup granulated sugar

3 teaspoons cinnamon

Make each streusel in exactly the same way…Add the cold butter to a medium sized bowl and then add the dry ingredients. Cut the butter into the dry ingredients until it is all incorporated and resembles a coarse meal. The one make with less flour will be softer. Store both in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to use. 

Coffeecake (makes 1-14” square cake)

1 recipe hot milk cake

1 recipe milk sugar glaze

1-1   ½ cups dark chocolate mini chips or shards (I used 1 ½)

1-1   ½  cups chopped, roasted pecans (I used 1 ½)

First prepare both of the streusels and keep them in the freezer or refrigerator until ready to use. Roast and chop the pecans and chop the dark chocolate into small pieces and set aside. Prepare the batter and pour it into your paper- lined cake pan.

Pour in half of the batter and add all of the streusel made with the ¾ cup of flour.

Top this with the pecans and dark chocolate and pour the other half of the cake batter on top. Add the other streusel all over that will create a lovely crunchy top and bake this at 350°F for 30-40 minutes until the cake is golden brown and tests clean…do not over bake.

When cool, drizzle the milks sugar on the cake and set aside until ready to serve.


Comments

52 responses to “The BEST Damn Coffeecake Ever”

  1. Shayna C Avatar
    Shayna C

    Any idea how this yummy looking cake would freeze?

  2. I’d love to make “The BEST Damn Coffeecake Ever” but didn’t see the batter ingredients or instructions. Am I just missing it?

  3. Self rising flour or are you using all Purpose flour?

  4. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Hi Shelly! In any recipe when they say ‘flour’, you can assume that they mean all purpose flour…if they mean something else they will usually clarify it…the same goes for when you see ‘eggs’ in a recipe…you can assume that they are large eggs (about 1.8 oz each) unless otherwise specified…hope that helps!

  5. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Brenda, beneath the recipe for the streusels, you will see a link for the hot milk cake base along with the milk sugar glaze that I use. You will LOVE this and it’s very easy to make…let me know if you have any other questions!

  6. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Shayna, this freezes beautifully…I do it all the time, just make sure to cover it well with plastic wrap and then wrap the whole thing in foil if you are going to freeze for extended periods of time. My house is like grand central station, so I always have lots of cakes and cookie dough pre-made and frozen, so when visitors stop by, I always have something to serve fairly quickly…

  7. Vintage Quilter Avatar
    Vintage Quilter

    I have never heard of a 14″ square pan. I have 8″ square or 9×12 or 9×13. Would either of the 9″ pans work do you think?

  8. Nicole Chantre Avatar
    Nicole Chantre

    Love this receipe

  9. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Thank you!

  10. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    a 14″ square is something you will find in cake supply stores and used on a commercial basis, but you can use 2- 8″ square or round pans or 2-9″ square or round pans to accommodate the batter…the ones you mentioned would be too small. Hope that helps!

  11. I am thinking about using canned cherry pie filling on top as you did with the pumpkin butter in the other recipe… Any thoughts?

  12. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Canned pie filling will work just fine in this recipe, let me know how it goes!

  13. Hello!

    Is it okay to halve this entire recipe – i.e. halve the recipe for the cake, as well as the recipes for both streusels?

    I’m asking because I want to make only one 8″ or 9″ cake (sadly, not enough dessert lovers at home!)

    Thanks 🙂

  14. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Yes, this recipe works just fine cut in half…it also freezes very well if you want to make a full batch and then just freeze half of it. When freezing, remove the cake from the pans and wrap it in plastic wrap and then wrap again in foil, this will prevent freezer burn…let me know how it goes!

  15. Just halved the recipe and made it today!

    I baked it in a 9×13, and it was perfect- didn’t even reach the top….

    I can’t imagine baking it in a 14×14- they would have been super super thin! I was thinking maybe you meant 12×12 originally?

    Either way, it is an AMAZING coffee cake!

  16. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Hi Karen! I’m so glad you made the recipe and liked it…this is truly one of my favorite cakes. I like to make it in a larger pan and add more filling and streusel on top, and I find that I don’t have to worry about it remaining raw with all of that stuff in it if I bake it in a slightly bigger pan. I know you will be making it again and again!! xoxo

  17. where is the coffee in this coffee cake??

