Spanish Coffee Cake
This Spanish Coffee Cake is the best streusel coffee cake recipe, moist from buttermilk with a nutty crumb topping. Perfect for brunch and gift-giving!
This Spanish Coffee Cake is the best streusel coffee cake recipe, moist from buttermilk with a nutty crumb topping. Perfect for brunch and gift-giving!
Note: This post first appeared on December 24, 2010. The recipe has been updated from the archives with updated content and photographs, as well as improved kitchen notes and recipe annotation. I hope you enjoy this favorite from my kitchen.
At the crack of dawn (or at least what feels like daybreak) on Christmas morning, the excited footsteps of children running into our bedroom are our wake up call. Our mobile alarm clocks do not have snooze buttons. It is the one day in the year when we reverse roles, where waking up is easy for them, and when we would much rather pull the covers back over our heads and sleep 15 minutes more.
Minutes later, we find ourselves downstairs, by the tree, holiday music playing, and wading through a sea of wrapping paper.
For the kids, clearly, they have their priorities – opening presents. But for the grown-ups, we need sustenance. We need coffee. And because I don’t want to miss a single gift opening, I make it a point to avoid cooking breakfast during the madness.
Luckily for us, we are blessed with a dear friend and neighbor who loves to bake. During the holidays, we get especially excited when she delivers her Spanish Coffee Cake. We save it, hard as it may be, for Christmas morning. As the children are opening up presents from Santa, I unwrap Cheryl’s cake, a beloved family recipe. It is the perfect breakfast treat to start our Christmas morning.
Cheryl’s Spanish Coffee Cake is simply phenomenal, and I was so excited when this year, she delivered her cake along with the recipe. So, we unwrapped it, even before Christmas morning, and dug in.
What will we eat on Christmas morning, you ask? Well, I have the recipe! Now I can bake another, and so can you.
HOW TO MAKE SPANISH COFFEE CAKE
Since I first shared this recipe, I’ve been asked, “what makes this Spanish?” Good question. A common belief is that back in the day, it was the use of Spanish/Moorish spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon, etc., that made this Spanish. Whatever its origins, the cinnamon flavor, along with the chopped walnuts make this a family favorite.
- Combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated white sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl.
- Add the oil into the flour mixture.
- Blend the oil into the flour mixture until moistened.
- Take 3/4 cup of the mixture and set aside with the nuts; this is your streusel.
- Add buttermilk, egg, baking powder and baking soda to the remaining flour mixture and blend.
- Pour the batter into a baking pan and sprinkle streusel on top.
- Bake for about 35 minutes (depending on the size of your pan, see recipe). Allow to cool slightly and enjoy!
LIKE THIS SPANISH COFFEE CAKE? MORE CAKE RECIPES TO TRY
Mamon: Filipino Sponge Cake
Apple Walnut Delight Cake
Carrot Cake Cupcakes
Pumpkin Spice Buttermilk Bundt Cake
Rhubarb Cake
Buttered Rum and Candied Sweet Potato Crumb Cake
Coconut Zucchini Coffee Cake
Gingerbread Snack Cake from Vanilla and Bean
German Chocolate Cake from Foolproof Living
Note: This post first appeared on December 24, 2010. The recipe has been updated from the archives with updated content and photographs, as well as improved kitchen notes and recipe annotation. I hope you enjoy this favorite from my kitchen.
Spanish Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated white sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup canola oil
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
- 1 cup buttermilk or substitute 1 cup milk + 1 teaspoon vinegar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, granulated white sugar, and cinnamon. Add oil.
- Take 3/4 cup of the flour mixture and add chopped nuts; this is the streusel topping. Set aside.
- Stir in baking powder and baking soda to the flour mixture without nuts. Mix in buttermilk and egg until just well incorporated. Pour batter into baking pan and sprinkle with streusel topping.
- Bake for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Notes
Baking Pan Options:
The coffee cake may be baked in different baking pans, just adjust your baking time. In general, begin to check your cake at the following times:- 9"x13" baking pan: bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- 9" springform pan: bake for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- 2 6" springform or cheesecake pans (for two cakes): bake at 325°F for about 1 hour 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
- Jumbo muffin pan: bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean
Nutrition
Comments
COOKBOOK
Made this cake to eat with neighbours later this afternoon on the patio – but who could resist it warm from the oven? Certainly not my husband and I! I noted that the recipe said it could be made in a springform or a 9 x 13 cake pan. I chose to use my 9 x 13 pan (lucky because I inherited it from my darling Ma-in-Law). It turned out beautifully and took 35 minutes exactly to bake, as set out in the recipe. As it was a thinner cake, being baked in the big pan, I am guessing that the extra bake time another commentator encountered might have been due to the cake being baked in a springform pan, which would have made for a deeper cake. Whatever, it is divine and is going into our “Home Recipes” binder for sure! Hopefully by tea time on the patio there will be some left for the neighbours to try!
Liz, I am so glad you enjoyed this cake and that it worked out beautifully in your 9×13 cake pan. It really is a keeper, and I do hope the neighbors enjoy their taste, too! Thank you for coming back to let me know :)
Is the cooking time for a conventional or confection oven? I have found I needed to bake this 18-20 minutes longer than specified in my conventional oven.
