Sourdough coffee cake is a sweet, vanilla cake with hints of sourdough, a cinnamon sugar filling, and a buttery crumb topping. An easy favorite, this delicious cake serves well as dessert or an exceptional breakfast treat.
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One of the best ways to turn a normal morning into a special occasion is to bake a sweet treat.
This sourdough coffee cake is one of my go-to recipes because it suits a holiday just as well as a Sunday morning.
A coffee cake is simply a cake traditionally served with coffee, typically with a crumb topping or perhaps a drizzle of icing.
This sourdough coffee cake is light and sweet, swirled in the center with a gooey cinnamon filling. The same filling used in the center is also used as a crumble topping, which I find to be both delicious and efficient.
It’s a great recipe for using up sourdough discard, and that classic tangy flavor is the perfect balance with a buttery, crisp, cinnamon crumble.
Served with cold milk or hot coffee, this cinnamon coffee cake is a big family favorite breakfast, right up there with sourdough cinnamon rolls and sourdough banana bread.
Why You’ll Love Sourdough Coffee Cake
Delicious go-to – It’s sweet, but not too sweet! The spice of the cinnamon and the warm, buttery flavors of the vanilla cake work well with the sourdough tang. Use discard for bolder sourdough flavor, or active starter for a milder tone.
Year-round favorite – Coffee cakes are always good, and cinnamon is a flavor that’s a hit all year. It’s light enough for spring and summer while bursting with all the warm, cozy flavor for fall and winter.
Sourdough discard – Coffee cakes are one of my favorite ways to use sourdough discard. Discard adds so much moisture and flavor! If you’re interested in more ways to incorporate your discard into breakfast, I compiled a list of 20+ sourdough discard breakfast recipes just for that purpose!
Ingredients
Oil: Any neutral oil will work, I prefer avocado oil. Coconut oil would be melted and slightly cooled for use in the cake batter.
Brown sugar: Combined with cane sugar to sweeten the cake and topping, brown sugar gives a deep molasses flavor and produces a golden color in the bake.
Sourdough starter: For this recipe, you can use active starter or discard.
All-purpose flour: I love all-purpose flour for this recipe, as it gives consistent results and maintains a tender and light crumb.
A full ingredient list with exact amounts can be found in the recipe card below.
How to Make Sourdough Coffee Cake
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir the cinnamon crumble ingredients (melted and cooled butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour) until completely combined. Set aside.
Step 2: In a large mixing bowl, cream the oil, cane sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
Step 3: Add the eggs, vanilla, sourdough starter, and milk. Mix well.
Step 4: In a separate bowl, whisk the salt, baking soda, and flour until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula until just combined. Don’t overmix the batter.
Step 5: Pour half of the coffee cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle half of the crumble mixture evenly on top. Pour the remaining cake batter over the crumble, then sprinkle the rest of the crumble mixture over the top of the batter.
Step 6: Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes. The edges will start to turn golden, and a toothpick inserted should come out clean. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Long Fermented Version
Note: The cinnamon filling won’t be fermented for this recipe, but the batter can be fermented. Keep in mind that a fermented cake batter typically results in a denser, less fluffy cake.
Step 1: Combine the oil, sugars, eggs, sourdough starter, milk, and flour. Cover with a tight lid or plastic wrap (to prevent a hard crust from forming) and leave at room temperature for 8 to 24 hours.
Step 2: After the fermentation time, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
Step 3: In a medium mixing bowl, stir the cinnamon crumble ingredients (melted and cooled butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour) until completely combined. Set aside.
Step 4: Add the remaining cake ingredients (vanilla, salt, and baking soda) to the fermented cake batter. Mix briefly, just until combined. Be careful not to overmix.
Step 5: Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle half of the crumble mixture evenly on top. Repeat with the other half of the cake batter and crumble mixture.
Step 6: Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes. The edge of the cake will start to turn golden brown, and a toothpick inserted should come out clean. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Tips
- You can make the quick version the day of, or start the day before to allow it to ferment. Fermentation not only helps break down the grain and reduce phytic acid, but it also adds a stronger tangy flavor. Keep in mind that a fermented cake batter will typically yield a denser cake, so you’ll lose some of the light, fluffy texture.
- A stand mixer will make working with the long-fermented batter much easier.
- You can make this recipe with active sourdough starter or discard. Either will work since we are using a leavening agent.
- You can make this dairy-free by using a neutral oil, rather than butter, in the crumb topping. Also, swap out the milk for almond or coconut milk.
- If the flour isn’t being fermented, I sometimes use einkorn flour instead of all-purpose for easier digestion.
- If you are new to sourdough, check out my post on how to make a sourdough starter and how to care for a sourdough starter.
How to Serve Sourdough Coffee Cake
- Serve for breakfast or dessert with a strong cup of coffee or a glass of milk.
- Serve alongside a zucchini frittata for a fabulous brunch.
- Pair it with a spiced chai ice cream in the fall, or even a honey lavender ice cream in the summer.
- If you make this coffee cake dairy-free, you can also pair it with this dairy-free pumpkin spice ice cream!
Recipe FAQs
No, it’s not made with coffee, but it’s typically made for coffee! A coffee cake is topped with a crumble, whereas a traditional cake is frosted.
This sourdough coffee cake tastes best when eaten on the same day. You can store it in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to three days or in the fridge for up to two weeks.