  18. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Sharon, I really hope you are kidding, but if you are not, a ‘coffeecake’ is meant to be served with coffee or tea as in a coffee break…it was not supposed to be a ‘coffee’ flavored cake…

  19. maria isabella Avatar
    maria isabella

    Hi Shelly, I just wanted to know how much is one stick of butter?
    thank you.

    regards

  20. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    I stick of butter is 4 ounces, hope that helps!

  21. where is the recipe for the batter? I’m trying to make it now but can’t find it…. Help!

  22. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    All you need to do is click on the link provided in the recipe for the hot milk cake, it will take you to the recipe for the batter…let me know if you need any more help!

  23. Claudia Avatar
    Claudia

    I’m Australian, so a little confused with the difference between all purpose flour & cake flour? Love the sound of this cake – and would love to make. Here in the land down under, we use plain flour (no raising agent), self raising flour (raising agent added), corn flour, arrowroot, 000 flour for pasta, but no specific cake flours – as there is baking powder in the recipe for the hot milk cake, that is your raising agent. I assume I could use our equivalent of plain flour for all the flour requirements.

  24. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Hi Claudia, thanks for writing in! I’m a fellow Aussie from Melbourne, so it’s always nice to hear from my first home down under. I have done some searching online and found that there are a few places in Aus that carry a brand called Swans, which is sold here in the regular grocery stores. Cake flour is an ideal product that has a much lower protein content (about 8%) compared to the 10% or so protein found in all purpose flour. It yields a much lighter and tender product. You may not find it listed as cake flour, but it may be packaged and sold as flour for ‘cake or biscuits’. If you cant find it, it is relatively easy to make. Take 1 cup of regular flour and remove 2 tablespoons. Replace these 2 tablespoons with cornstarch and sift it all together. This will help in creating a lighter product for you to use…hope that helps!

  25. Claudia Avatar
    Claudia

    Thanks Caterina – we do have the “cake or biscuit” flour which I usually use for my baking – as plain flour. As a fellow Melbournian, many thanks and look forward to making the cake!!

  26. Caterina,
    When you freeze this coffee cake, do you put the glaze on it first, or wait until you thaw it?

  27. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Hi DeeDee…Ideally, you should freeze the coffeecake without the glaze, after all, sugar melts in the refrigerator after a while…but sometimes I have some leftover with the glaze, so I cut it into pieces, wrap them well and then freeze. The glaze does soften a little when frozen, but it does not make the cake soggy, it’s still delicious…

  28. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Claudia you are welcome! Let me know what you end up using and how it works for you…

  29. I’m making this a day ahead for a church function. Does it need to be refrigerated overnight? Also do you just put parchment on the bottom or up the sides? Thank-you

  30. Good Lord….I think I need to go to the dentist after one piece…..I never ate anything so sweet……

  31. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Joni thanks for your comment. I actually pride myself on developing recipes that are not overly sweet. If you liked the resulting cake but want to adjust the sweetness, feel free to limit the amount of streusel in the middle and the amount on top, and that should cut back on the extra sweetness. I don’t like things too sweet either, and this was just fine for me.

  32. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Hi Marti! No, I did not use parchment paper because I can buy a really good pan spray commercially. Unfortunately, it is not available in the grocery stores and Pam spray isn’t that good, so if you prefer to use parchment just in case, I would do that to be safe…

  33. Darlene Mason Avatar
    Darlene Mason

    I do not bake much, but my husband would love this, there is only the two of us now, so Q: do you make the whole cake, icing and all and freeze

  34. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Darlene thanks for writing in! If you wer going to make this and freeze it, here is what I would do. I would make the cake as the recipe states and when it is completely cool, cut it into sections that would be enough for what you need…either half, thirds or quarters. Wrap each piece well in plastic wrap and then in some foil to prevent freezer burn. When you get the urge for some, take it out of the freezer and thaw on your counter then drizzle on the icing when you are ready to serve. This cake freezes beautifully!

  35. If I count correctly….there are a total of 5 sticks of butter in this recipe?? 2 for the streusels and 3 for the cake batter?

  36. I would love to make this cake but did not see the batter recipe

  37. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Hi Lesa, I’m not sure why everyone is missing the link for the cake part in the recipe. If you look at the listing for the recipe where it says ‘coffeecake’, you will see it say ‘1 recipe for hot milk cake’. This is a live hotlink that will take you to the recipe itself, so click on that. There you will find the ingredients and the procedures on how to make the cake.

