Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake with Almond Streusel
Meyer lemons are sweet and have a slight orange flavor, which upgrades a good Lemon Coffee Cake into an exceptional Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake.
Meyer lemons are sweet and have a slight orange flavor, which upgrades a good Lemon Coffee Cake into an exceptional Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake.
Morning Munchies
I awoke to the sound of a motor this morning. Turning my head, I opened one eye to see Zella, one of our cats, purring insistently, her little pink nose sniffing me expectantly, Are you awake? As I rolled out of bed, our other cat, Zoe, joined the chorus of meows begging for food.
Half asleep, I grabbed a can of cat food, plopped it into a bowl, and walked away.
Meow?
They were following me. I had accidentally purchased the wrong flavor and now they were pissed.
Be happy with what you have! I scolded.
Meow!?! The cacophony continued.
I sighed and relented. I found the right flavor in the stack of cat food and opened another can.
Spoiled. Finicky. Demanding. They probably wouldn’t appreciate a slice of Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake with Almond Streusel for breakfast.
But I would. Especially since it involves lemon curd and Meyer lemons.
Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake
This is the sunshine I would love to wake up to – a coffee cake laced with ribbons of Meyer lemon curd, and topped with a streusel of almond and crumbled lemon wafers. But knowing my cats, they’d thumb their noses at it.
Oh well, more for me.
Lemon Curd
There’s nothing like homemade lemon curd, If you are short on time, of course, use your favorite store-bought variety, but if you have the extra 15 minutes, I highly recommend making your own. You can find my Lemon Curd recipe here. You will need a double batch for this cake.
Love Breakfast Pastries? Here’s more!
Hot Cross Bun Pain Perdu
Cherry Rolls
Savory Zucchini Scones with Feta and Thyme
Zucchini Oat Chocolate Chunk Muffins
Savory Scones with Gruyere, Prosciutto, and Green Onion
Continue Your Love Affair with Meyer Lemon:
1. Meyer Lemon Ricotta Scones
2. Meyer Lemon Tart
3. Meyer Lemon Jam Crumb Bars
4. Meyer Lemon Coconut Panna Cotta
Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake with Almond Streusel
Ingredients
For the Almond Streusel
- 3/4 cup almond meal
- 3/4 cup crushed lemon wafers 30 wafers, crumbled in a food processor*
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter cold, cubed
For the Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons Meyer lemon zest
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup sour cream
- 2 cups lemon curd
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-inch angel food cake pan.
Instructions for Almond Streusel
- Make the streusel by combining the almond meal, crushed lemon wafers, brown sugar, and salt in a bowl.
- Using your fingers or a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the streusel comes together into a course crumble. Chill in the refrigerator until later.
- Chill in the refrigerator until later.
Instructions for the Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake
- In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and lemon zest in the bowl of a mixer until light and fluffy, for about 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs, incorporating them one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
- Add the flour mixture on low speed in batches, alternating with the sour cream.
- Put half the batter in the cake pan and smooth evenly. Drizzle about 1 cup of the lemon curd on top, making sure to leave a 1 inch border from the inner and outer perimeter (any curd that hits the edges will risk browning the edges of the cake).
- Top with the remaining batter, using a spatula to smooth.
- Pour remaining lemon curd on top, again leaving room around the perimeter. Spread the streusel on top.
- Bake for 45-50 minutes, or until golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes. Run a knife around the edges and remove the outer ring. Cool for another 15 minutes then remove the center tube.
- Using 2 large spatulas, lift the cake from the center ring and continue to cool until ready to serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Comments
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This looks great! But did you mean 3/4 cup of unsalted butter for the almond streusel, or 6 tablespoons (which would be little bit over 1/4 cup)?
Hi Andrea, I appreciate your question – thanks for catching the discrepancy! I meant 1/3 cup or 6 tbsp butter. I’ve updated the recipe, thank you so much!
I just made the Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake. How do you get it out of the angel food pan?
The outer ring came off beautifully. When I went to take the cake off the tube part the cake on one side split and the lemon curd dripped (poured out) out. Help! I want to make a total of 7 for Christmas presents which I need by Dec. 17. Thank you. Peggy M
Would it help to put in refrig before taking out of the pan?
Hi Peggy! It sounds like the cake was too warm, especially if lemon curd is oozing out. I usually wait a total of 30 minute after removing from oven to remove the inner ring (wait 15 minutes for outer ring, then another 15 for inner) – however, that is the minimum, and the longer you let it cool before removing the inner, the better. Putting the cake with inner tube in the fridge is a good idea if you’re in a rush. I really hope that helps!
