This sourdough coffee cake has a perfectly sweetened ribbon of cinnamon sugar between layers of moist vanilla cake. It's topped with a nutty pecan crumble that get's better with every bite!
Homemade coffee cake is the perfect way to enjoy your morning cup of coffee!
You guys are going to love this sourdough discard recipe! It is my version of a classic coffee cake, sourdough style of course!
Coffee cake is defined as any cake flavored with or intended to be eaten with coffee. Traditional coffee cake recipes you find in the States don't actually have coffee in the ingredients at all.
Instead you'll find a delightful mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon and nutty pecans combined with a vanilla cake base.
The result is a perfectly sweetened, cinnamon spiced breakfast cake that begs to be eaten alongside a strong cup of coffee. The two really are a perfect match!
Step by step instructions
There are three separate layers to this cake, but don't worry, it's a cinch to get it into the oven!
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease an 9" x 9" metal baking pan with butter or cooking spray.
1. Pecan Crumble Layer:
- Melt the butter in a bowl and stir in the light brown sugar and cinnamon until throughly mixed and smooth.
- Add the flour and pecans and stir again until the mixture comes together into a big clumpy mass. Set it aside and let it cool.
2. Cinnamon Sugar Layer:
- In a small bowl, mix the light brown sugar, cinnamon and flour together with a fork and set aside.
3. Cake Batter Layer:
- In a large mixing bowl, use a spatula to cream the butter, light brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream, sourdough starter discard, milk, salt and baking powder to the bowl and stir until combined.
- Add the flour and mix until ingredients are fully incorporated.
Assembly:
- Pour half of the cake batter into the greased baking dish and sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly across the surface of the batter.
- Carefully pour the remaining batter over the cinnamon sugar mixture. Use an offset spatula to gently spread the batter evenly.
- Break up the crumble topping with your fingers and sprinkle evenly over the top.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Let the sourdough coffee cake cool for 10-15 minutes before slicing and serve warm!
How to measure flour without a scale
Don't have a kitchen scale to measure flour?
Use the scoop and level technique to measure your flour if you do not have a kitchen scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup until it is heaped on top. Take a butterknife and level off the top. This should give you the most accurate measurement for flour.
Because flour is measured by weight in these recipes, if the flour is scooped straight out of the bag with the measuring cup, there will be more flour than called for in the recipe.
How to store leftovers
Leftovers can be stored at room temperature in a container for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to a week.
To freeze leftovers, let the cake cool completely and wrap individual squares with plastic wrap. Place the wrapped squares in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
To reheat the coffee cake, let thaw first. Warm in the microwave in 15 second increments. Alternatively, you can place a piece on a parchment lined baking sheet and warm in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until heated through.
Other delicious sourdough recipes you're sure to love:
- sourdough cinnamon rolls
- chocolate chip sourdough scones
- sourdough pancakes
- sourdough blueberry muffins
If you try this recipe make sure to let us know how it turned out in the comment section below. We love to hear from you!
Sourdough Coffee Cake Recipe
INGREDIENTS
Crumble Topping
- 4 tablespoons (56 g) butter (melted)
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (60 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (120 g) chopped pecans (optional)
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- â…“ cup (73 g) light brown sugar
- â…“ cup (40 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Sourdough Coffee Cake Batter
- 8 tablespoons (113 g) butter (softened)
- ½ cup (110 g) light brown sugar
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons (10 g) vanilla extract
- ½ cup (115 g) sour cream
- ½ cup (125 g) sourdough starter discard
- 1 cup (240 g) buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) fine sea salt
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
INSTRUCTIONS
Crumble Topping
- Melt the butter in a bowl and stir in the light brown sugar and cinnamon until smooth. Add the flour and pecans and stir again until the mixture comes together into a big clumpy mass. Set it aside and let it cool.
Cinnamon Sugar Filling
- Stir the cinnamon, flour and light brown sugar together in a small bowl and set aside.
Sourdough Coffee Cake Batter
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Lightly grease an 9" x 9" metal baking pan with butter or cooking spray.