  38. Stacey Boudreaux Avatar
    Stacey Boudreaux

    This sounds so yummy! I can’t wait to make it! Has anyone used the pumpkin butter that is attached to the Hot Milk Cake link?

    I wish you had a Pinterest plug, so I could Pin It I’m my recipe folder 🙂

  39. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Thanks Stacey, yes it is very delicious and better than the one you buy commercially. I find that the ones I have purchased in the past can be too heavily spiced. Making it yourself allows you to control how much spice you use. I will have our web person add a Pinterest button to each post. We are making some changes to the format next year, so thank you for the suggestion! Here is my Pinterest page. If you are interested in posting any of the recipes many of them are here, so feel free to check it out, http://pinterest.com/goodfoodgourmet/good-food-gourmet-blog-pics/

  40. Question: Maybe you answered but I didn’t see it but can this cake be baked in a bundt pan (or two) ??????

  41. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Hi Jeanne, actually this cannot be baked in a bundt pan because it has streusel on the top of the cake. When you bake in a bundt, you cannot add anything to the top of the batter because the cake is inverted and the top becomes the bottom of the cake. Part of the beauty of this cake is the streusel. If you wanted to, you could do everything the same but not add the streusel to the top. Once the cake is baked and inverted onto a platter, you can use my recipe for milk sugar glaze to add to the top. That would be equally delicious! Hope that helps…

  42. This reminds me of a cake I had at Joan’s on Fourth in LA that was delicious, so I can’t wait to try it. Can you double the soft streusel recipe then just add some additional flour to half of it afterwards, just to simplify that step? Thanks!

  43. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Robin you can do that, but you just never know what consistency you will get in the final streusel. As a pastry chef, I try to stick with the recipe unless it is something that I make all the time and can eyeball the right consistency that I need.

  44. Jeri Kelly Avatar
    Jeri Kelly

    Am making your delicious coffee cake for a church Easter breakfast. If I wanted to leave out the chocolate, would you suggest adding anything or leaving out anything to compensate. I’m going for a classic moist & delicious coffee cake.

  45. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    I think the chocolate in the recipe really adds to the overall deliciousness of this cake…but if you don’t want to add the chocolate, simply omit it or add some extra nuts.

  46. Toni Iacoboni Avatar
    Toni Iacoboni

    Thank you for the most amazing recipe. I was in the mountains on vacation and thought I would try this recipe. I only had a 9×13 pan so I used it. And yes, not the best idea, but not the worst either. I had a little flow over, which I wiped immediately so I was spared hours of burned caramel clean-up. The sides baked faster and the center would not come out completely clean, so after an hour I took it out. When it cooled it was amazing anyway. My favorite was the center…..very buttery soft cake. I would probably change the sugar content of the streusel portions…a little too sugary sweet for me. This recipe is decadent and not for dieters….why…… because even though you know it is NOT heart healthy (smiles), you can’t stop going back for more. So I gave pieces to my five Native Appalachian friends in South Western North Carolina Smokey Mountains……… They loved it too!!!! Saved the center for me and it was gone in no time! I tried NOT to eat it and couldn’t! Thank You

  47. Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet Avatar
    Caterina Borg, Good Food Gourmet

    Thank you Toni, yes this recipe has become a bit of a classic and much loved by everyone who tries it. The great thing with recipes is you can always adjust it to your taste…

  48. Kathy Ortega Avatar
    Kathy Ortega

    Anxious to try this recipe.

  49. I made this but switched the cake part for your cinnamon bun cake (i was short on butter) and added a teaspoon of cloves to the streusel. it came out amazing. thanks for the recipe !

  50. Althea Avatar
    Althea

    I’ve been wanting to make this recipe for some time now and I finally did last night. I cut the recipe in half and used an 8″x8″ pan as Caterina mentioned. I was surprised at how thick the cake batter was but I pushed on. I followed the directions as written with no substitutions. After the 35 minute bake time was reached I checked for doneness and found the middle still raw…so I baked an additional 10 minutes…checked for doneness again and the middle was still raw but the outer edges were done and I could tell I needed to stop baking. So I took it out of the oven to cool. After cooling I had to cut out the center (a 4″x4″ section) so we could at least eat the outer edges. I won’t rate this recipe yet as I need to try again using a larger baking pan. Another person, who also cut the recipe in half, mentioned they used a 9″x13″ pan with great results. So I’ll give this recipe another try using a larger pan and hope for better results. I will say what we could eat of the coffeecake was delicious.

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