Almond Coffee Cake Has Rich Flavor

This is a coffee cake that’s a bit unusual as coffee cakes go. Traditional ones are based on streusel with a cinnamon flavor and I do love me some of the traditional since I’m pretty traditional myself.

However, sometimes it becomes necessary to start thinking outside the box and change up things a bit. I started out to make a more classic one, but discovered my walnuts had gone over since I forgot to put the bag in the freezer.

I did have sliced almonds in the freezer so a quick change was in order. And this has amazing flavor if you’re into almonds.

Sour Cream Is Necessary

Sour cream gives this cake its lovely texture. I had loads of the stuff in the fridge because I took advantage of a recent sale–where I always overbuy.

It also imparts a slight tanginess to the cake itself. I can’t praise sour cream enough for its ability to do this.

Now, I haven’t tried these types of cakes with light sour cream. You probably can use it but the crumb won’t be as tender. And as a rule, you never substitute fat-free products in anything baked because the results are pretty dismal.

If you have plain Greek yogurt on hand, that should work equally as well.

Almond Flavor

The deep almond flavor comes from two sources.

The first, of course, is the almonds themselves. You need to use toasted almonds and they’re pretty simple to make. I do mine in the oven, but stovetop works pretty well too. Just have to keep stirring and keep a watchful eye on them.

The second is the almond extract. I only use pure almond extract and a high-quality one. The real deal is always better, however it costs more. If you’re very budget conscious, then the imitation is OK. In fact, that is the only imitation flavoring that’s pretty close to the real thing.

The Recipe

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Almond Coffee Cake

Great coffee cake loaded with almonds

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Course: Breakfast, Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Keyword: almond coffee cake, breakfast cakes, sour cream coffee cakes

Servings: 9

Calories: 478kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream
• 1 1/4 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 tsp vanilla

Filling/Topping:

• 1 cup sliced almonds toasted
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 tbs butter melted

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Spray a 9-inch/23 cm pan with non-stick spray.
• Combine flour, baking soda and baking powder; set aside.
• Cream sugar, butter and eggs in a large bowl until smooth. Add the flour mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in the sour cream, almond and vanilla extracts.
• Mix the almonds, sugar and melted butter in a small bowl.
• Spread half the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the filling mixture over the batter. Lastly, spread the remaining half of the batter on top. Sprinkle remaining filling mixture over the top of the cake.
• Bake for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 478kcal | Carbohydrates: 55g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 87mg | Sodium: 277mg | Potassium: 234mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 645IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 2mg

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Whether you eat this for breakfast or dessert, this sour cream coffee cake is sure to please!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake Stays Moist

Unlike many “quick-bread” types of coffee cakes, this one stays moist the next day. The sour cream in the batter is responsible for the moistness.

Sour cream also gives a little zing to the taste. This offsets the sweetness of the streusel topping and filling and it’s a nice combination of flavors. This cake is all about balance!

Heavy-Duty Stand Mixer Required

A hand mixer is out for mixing this cake’s batter. A hand mixer just doesn’t have a powerful enough motor to handle the job. This batter is thick and dense.

So haul out your Kitchen Aid, Cuisinart Pro or Kenwood. These machines can stand up to the density of this cake’s batter easily. As I mentioned before, the batter is quite dense so you’ll need a good mixer. I know those machines won’t have any problems with it. Personally, I have the Kitchen Aid, but my sister has a Kenwood and that machine is even better, however, they are rather costly.

Ahhh…Streusel

Now we get to the good part!

This cake hasn’t got just one ripple of sweet cinnamon streusel; it has two! Then it’s crowned with the remaining streusel for the topping.

The topping gets crispy and crunchy while the cake bakes. What a delightful sensation it is to bite into this and get that burst of flavor and a nice crunch to boot. I love this cake!

I chose to use pecans for the nuts. Pecans (to me) have a much fuller and sweeter flavor than walnuts. Walnut skins can be a bit bitter to my taste, and while I like them, I much prefer pecans, especially with this cake.

Pecans also add a warm depth of flavor to the streusel. Of course you can use walnuts, or any other nut you like or have on hand. However, it’s my personal opinion that this sour cream coffee cake is far superior with pecans.

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The Recipe

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Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Whether you eat this for breakfast or dessert, this sour cream coffee cake is sure to please!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course: desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cake recipe, sour cream coffee cake

Servings: 12

Calories: 574kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1 cup butter softened
• 2 3/4 cups sugar divided
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 cups sour cream 16 ounces
• 2 tbs ground cinnamon
• 3/4 cup chopped pecans

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan; set aside.
• In a large bowl, cream butter and 2 cups sugar until light fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add alternately with sour cream, beating just enough after each addition to keep batter smooth.
• Spoon a third of batter into the prepared pan. Combine cinnamon, nuts and remaining sugar; sprinkle a third over batter in pan. Repeat layers two more times. Bake for 60-65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutrition

Serving: 1slice | Calories: 574kcal | Carbohydrates: 73g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 30g | Saturated Fat: 15g | Cholesterol: 115mg | Sodium: 487mg | Potassium: 146mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 47g | Vitamin A: 791IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 2mg

*Adapted from Taste of Home
**Post may contain affiliate links

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This banana cake is awesome alone, but frost it with this lemon buttercream and it’s even better!

