Sourdough Coffee Cake Recipe

5 from 1 vote

Soft and buttery sourdough coffee cake made with discard and layered with warm cinnamon crumb. A cozy way to use up extra starter.

Prep Time10

Cook Time55

Total Time1 5

Course: Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: squares

Calories: 439kcal

Author: Joy Kincaid

Equipment

Ingredients

Cake-

6 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature (80 grams)
1/2 cup light brown sugar packed (117 grams)
1/2 cup granulated sugar 119 grams
2 teaspoons vanilla extract 7 grams
1/2 cup full fat sour cream room temperature (120 grams)
1/2 cup buttermilk room temperature (120 grams)
1/2 cup sourdough discard 140 grams
2 large eggs room temperature
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled (351 grams)
1 teaspoon baking powder 3 grams
1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 gram
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt 4 grams

Crumb topping-

1/2 cup unsalted butter cold and cubed (112 grams)
1 cup light brown sugar packed (206 grams)
2 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon 12 grams
1 cup all purpose flour spooned and leveled (133 grams)

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease and line a 9x9 inch metal baking pan with parchment paper. I like the parchment paper to hang over the sides of the pan so I can remove the cake easily after it is baked. Set aside.
Prepare the crumb topping- In a small bowl, using a fork or pastry dough mixer/cutter, combine the cold and cubed butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour until it is mixed and crumbles. This takes a bit of time and arm strength, but is worth it in the end! Set aside.
To make the cake, cream together the butter and sugars in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment until light and fluffy.
With the mixer on low add the vanilla, sour cream, buttermilk, and sourdough discard.
Add the eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed and mix on low until all ingredients are fully incorporated. Remove the bowl from the mixer and hand whisk the ingredients making sure they are all fully incorporated and there are no lumps.
In a separate medium sized bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and use a mixing spoon or spatula to gently mix all of the ingredients together. Mix until just combined and do not over mix. The batter is going to be thick.
Scoop half of the cake batter into your prepared baking pan. The batter is thick so use an offset spatula or a butter knife to gently spread the batter to the edges of the pan and to even it out.
Take half of the crumb topping and sprinkle it over the cake batter. Scoop the rest of the cake batter on top and gently spread with your offset spatula. Make sure to spread the batter to the sides and corners of the pan and even out the top. Sprinkle the remaining crumb topping on top of the cake.
On the middle rack of your oven, bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center of the cake comes out clean. Crumb topping should be a light golden brown. I start checking my cake at 45 minutes and then check every 5 minutes. You don’t want your cake to burn or become overdone.
If the crumb topping is starting to get too brown and the cake is not done yet, loosely tent foil over the cake while it finishes baking.
Once the cake is fully cooked, remove from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack. Let the cake cool for at least 45 minutes before cutting.

Notes

Wrap in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two days.

To freeze, cut cake into individual squares and wrap tightly in plastic wrap, place in an airtight freezer safe container and store for up to 3 months.

Nutrition