BAKING: Claire Saffitz’s Coffee Coffee Cake (w/recipe! and weights!)
By now I’m sure you know who Claire Saffitz is.
She’s a chef and food writer who used to work at Bon Appetit magazine. She used to host “Gourmet Makes” on YouTube. She put out a cookbook, Dessert Person, last year. She’s got a delightful show on YouTube.
I love her.
Her cookbook is not really for brand new bakers, which I appreciate. I love a challenge. However, most of her recipes recommend a stand mixer and I don’t have one. I have an ancient, thrifted hand mixer that is on its last legs, to be honest. So, I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to make this recipe.
However, when I read it all the way through, I felt pretty confident I could make it work with my sad, old little hand mixer.
Because I had to make this recipe.
(NOTE: The recipe is at the bottom of the page, under the pictures! Now with weight measurements!)
I love coffee cake and this one in particular actually has coffee in it — hence the name. Genius! It also calls for cardamom, which I was intrigued by and she said it’s not overly sweet, like many other recipes in her book, which also intrigued me. So, the other day, I saved the leftovers from my morning coffee, cleaned the counters, and set out the butter and eggs (which need to be at room temp).
I realized quickly I may not have enough bowls because there are four parts that have to be made separately, and then adde together in the stand mixer bowl , but I made it work.
All the components, starting at the 12 o’clock position and going clockwise: the crumble top, the coffee ribbon for the middle of the cake, the sour cream and coffee mixture, the dry ingredients. And that coffee pot has my cooled, morning coffee in it!
Pro tip: don’t taste the sour cream and coffee mixture, even though it looks like a vanilla latte and smells INCREDIBLE because it’s bitter AF.
As you can see, it makes a HUGE amount of cake. You can freeze it, if you’re worried you won’t eat it all in 3 days (the recommended amount of time to leave it out, per Claire’s suggestions).
I also have a glass pan, which she did NOT recommend using, but she has a note that says if you DO use a glass pan, you bake it at 325 instead of 350. I actually baked it for 55 minutes, which is 10 minutes over the maximum amount of bake time (40-45 min) because either my oven isn’t hot enough or maybe it was the glass pan. But it all worked out!
It goes without saying that this turned out great (I mean, look at it!) and it tastes SO good. It’s super complex, but not overwhelming; you can taste the coffee in it, which I really like, and it’s not overly sweet which is nice.
This is not an ad. I just think you should buy Claire’s book.
It’s available at Amazon, Target, Barnes & Noble, and surely your local bookstore!
Coffee Coffee Cake by Claire Saffitz
Serves 15 to 20
Special equipment:
13x9” pan, preferably metal.
stand mixer
Butter for the pan.
INGREDIENTS
Coffee ribbon
3 tablespoons packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon,
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
Coffee crumb topping
1¼ cups, all-purpose flour (160g)
½ cup packed light brown sugar (100g)
2 teaspoons instant coffee granules
¾ teaspoon ground cardamom
¼ teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, at room temperature (113g)
Cake
3½ cups, all-purpose flour (455g)
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder (10g)
1½ teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (6g)
½ teaspoon baking soda
2/3 cup sour cream (170g)
½ cup strong brewed coffee (113g)
1 tablespoon instant coffee granules
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature (170g)
¼ cup neutral oil, such as vegetable or grapeseed (57g)
1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
¾ cup packed light brown sugar (150g)
4 large eggs at room temperature (200g)
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven and prepare the pan: Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 13x9” metal pan and set aside*. Arrange an oven rack in the center position and preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
*NOTE: You can use a glass pan, but make sure to bake at 325 degrees F instead of 350!
Make the coffee ribbon: In a small bowl, toss together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and instant coffee. Set the coffee ribbon mixture aside.
Make the coffee crumb topping: In a medium bowl, toss together the flour brown sugar, coffee granules, cardamom, and salt. Add the butter and toss to coat. Then use your fingertips to smash the butter into the dry ingredients until no visible bits of butter remain, until the mixture is crumbly but holds together when squeezed. Set the crumb topping aside.
Combine the dry ingredients: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda to combine and set aside.
Combine the wet ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the sour cream, brewed coffee, instant coffee granules, and vanilla, until smooth and set aside.
Cream the butter, oil and sugars: In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, oil, granulated sugar, and brown sugar on low, just until smooth. And then increase the speed to medium high and scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice, until the mixture is very light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and add the eggs one at a time, beating well, after each addition. Stop the mixer and scrape down the sides.
Alternate the dry and wet ingredients: Add about one third of the flour mixture and mix on low speed until the flour has almost disappeared. Add half the sour cream mixture beating just until Incorporated. Then add the remaining flour in two additions, alternating with the remaining sour cream mixture.
When the last traces of flour disappear, stop the mixer and remove the bowl. Use a flexible spatula to scrape down the sides and fold the batter several times to make sure it's evenly mixed.
Assemble the cake: Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer, working it into the corners. Sprinkle the coffee ribbon mixture all across the batter, trying to cover every bit of surface area. Dollop the remaining batter all over, then smooth it into an even layer. Scatter the crumb topping over the batter, covering the entire surface. Bake the cake until the top is puffed and golden brown, and a cake tester or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Be careful not to overbake it. The cake will still wobble in the center. When a tester comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool completely on a wire rack.
Cut into squares and serve.
some important notes…
The cake, tightly covered and stored at room temperature, will keep up to 3 days. The individual squares can also be wrapped well and frozen. Let thaw completely at room temperature.
Don’t use instant espresso powder as a substitute for the instant coffee granules, as instant espresso is finer and stronger in flavor, and your cake will be unpleasantly bitter.
Really take your time creaming the butter, oil, and sugars together in the mixer, as the cake gets a lot of its lift from the air you’re working in during this step. Rushing this process might result in a slightly denser, less fluffy cake.