Have Overripe Bananas?

If you’re like me and you overbuy bananas when they are on sale, then you surely have at least three that are all nice and freckly.

Using those freckly bananas for this cake is one of the best things you can do with them.

Holly told me this is her family’s favorite cake, and after one taste, you’ll see why.

Icing To Die For

If you read her post about this cake on Spend With Pennies, you’ll see that Holly reworked the recipe mostly by changing the icing.

Trust me, this icing is AWESOME. It will be hard to save enough to frost the cake with after you keep tasting it. It’s like a nice lemon candy and it goes so well with the cake. The tartness of the icing offsets the sweetness of the cake perfectly.

One day I’m going to work with this icing to make candy disks out of it. I can’t say enough good things about it’s flavor!

Make Sure To Wear Your Glasses

This topic may sound strange, but my first attempt at this cake, I got the leavening wrong because I wasn’t wearing my glasses.

It wasn’t a total disaster though because I salvaged the un-risen cake to make Banana Bread Bread Pudding. Of course you could do the same with any leftovers of properly-made cake and it’d taste just as good!

The only adaptation I did to this recipe was change the mixing method. I have taken to using “rapid-mix” method, which I feel results in a better cake structure.

The Recipe

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Holly's Banana Cake

This banana cake is awesome alone, but frost it with this lemon buttercream and it’s even better!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time1 hour hr 5 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: cakes, desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: banana cake

Servings: 12

Calories: 724kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cup mashed bananas about 3 large
• 1 tbsp lemon juice divided
• 1½ cups buttermilk
• 3 cups flour
• ½ tbsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ⅔ cup butter softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

FROSTING

• 8 oz cream cheese
• ⅓ cup butter softened
• 3 - 3.5 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Zest on 1 lemon

Instructions

• ALL INGREDIENTS MUST BE AT ROOM TEMPERATURE
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 13 x 9-inch baking pan with non-stick spray.
• Mix bananas with the 1 tbs lemon juice in a small bowl. Whisk in the eggs, milk and vanilla; set aside.
• Place the flour, baking soda, salt and the sugars in a large bowl. Beat at low speed with electric mixer until combined, about 30 seconds.
• Add the softened butter to the flour mixture and beat at low speed until combined, then beat at medium speed (high speed if using a hand mixer) for 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Add half the banana mixture and beat for 20 seconds, then add the remaining half and beat for 20 seconds.
• Pour into prepared pan and place in the oven. TURN DOWN THE OVEN TEMPERATURE TO 300 DEGREES F.
• Bake for 55-65 minutes (see NOTES) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
• Cool completely.
• Combine all frosting ingredients except the lemon juice, in a small bowl. Beat until smooth. Add only enough lemon juice to get a spreadable consistency. Frost top of cooled cake.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 724kcal | Carbohydrates: 123g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 24g | Saturated Fat: 14g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 433mg | Potassium: 220mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 94g | Vitamin A: 851IU | Vitamin C: 3mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 2mg

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Here’s a chocolate cake so rich that it needs no frosting and sour cream is the secret.

Easier Than A Mix

Here’s a from-scratch cake that’s just as easy if not easier than a mix!

It’s made by what used to be called the “rapid mix” method. It has been found over the last 50 years that the rapid-mix method produces much better results than the old “creaming” method.

What’s most important when using this method is to have all ingredients at room temperature. It’s also essential to sift the flour and generally, cake flour is the preferred flour.

While I highly recommend you buy a box of cake flour, you can substitute all-purpose flour with a couple of hacks. I give this method in my Sara Lee Poundcake post.

Not All Cocoas Are Alike

There are two varieties of cocoa. They are not all alike!

One variety is alkali treated and is called either Dutch or European cocoa. This is treated with alkali to reduce the acidity and it’s really great for baking. Hershey used to put it out years ago, but now I never see it in stores anymore. It’s been replaced with something called “Special Dark,” which is a mixture of Dutch and regular cocoa. Don’t use that in this recipe. Dutch cocoa can be purchased from King Arthur flour or from Amazon.

In this recipe you can use the regular cocoa, but you need more. There is a substitution for making regular into Dutch. For every 3 tablespoons of cocoa, mix in 1/8 teaspoon of baking soda. Keep this in mind if you don’t want to buy the European variety. Some recipes you cannot substitute regular for Dutch process.