This looks delicious, and I love the story about your cats. I learned (the hard way) that I can never leave baked goods covered in plastic wrap out on the counter. My cat just plows right thru the plastic and nibbles on whatever is underneath. Now covering them with foil is an entirely different story…
LOL, what eager kitties!
Hi, I found your blog through Roxana GreenGirl on Facebook! Love your tablescapes and food styling!
Nice to meet you, Jen! Thank you so much, that means a lot!
Yummy. This is my kind of cake. In fact I just made a meyer lemon cake! Although mine didn’t have a streusel topping and that makes me sad.
Oh, I would love this cake and would be so happy to eat it for breakfast too. My little dog Angel is the same as your cats spoiled and demanding but adorable too :)
My Pilot would get along famously with your Zoe and Zella. He rouses us from sleep the same way and lures us to the kitchen and he stops right next to the cabinet where we store his food. Never one to show humility, he will usually turn his nose up at our offering after two nibbles. He’s got us trained, I tell ya!
Count me in as a fan of this lemon coffee cake. There is nothing, nothing I don’t love about this. :)
Enjoy your Sunday!
I’d love to wake up to a slice of this! I’m a sucker for the crumb topping.
I think this is the best coffee cake I’ve seen…really. I love Meyer lemon, and coffee cake (but usually with blueberries – um, not homemade), but never had it both in one! One day when I am comfortable making coffee cake, THIS is the one I will try. Love your pictures as always!
Hehe, such cute kitties! Our pet dog, Milo doesn’t care to eat if we don’t buy a particular brand of food. He’d rather starve for days altogether! And Yum! That’s a gorgeous cake! Love anything citrus!
Haha, so cute Liren :) Our Cockatiels are just as spoiled and demanding. But as you said more cake for you. It looks amazing. Wouldn’t mind waking up to that tomorrow. Have a great weekend!
Cockatiels cam be demanding? Oh, I’ve heard it all, and am laughing so much right now. Pets are so quirky and lovable, aren’t they?
This looks delicious! I wish I had more meyer lemon curd left to make this!
Time to make some more :)
Waking up to this would be absolute magic. It would definitely give me motivation to open my eyes, head to the kitchen, devour this like no tomorrow, and then head off to work.
Can’t wait to give this a try! It’s packed with my favorite things – crumble topping and lemon curd. Yum! :)
Oh. My. raving. We had a Meyer lemon tree at our first home in Venice, and dug it up to mve to the next, it was the only yard accessory that made the cut. Now that we’re in colder climes, I have serious withdrawals. But I’m gong to source them out and this bad boy using the list!!!,!,!
I dream of having my own Meyer lemon tree! That must have been such a treat, Heidi!
Wow, this looks amazing. I’m so exhausted right now (long day) and would love to end the day with a nice cup of tea and a slice of this cake.
LOL our cats do the same thing. If I’m cutting up meat I’ve got 2 cats and a dog who want to know if anything might possibly fall on the floor. They can be outside and as soon as I plop the cutting board down, there they are.
They wouldn’t like this cake but I certainly do. It looks delicious!
Wow..this look nothing like my coffee cake LOL! Yours is wow..more like amazing!!! Your photos making my mouth water for real!!!! Very well done!!!
I must try and will let you know. I can just imagine the taste.
Fabulous use of lemon curd, going to check out your recipe, I should make a batch of it with my stash of Meyer lemons! Beautiful pictures:-)
Hope you do try it, Patty! You’re so lucky to have Meyers still :)
I recently discovered meyer lemons (don’t judge!) and love it!! Can’t wait to try this yummy recipe :)
I didn’t discover Meyer lemons until I moved to California, so I remember what that epiphany was like. Now that you know, I bet you won’t stop using them any chance you get :)
I’m a complete sucker for those two words (lemon + cake), especially when they’re joined together. The addition of the almond streusel makes me feel a little bit better about enjoying it for breakfast (you know, because there’s protein involved). ;)
I like the way you think, Elizabeth. But of course the almonds make this healthy. And think of all the Vitamin C you will be getting from the lemons ;)
Clearly your cats aren’t like mine – he’s been known to find a way into baked goods and has an affinity for vanilla buttermilk pound cakes!
I can only imagine how deliciously lemony this must be with all the fresh zest plus the lemon curd. Love your new design, by the way!
LOL, for sure, Zella wouldn’t like this cake, but maybe Zoe would try it. Like yours, she has a thing for people food. Sometimes I think she’s more dog than cat!