- In a large mixing bowl, use a spatula to cream the butter, light brown sugar and granulated sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla extract, sour cream, sourdough starter, milk, salt and baking powder to the bowl and stir until combined. Add the flour and mix until ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Pour half of the cake batter into the greased baking dish. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture evenly across the surface of the batter. Carefully pour the remaining batter over the cinnamon sugar mixture to cover. Use an offset spatula to gently spread the batter evenly. Break up the crumble topping with your fingers and sprinkle evenly over the top.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
NOTES
- Use the scoop and level technique to measure your flour if you do not have a kitchen scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour in the bag. Use a spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup until it is heaped on top. Take a butterknife and level off the top. This should give you the most accurate measurement for flour.
- Leftovers can be stored at room temperature in a container for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to a week.
- To freeze leftovers, let the cake cool completely and wrap individual squares with plastic wrap. Place the wrapped squares in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months.
- To reheat the coffee cake, let thaw first. Warm in the microwave in 15 second increments. Alternatively, you can place a piece on a parchment lined baking sheet and warm in the oven at 350 degrees F for 10 minutes or until heated through.
Rachelle says
Oh no! I didn’t read far enough into comments to see the advice about using a metal pan vs. glass. So far I have put my cake back in three times for 12 minutes. I’ve now lowered temperature and covered my glass baking dish with foil. I was so excited to eat this. I will update if my cake eventually bakes all the way through. My baking error not the recipe.
Silvia Hadeler says
HI, I am puzzled about the recipe. How much and when do you add coffee to the batter?
Ana says
Hi Silvia. It's called coffee cake because it's traditionally served with coffee. There's no coffee in the recipe 🙂
Kimberly M Back says
Ide
Elaine says
We loved it because it wasn’t too sweet. The texture was perfect too. This recipe is a keeper!
Kelly says
This is THE BEST coffee cake I have ever made. I don't have a 9" x 9" pan so I used a 9" x 13" pan and only baked for 30 minutes and it was perfect! My sourdough discard is also very thick so I whisked it into the milk before adding it to the mix to thin it out a bit.
Barbara says
FIVE stars! Ihave made this coffee cake twice following the recipe exactly and it was perfect and delicious each time. The family does not want me to make a coffee cake from a box mix ever again! I am going to eliminate the center sugar filling in the future as we are trying to cut back on sugar and I think it won’t be missed all that much.
Gail says
Followed the recipe exactly and it was perfect. My husband, who is not a cake fan, is requesting I make it again.
Note: I was wondering if I could double the starter and eliminate the sour cream.
Greg Johnson says
First of all, I love your website. I've made pretty much all of the recipes on here for sourdough discard, including this one. They've (by and large) turned out very, very well. And the directions are very easy to follow.
My problem here is the same as Tia's. My coffee cake came out extremely undercooked at that temperature at that time--but only in the very center, and only the top layer of batter. I live in a relatively low altitude area in the midwest. I put it back in the oven for another 15 minutes but the batter was still undercooked in the center and the top layer.
Any suggestions on how to alleviate?
Amy says
Hi Amy,
I made this luscious coffee cake today and it was delicious. I did have some issues with the bottom layer being too dense you could see that it was thick and heavy at the bottom maybe the bottom half inch. I did bake this in a glass 8 x 8 dish and I’m wondering if that is why my bottom layer came out that way? It was still very edible but texture wise a little unpleasant. I’d like to know when I can try next time to fix this. I am happy to try a metal pan or maybe more leavening ingredients? I also used the 10 g of cinnamon and I knew it was too much but I went for it anyways LOL. I had not read the reviews that it should be 4 g so I’ll make that adjustment as well however I love cinnamon! I did use Greek yogurt because I didn’t have sour cream could that have been the reason? Well anyway it’s delicious and I love your recipes. Thank you so much for taking the time to make all these choices available to the sourdough wild lover!
Kind regards,
Amy W.
Tia Malkin says
This turned out nicely. Mine was a little undercooked at 45 minutes and it could use a little more crumble on top, but otherwise a tasty way to use up discard. I used the 10 grams of cinnamon and even if it converted wrong, it tasted great. I did think it seemed like a lot?