One beloved breakfast treat -- rich and tender yellow cake with layers of spice notes from cinnamon crumbles and streusel -- is ready to soak up the spotlight as the top recipe of the new year.
King Arthur Baking Company revealed coffee cake as its Recipe of the Year for its 10th anniversary, sharing full details with "Good Morning America" so you can make it at home.
The company's "perfected version" of the tried and true confection updates the mixing method to call for reverse creaming, which the recipe editors called "a foolproof way to prevent overmixing and ensure a tender cake."
Coffee cake is also a hit on social media, with the search term reaching over 83 million views on TikTok alone.
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of its annual recipe selection, King Arthur also shared other coffee cake variations online from birthday coffee cake to a triple chocolate recipe.
Check out the company's full cinnamon-crisp recipe below.
Cinnamon-Crisp Coffee Cake Recipe
Prep time: 25 minutes
Bake time: 45 to 50 minutes
Total time: 1 hour 35 minutes
Makes: One 8-inch square or 9-inch round coffee cake
Ingredients
Filling
1/3 cup (66 grams) granulated sugar
2 teaspoons Vietnamese cinnamon*
2 tablespoons (12 grams) unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
Crumbs
1 cup (120 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
6 tablespoons (75 grams) granulated sugar
2 tablespoons (14 grams) powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
2 teaspoons Vietnamese cinnamon*
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons (85 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes; at room temperature
1 teaspoon King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
*If using a different kind of cinnamon, increase to 1 tablespoon
Cake
2 cups (240 grams) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
3/4 cup (149 grams) granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
8 tablespoons (113 grams) unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes; at room temperature
2 teaspoons King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
2 large eggs
1 cup (227 grams) buttermilk or Greek yogurt
Glaze (optional)*
3/4 cup (85 grams) powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
pinch of cinnamon
2 to 3 teaspoons water
*Or dust with Snow White Non-Melting Sugar or powdered sugar.
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare an 8-inch square pan with a parchment sling or reusable silicone liner, then lightly grease the sides of the pan. Alternatively, line a 9-inch cake pan with a round piece of parchment or round reusable liner and lightly grease the sides.
To make the filling: In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon and cocoa. Set aside.
To make the crumbs: Weigh your flour, or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt. Add the butter and vanilla; toss to combine. Using a bowl scraper, fork or your fingers, work in the butter until crumbs form and no dry spots remain. The crumbs should be irregular, ranging in size from a pea to walnut. Set aside.
To make the cake: In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add the butter and mix at low speed using an electric hand mixer or the flat beater attachment of a stand mixer until the mixture looks sandy, about 1 to 2 minutes. (This mixing method is called reverse creaming and is also known as the paste method.)
Beat in the vanilla and eggs, then mix until no dry spots of flour remain. Stop the mixer and scrape the bowl and beater attachment as needed; the mixture will be thick.
If using buttermilk, slowly pour it into the mixture while the mixer is running on low speed. If using Greek yogurt, add the yogurt all at once before starting to mix. Continue to stir until the batter is smooth. Stop to scrape the bowl and then mix again at low speed for 30 seconds.
To assemble and bake the coffee cake: Transfer half the batter (about 1 1/2 cups, or 420 grams) into the prepared pan, spreading it all the way to the edges. (A small offset spatula is a helpful tool here.)
Sprinkle the filling evenly across the batter.
Transfer the remaining batter atop the filling and gently spread to the edges. (The batter will be pourable if you've used buttermilk; otherwise, transfer the thick batter by dolloping portions over the filling then use a spatula to smooth it out into an even layer.) It's OK if a little bit of the filling gets mixed into the top layer of batter.
Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the batter and gently press to adhere.
Bake the cake for about 45 to 50 minutes, until it's set in the middle and light brown. When the cake is done, a toothpick or paring knife inserted into the center should come out mostly clean.
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. Prepare the glaze while the coffee cake is cooling, if using.
To make the glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the glaze ingredients until smooth, starting with smaller amount of water. Add additional water as needed until the glaze is the consistency of molasses.
Remove the cake from the pan using the overhanging edges of parchment as handles to gently lift it out. Place the cake (still on the parchment) on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Drizzle the glaze over the cake, or finish by dusting with non-melting sugar or powdered sugar.
Storage information: Store leftover coffee cake, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.
Recipe reprinted courtesy of King Arthur Baking Company.