Since cocoa lasts, I always keep a box of Dutch cocoa on hand. I recommend you do this as well.

No Frosting Necessary

Due to the sour cream, this is a rich, substantial cake. It will require no frosting. A light dusting of confectioner’s sugar is all you will need.

Extreme chocoholics may like some extra chocolate, so if that’s the case, some chocolate ganache would be good here. You can serve the ganache either as a sauce or pour it over the top of the cake.

The Recipe

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Sour Cream Chocolate Cake

Here’s a chocolate cake so rich that it needs no frosting and sour cream is the secret.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time40 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: cakes, desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: chocolate cake, sour cream chocolate cake

Servings: 8 -10

Calories: 428kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup + 3 tbs Dutch-processed alkalized cocoa (see NOTES for substitution)
• 2/3 cup sour cream
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 cups + 1 tbs sifted cake flour
• 3/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 14 tbso unsalted butter softened

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9-inch round -OR- springform pan with non-stick spray. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment and spray the parchment (this step is optional but highly recommended.
• Whisk the sour cream, cocoa, eggs and vanilla in a small bowl. Set aside.
• Place all dry ingredients in a large bowl. Beat for 30 seconds with an electric mixer to combine.
• Add the softened butter to the dry ingredients along with half of the cocoa mixture. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed (high speed if a hand mixer is used). Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
• Gradually add the remaining cocoa mixture in 2 batches, beating for 30 seconds after each addition.
• Spread batter in prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean if inserted in the center.
• Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan and let the cake cool completely.
• Cake top will be rounded upon completion of baking but will become flat when totally cool. This is supposed to happen.
• Dust with powdered sugar.

Notes

1/2 cup of REGULAR cocoa (Nestle, Hershey or store brand) may be substituted for the Dutch processed.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 428kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 16g | Cholesterol: 106mg | Sodium: 220mg | Potassium: 160mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 26g | Vitamin A: 825IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1mg

*Adapted from The Cake Bible
*Post may contain affliate links

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These mini crumb cakes have the perfect flavor!

They are easy to make and don’t rely on mixes either. There’s also a surprise inside–a ribbon of streusel filling that’s oh-so perfect.

I made these in Texas-sized muffin cups and used commercial parchment tulip liners, but you don’t have to get that fancy.  You could use regular liners or even just grease the cups.

If you want to make them in regular-sized muffin tins, the same applies as above only instead of 6 cakes, you’ll get 12 smaller ones and they will cook slightly faster. I tend to like Texas-sized muffins and mini cakes, but that’s a personal choice.

If this is going to be a breakfast, then by all means use the Texas pan. As an accompaniment to coffee after breakfast, then the smaller size will be better.

The original recipe came from Food.com. What I did that was different was I made separate crumbs for the top because it just looks better! I also melt the butter for making crumbs and add just enough flour so I get a crumb consistency. This works way better than using the cold butter method because the crumbs keep their shape instead of the butter melting and having the tip look like it was a broiled topping with the cold butter method.

You can make them the day before then just microwave for about 20-30 seconds before serving to freshen them up, but they are best served the same day.

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Mini Crumb Cakes

Try these great mini crumb cakes for Christmas morning or any other time!

Prep Time20 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Total Time40 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, cakes

Cuisine: American

Keyword: crumb cake

Servings: 12

Calories: 287kcal

Author: Judith Hannemann

Ingredients

CAKES

• 1 3/4 cups flour*
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 egg beaten
• 3/4 cup apple juice
• 1/4 cup oil

STREUSEL

• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 3 tbsp flour
• 3 tbsp cold butter cut up small
• 2 tsp cinnamon

CRUMBS

• 4 tbsp melted butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup + 2 tbs flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

• *flour needs to be lightly spooned into measuring cup. DO NOT use "dip & sweep" method
• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line or grease a Texas sized muffin tin or a regular muffin tin.
• For streusel, mix the sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in cold butter until mixture resembles small crumbs. Set aside.
• For crumbs, mix all ingredients together until mixture holds together in firm crumbs. You may have to add an extra teaspoon or 2 of flour.
• Mix all dry cake ingredients together in a large bowl.
• Mix all wet ingredients (egg, juice, oil) in a separate bowl.
• Pour wet ingredients into dry cake ingredients, mixing only enough to wet all ingredients. A few lumps are OK
• Place about 1 tablespoon of the cake mixture in the bottom of each muffin cup.
• Place about 1 teaspoon of streusel on top of batter.
• Distribute the rest of the cake batter over the rest of the cakes
• Top with crumbs
• If making Texas size--bake for 25-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
• If making regular-sized cakes--bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Makes 6 Texas-sized cakes, 12 regular-sized cakes

Nutrition

Serving: 1person | Calories: 287kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 31mg | Sodium: 119mg | Potassium: 150mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 226IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 1mg

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Lemon lovers–here’s an easy dessert that magically transforms into a cake layer on top and a pudding layer at the bottom.