Hi Lorraine,
Bake time was in a conventional oven, though it can definitely vary depending on your oven, pan type, ingredients (eggs can make a difference, for example), and altitude. 35-40 minutes is a good guideline, though of course, as in your case, it may take longer. I hope that helps!
Is the cake supposed to be wiggly after 40 minutes?
Is the cooking time correct?
So delicious coffee cake. Thank you for sharing.
Liren –
What a GORGEOUS gift – and what a beautiful time of your life, right now, with little feet pitter-pattering through the house, and magic in the air at Christmas. I am still enjoying a wonderful and different phase of my life – but I truly do miss the magic of the little ones at Christmas time. It changes to a warm depth of appreciation for the time one gets with the family… and often, as they are grown and gone, it is only during the holidays. What a special time for us, too.
Happy New Year to you and your family!
I cannot wait to see how you bring it in!
:)
Valerie
I feel like I disappeared from the blogging world for a few days and missed this post. What a beautiful coffee cake and what a treat to be able to enjoy this on Christmas morning. My own was spent rushing to finish a cake and a couple of other dishes before we had to head to my parents’. I would have appreciated the less frenetic morning you spent.
Please thank your friend in advance for me as I definitely want to try this sometime. Happy New Year, Liren!
This looks so much better than the dry biscotties I eat with my coffee. Thanks.
Merry Christmas Liren! This coffee cake sounds divine, and the combination of that and your kids opening presents sounds like an absolutely perfect morning. :)
Looks delicious!
Heaven! I would love to wake up to this.
What a lovely friend to bring that coffee cake over. I hear you on the sustenance. Hard to focus on the celebration with an empty stomach.
What a perfect christmas breakfast! This year my son slept in until 10:30 (and he’s only four!) so I had lots of time to prepare breakfast. I might have to try this next year! (or, more realistically, next week).
You are so lucky to sleep in till 10:30 this year! Our 5 year old woke up his older sister (and subsequently us) at 4:30 am this year. That’s a record!
Yum! The coffee cake is beautiful! What makes it Spanish?
Great question. I’ve been wondering, too, what makes it Spanish. This is an old recipe, from what I understand, but I’m not quite sure why it’s called Spanish Coffee Cake. Some seem to suspect that back in the day, it was the use of Spanish/Moorish spices such as nutmeg and cinnamon, etc., made this Spanish. I would love to know the history behind it!
Merry Christmas Liren! Hope you and your family had a terrific day. I love coffee cake and yours looks so tasty. Congrats on the Top 9!!! Woo Hoo!!!
Merry Christmas, Lisa! Thank you!
This coffee cake looks delicious! I’ve been looking through some of your other posts & just wanted to say that I love your photos. Everything looks great!!
Why thank you, Jessica!!! I’m so glad you’ve been enjoying my blog!
I could really use a good piece of coffee cake – I haven’t had one in a long time and this recipe sounds really good!
Lovely Coffee cake!!! Merry Christmas!! :)
Beautiful! Coffee cake is the greatest thing ever! Gorgeous photos!
Thanks to Cheryl for this recipe, it looks amazing! I love coffee cake.
Merry Christmas Liren to you and your family. What a lovely Christmas morning breakfast – I wish I could be so lucky but down here in Los Mochis, I think we will be eating whatever we can find this morning. I will close my eyes and imagine it’s this!
Merry Christmas, Mardi! Hope you’re having a wonderful time in Los Mochis (that sounds much more interesting than coffee cake, if you ask me!).
What a wonderful way to enhance your Christmas morning! Liren, I can’t thank you enough for lighting up my life (and my kitchen!) with your happiness, ideas, and great recipes.
May your 2011 be a year of great health, great success, great friends, and great food!
Becca, thank you for your sweet comment. This past year of blogging has been amazing and I thank it for introducing me to wonderful people like you! Hope you had a great holiday :)
It’s been far too long since I’ve had coffee cake… but there is nothing more perfect than having that and a nice piping hot cup of brew.
Merry Christmas
that coffee cake looks delicious! we just have the pitter patter of doggies paws to wake us up….
I hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas!
Dennis
This looks like a wonderful coffee cake to wake up to. Merry Christmas Liren! I hope the New Year brings much happiness and prosperity to your family.
This looks scrumptious with that crumbly topping and the walnuts! I would love to get some of this all wrapped up on the holidays! Great recipe, thanks for sharing :)!
Oh how I LOVE coffee cake, it’s one of my favorite morning treats. Now I wish I had THAT coffee cake for tomorrow morning. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas with your family!
I’m always in for a coffee cake, but on Christmas day, while you are opening gifts or dealing with last minute food cooking, it seems just perfect! Happy holidays, Liren!
Mmm, Liren, this sounds so delicious! I think my coworkers are getting tired of me bringing in cookies but I think they would be over the moon excited if I brought in this coffee cake – we are all huge coffee drinkers and a slice of cake to go with our starbucks would be lovely. Thank you! And I hope you have a beautiful christmas weekend.
I agree! I do get cookie-d out over the holidays – this is always a welcome change of pace! I’m sure your coworkers would love it!
Merry Christmas, Liren! Hope you and your family enjoy the holidays!!
Merry Christmas, Jun! Hope you and Dennis had a good one!
Merry Christmas! There is no pitter-patter of little feet in my house, but I know that excitement nonetheless. You realize I am talking about coffeecake, not Santa… right? GREG
Merry Christmas, Greg! I hope you had a wonderful one!