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A freshly baked coffee cake with a crumble topping on a white plate.

Best Way to Make the Perfect 5-Flavor Coffee Cake

This recipe guides you through creating a perfectly moist coffee cake, elevated with five delightful flavors: a rich cinnamon swirl, crunchy pecan streusel, bright orange zest in the batter, and a sweet vanilla glaze, ensuring a perfect slice every time.
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Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Servings: 10 slices
Calories: 400
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

For the Coffee Cake Batter
  • 2 cups All-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp Baking powder
  • 0.5 tsp Salt
  • 0.5 cup Unsalted butter, softened
  • 1 cup Granulated sugar
  • 2 Large eggs
  • 0.75 cup Sour cream
  • 1 tsp Vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp Orange zest from 1 orange
For the Cinnamon Swirl
  • 0.25 cup Granulated sugar
  • 1 tbsp Ground cinnamon
For the Pecan Streusel Topping
  • 0.5 cup All-purpose flour
  • 0.5 cup Brown sugar, packed
  • 0.5 tsp Ground cinnamon
  • 0.25 cup Unsalted butter, cold and cubed
  • 0.5 cup Chopped pecans
For the Vanilla Glaze
  • 1 cup Powdered sugar
  • 2-3 tbsp Milk
  • 0.5 tsp Vanilla extract

Equipment

  • 9-inch round baking pan
  • Mixing bowls
  • Whisk
  • Spatula
  • Measuring cups and spoons
  • Electric mixer (optional)

Method
 

Streusel Preparation
  1. In a small bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon for the streusel; cut in cold butter until crumbly, then stir in chopped pecans and chill.
Dry Ingredients
  1. In a separate bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking powder, and salt for the cake batter.
Wet Ingredients
  1. In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy; beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
Combine Batter
  1. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients alternately with the sour cream, mixing until just combined; stir in the vanilla extract and orange zest.
Assemble Cake
  1. Grease and flour a 9-inch round baking pan, then spread half of the coffee cake batter evenly in the bottom; in a small bowl, mix the cinnamon swirl sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle half over the batter.
Layer and Top
  1. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the cinnamon layer, then sprinkle with the remaining cinnamon swirl mixture and generously top with the chilled pecan streusel.
Bake
  1. Bake in a preheated oven at 350°F (175°C) for 40-45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Prepare Glaze
  1. While the cake cools slightly, whisk together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla extract for the glaze until smooth.
Glaze and Serve
  1. Once the cake has cooled completely, drizzle the vanilla glaze generously over the top before slicing and serving.

Notes

For an enhanced flavor, lightly toast the chopped pecans before incorporating them into the streusel topping. Be careful not to overmix the cake batter, as this can lead to a dry coffee cake; mix only until the ingredients are just combined.