Cardamom Coffee Cake Delight (Printable version)

A moist cake with warming cardamom and a crunchy brown sugar streusel topping.

# Ingredient List:

→ Streusel Topping

01 - 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
02 - 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
03 - 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
04 - 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
05 - 1/8 teaspoon fine sea salt
06 - 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold and cubed

→ Cake Batter

07 - 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
08 - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
09 - 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10 - 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
11 - 1 teaspoon ground cardamom
12 - 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
13 - 3/4 cup granulated sugar
14 - 2 large eggs, room temperature
15 - 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
16 - 2/3 cup sour cream
17 - 1/4 cup whole milk

# How-To Steps:

01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan and line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
02 - In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cardamom, cinnamon, and salt. Add cold cubed butter and rub with your fingers or a pastry cutter until mixture forms clumps. Refrigerate until ready to use.
03 - In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom.
04 - In a large bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, approximately 3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract.
05 - On low speed, add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, followed by sour cream and milk. Add remaining flour mixture and mix just until combined. Do not overmix.
06 - Spread batter evenly into prepared pan. Sprinkle streusel topping evenly over batter.
07 - Bake for 38 to 42 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
08 - Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes, then use parchment overhang to lift it out. Cool completely on a wire rack before slicing.

# Expert Advice:

01 -
  • The streusel topping stays crispy even after a day, which is the mark of a truly great coffee cake.
  • Cardamom is the secret ingredient that makes people ask what you did differently, and you can keep that mystery alive or share it gleefully.
  • It's forgiving enough for a beginner but interesting enough that you'll keep making it.
02 -
  • Cold butter in the streusel is absolutely essential, so don't use soft butter here no matter how convenient it seems, or you'll end up with a greasy, dense topping instead of a crispy one.
  • Room temperature eggs and sour cream mix into the batter more smoothly than cold ones, making the cake more evenly textured throughout.
03 -
  • Always use fresh ground cardamom or crack whole pods yourself right before baking, because the pre-ground stuff loses its brightness if it's been sitting in your cabinet for months.
  • The parchment paper overhang isn't just convenient, it's the difference between a beautiful lifted cake and one that tears apart when you try to remove it.
Go back