Buttermilk Coffee Cake

This buttermilk coffee cake is a perfect example of why coffee cakes are so popular. It’s quick to make and quick to bake, so you can whip one up any time the mood strikes. Better yet, it’s as delicious as it is simple.

The best coffee cake recipes use buttermilk, which has a pleasant tang to balance out the sweetness. It also reacts with baking soda for cakey loft. It’s worth keeping buttermilk on hand for this one recipe (though we know lots of ways you can use up the rest). If you don’t have buttermilk but do want to try the cake, don’t worry: There are plenty of good buttermilk substitutes.

Buttermilk Coffee Cake Ingredients

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• Flour: Use all-purpose flour for the right texture. Flour also helps bind the crumb topping together.
• Brown sugar: Brown sugar helps keep cakes moist. It also lends a subtle caramel flavor to the finished product.
• Granulated sugar: Using both white and brown sugar keeps the brown sugar’s flavor from being too dominant.
• Vegetable oil: Cakes invariably require some form of fat to keep them soft and moist.
• Egg: The egg in this recipe helps the other ingredients combine smoothly, and contributes to the cake’s texture.
• Buttermilk: Buttermilk brings a pleasant tang to the cake, balancing its sweetness, and also furnishes some acidity to work with the baking soda.
• Baking soda: Baking soda reacts with the naturally acidic buttermilk, leavening the cake and creating its light texture.
• Chopped pecans: Chopped pecans add flavor and texture to the crumbly cake topping.
• Cinnamon and nutmeg: Baking spices bring warm flavors to the cake’s crumb topping.

Directions

Step 1: Mix the batter

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

In a bowl, combine the flour, sugars, oil and salt, then mix well. Remove 1/2 cup of the mixture and set it aside. (You’ll use this to make the crumb topping.) To the remaining flour mixture, add the egg, buttermilk and baking soda, and mix well. Pour the batter into a greased 15×10-inch baking pan.

Step 2: Make the crumb topping

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To make the topping, add the chopped pecans, sugars, extra flour, cinnamon and nutmeg to the flour mixture that you reserved in the previous step. Sprinkle this mixture over the top of the batter.

Step 3: Bake the cake

Jonathan Melendez for Taste of Home

Bake the cake at 350°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

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Recipe Variations

• Make a butterscotch buttermilk coffee cake: Use all brown sugar to give the cake a darker color and a distinct hint of butterscotch flavor. To double down on butterscotch, top the cake with a 1/4-inch layer of butterscotch fudge and let it set. Alternatively, melt butterscotch baking chips and drizzle those over the top in an appealing pattern.
• Make a chocolate version: If chocolate is your thing, shift gears and make a chocolate version of the cake instead. Reduce the flour by 1/4 cup, and add 1/4 to 1/3 cup of cocoa in its place, but otherwise follow the recipe as written. Though coffee cakes don’t really need any topping, a dusting of confectioners’ sugar or a drizzle of chocolate ice cream topping is lovely.

How to Store Buttermilk Coffee Cake

Buttermilk coffee cakes can be stored at room temperature, in a cake keeper, under a cake dome or in a storage container with a tight-fitting lid. For short-term storage, simply cover the pan it was baked in.

How long does buttermilk coffee cake keep?

Your cake will last three to four days at room temperature before it begins to stale. In the refrigerator, it can last for up to twice as long, if it’s kept in an airtight container. Refrigeration does affect the cake’s texture slightly, making it feel a bit dry, but warming the cake for a few seconds in your microwave reverses the effect.

Don’t discard the cake if it goes stale. There are lots of tasty things you can do to salvage leftover cake or cake crumbs.

Can I freeze my buttermilk cake?

Yes, like most cakes (especially simple, undecorated ones) it freezes just fine. It can be frozen as a full cake, individual slices or anything in between. Your best option is to freeze the cake on a parchment-lined sheet pan first. Then, once it’s frozen and less easily damaged, bag or package it for longer-term storage. Expect the cake to last three to six months before developing unpleasant flavors in the freezer.

Buttermilk Coffee Cake Recipe Tips

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What if I don’t have buttermilk?

The easiest way to make buttermilk is regular milk with a splash of vinegar or lemon juice added. Milk soured this way gives the same light and fluffy result as buttermilk, though without buttermilk’s signature tang. If you have some milk that’s gotten naturally sour in your fridge, its mild funk makes it a better substitute in terms of flavor. Other options include plain yogurt or sour cream. For future baking projects, look for powdered buttermilk. It keeps for months and is always on hand when you need it.

Can I bake this cake in a Bundt pan?

Yes, you can. A 15×10-inch rectangular pan holds up to 10 cups of batter and a 9-inch Bundt pan holds 9 cups, so that’s pretty close. You can always make a couple of cupcakes with any leftover batter, or bake off the remainder in small ramekins. Bear in mind that a cake baked in a deep Bundt pan needs to bake longer than one in a shallow pan. Allow an extra 10 to 15 minutes’ baking time, and be prepared to turn down the temperature if it seems to be browning too quickly.

Can I fancy this up to serve it as a sit-down dessert?

There are always opportunities to make even a simple cake look elegant. The mild buttermilk tang of this cake goes beautifully with fruit and berries, so topping it with ripe, seasonal fruit and a dollop of homemade whipped cream is a slam-dunk.

For a more dramatic presentation, mix up a batch of raspberry sauce, or something similarly colorful, and make a puddle of that on the plate before adding a slice of cake. Top the cake with whipped cream and a drizzle of the same sauce or chocolate syrup. Custard sauce also goes well with a cake like this, either as a pool under the cake or spooned over it while still warm.

In a pinch, something as simple as sifting confectioners’ sugar over top makes it look special. It’s especially effective if you place a paper doily over the cake first, so when you lift it away, the sugar leaves a decorative pattern.