Are you a lemon lover? I sure am!

I’ve seen this cake around quite a bit lately and it always made me drool onto my keyboard!  I had all the ingredients so I decided to finally make it.

Most recipes I saw substituted a cup of water for one of the cups of milk and added additional sugar to the pudding mix. I thought that was rather odd.  I especially didn’t care for water being subbed for milk and come on!!!  Instant pudding is sweet enough without adding yet more sugar.  Lemon is supposed to be a bit tart anyway.

Lemony and delicious.  Easy too.

I also juiced the lemon and added it to the cake mix.  I just topped up what lemon juice I had with an amount of water to equal what the box mix calls for.  This, plus the zest, makes the cake incredibly lemony and less “artificial” tasting.

This is amazing warm, but even better chilled after it’s sat a while.  This gives the real lemon zest a chance to really infuse.

Lemon Pudding Cake

• 1 box lemon cake mix (plus ingredients on the back of the box)
• 2 pkgs (4-serving size) instant lemon pudding mix
• 3 cups milk
• 1 tbs grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray or grease a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.


Mix cake per package directions; stir in lemon zest. Pour into pan, evening out batter.


In a separate bowl, whisk pudding mix and milk for 2 minutes. Drizzle over batter in pan.


Place baking dish on a large baking sheet to catch any filling that may overflow.


Bake at 350 degrees F for 55-60 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean of *cake* batter (you will have pudding at the bottom).


Cool for 20 minutes to serve warm.  May be cooled completely and chilled if you prefer it cold.


May be dusted with confectioner’s sugar before serving.

Lemon Pudding Cake

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Coco Lemon Pound Cake

I’d read on a recipe group not long ago how to take a cake mix and make it more like a “bakery” cake.  It was an idea I thought I’d run with, even if NOT entirely, and the result was this lemon pound cake.

The instructions they gave for the conversion involve extra eggs, butter subbing for the oil and milk in place of water.  I wasn’t going to sub milk since milk has a tendency to make cakes rubbery unless other adjustments are made.  I had super large eggs, so I stuck with the 3 it called for, but I did substitute the butter for the oil as butter will tend to make a denser, less-airy cake; a texture I prefer, and it’s more pound cake-like in texture.

I wanted to do something a bit more interesting, so I made some crumbs and flavored them with lemon. Also had some toasted coconut left over from another days’ posting and figured that’d go really nicely as well–on top of the internal crumbs.

Tried sprinkling some of the crumb mixture in the bottom of the pan, but it didn’t produce the desired crumb-like topping.  It sort of became part of the cake, but that’s no tragedy, and I’m leaving out that step.

Instead, a better crowning glory for this heavenly cake was a confectioner’s sugar glaze, lemon flavored of COURSE and topped with additional toasted coconut.

I used a Bundt pan, but this can easily be made in a 9 x 13.  Just top with the crumbs and lightly toasted coconut and bake as per box directions for 9 x 13 pans.

Coco Lemon Pound Cake

Cake:

• 1 box lemon cake mix
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 3 large eggs
• 2/3 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 2 tsp lemon zest

Crumbs:

• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 cup flour

Pearly Lemon Icing:

• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest
• 1-2 tbs light cream/half and half/milk -OR- fresh lemon juice

Additional ingredients:

• 1 cup toasted coconut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray or grease a Bundt pan or 10-inch tube pan.  Set aside.


Prepare crumbs by mixing the melted butter, sugar and lemon zest.  Add enough of the flour to produce a crumb that holds it shape.  Set aside.


Prepare cake mix as per boxed directions, except in place of the oil, use the melted butter and add 2 tsp lemon zest.


Pour 1/3 of the batter into prepared pan.  Add enough crumbs so the crumbs are about 1/2-inch thick around the cake.  You will have crumbs left over, as this uses about 1/2 the amount made.  They keep and are handy, so cover and keep in fridge for future use.  Top with about 1/4 cup toasted coconut, then add the remaining batter on top of the crumb/coconut center.  Spread batter evenly.  Tap pan to release any air bubbles formed by banging the pan on a hard surface.


Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool in the pan 10 minutes.  Invert onto cooling rack to cool completely.


When cake is completely cool, mix glaze ingredients, adding cream a little at a time to produce a thick but pourable mixture.  Drizzle over cake and top with additional coconut.


Makes 12-16 servings


NOTE:  We tried this tonight (3/6) and it was to DIE for!!!

Coco Lemon Pound Cake

Coco Lemon Pound Cake

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Valentine’s Day Cakelettes

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