You can also freeze the cake for up to three months. It’s helpful to cut into individual portions and freeze them individually. Wrap with plastic wrap or parchment paper in a freezer-safe container. Thaw and gently reheat for a few minutes before serving.
This is purely preference! Coffee cake makes a delicious and special breakfast, but it can easily be served for dessert, as well!
You can use all-purpose or einkorn flour. When you are substituting einkorn flour, you will need slightly more einkorn because it absorbs less liquid than all-purpose. The batter tends to be wetter, but the results are delicious either way.
Here are some common reasons for a cake sinking in the center.
The oven was not preheated.
The batter was overmixed. Mix just until it comes together. There will be lumps in the batter, and that’s okay.
The oven door was opened too often, causing the oven temperature to fluctuate.
The baking soda may be old. It’s recommended to replace your baking soda every 3-6 months if it’s stored in an open container.
Sometimes bumping your baking dish or setting it down too roughly can cause the center of the cake to deflate.
More Sourdough Recipes from the Farmhouse
- Sourdough Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Sourdough Beignets
- Double Chocolate Sourdough Discard Bread
- Sourdough Pastry Braid
- Sourdough Discard Lemon Bread
- The best Sourdough Brioche Cinnamon Rolls
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love it if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone.
Sourdough Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Crumb Topping
- 3/4 cup butter, 171 g melted
- 1 cup brown sugar, 160 g
- 3 tablespoons cinnamon, 15 g
- 1 cup all-purpose flour, 140 g
Cake
- 1 cup oil, 216 g
- 1 cup sugar, 201 g
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, 106 g
- 3 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 8 g
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter, active or discard (113 g)
- 1 1/2 cup milk, 354 g
- 1 teaspoon salt, 7g
- 3 teaspoons baking soda, 17 g
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, 420 g
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
- In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir the cinnamon crumble ingredients (melted and cooled butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour) until completely combined. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream the oil, cane sugar, and brown sugar until smooth.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, sourdough starter, and milk. Mix well.
- In a separate bowl, whisk the salt, baking soda, and flour until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and fold with a spatula until just combined. Don’t overmix the batter.
- Pour half of the coffee cake batter into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle half of the crumble mixture evenly on top.
- Pour the remaining cake batter over the crumble, then sprinkle the rest of the crumble mixture over the top of the batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 40-50 minutes. The edges will start to turn golden, and a toothpick inserted should come out clean. Cool completely before slicing and serving.
Notes
- You can make this dairy free by using coconut oil rather than butter in the crumb topping. Also, swap out the milk for almond or coconut milk. The flavor will be slightly different, but still very yummy.
- See post for the long fermented directions.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I am currently baking this & hope it turns out. My guys LOVE coffee cake! I like to use grams when baking & I was a bit confused by the cinnamon in the filling & the crumb topping. The gram amounts seem a bit off to me. Filling is 3 TEAspoons (8 grams) & the topping is 2 TABLEspoons (5 grams)?! Also, the baking soda in the cake 3 teaspoons (32g?!) I did not do 32 grams, I just did 3 teaspoons. Lisa, can you please clarify these gram amounts. Thank you! It smells delicious so I hope me adjusting those things did not ruin it. Thank you so much for such an informative website with sourdough! I love it!
Thank you for pointing that out. I think the one was missing for one of the numbers. They have been adjusted.
When I lived in the States, I thought Entemanns had the best coffee cake. No longer. This is the best coffee cake ever. Thank you for this recipe. There is no such thing as coffee cake in Chile and I have tried many different recipes. This is a keeper.
Glad you enjoyed it! Have a great day!
Hi Lisa! Will freshly ground flour work in this recipe if I don’t have any Einkorn?
Thanks! Can’t wait to try it!
This is the second time making this recipe and the first time it turned out perfect! This time I came into the kitchen after 20 mins because I smelled something burning and the cake had bubbled up through the crumb topping and over the sides all over the bottom of the oven. The only thing I did different was ferment it longer because my step daughter had the kitchen occupied baking a cake earlier. With that being said I think there is a limit to how long it can ferment or if you do ferment longer than 12 hours the baking soda might not be necessary. It’s the only thing I changed from the first time so that has to be it. I now have it on a baking sheet and covered the rack with foil with fingers crossed it still turns out ok. Just wanted to give others a heads up to protect your oven just in case this happens. Oh well it was need of a cleaning anyway so I guess this was my sign!
This happened to us this morning too – we were so surprised, but it was still delicious!
So easy and delicious. Love all your recipes.
Wonderful!
I have made it twice. It is my husbands favorite. He is not easy to please. I do have to say that the second time it came out better than the first. Both were gone before I knew it. I did the quick version and I am going to try the longer version next time.
Thank you so much! I’m glad everyone enjoyed it.
OMG! I am new to baking from scratch. I made this as my first project after the bread (also excellent). Everyone raved about it! My coworkers keep asking me when I’m going to bring more in.
So glad you and your coworkers enjoyed it! Thank you for the review!
I just made the quick version of this and it was amazing! Directions were easy to follow. This did make a large amount.
Wow, this is an awesome cake. After 18 hrs of long ferment in 60* room, I had a hard blob with oil around the edges, I will use my stand mixer next time to ease the rest of ingredients in, adding the milk slow helped. I well buttered 9×13, put my flour bi-product of bran/germ on butter and sprinkled salt, this was not a regret as I love that salty, grainy, bottom. I also added an extra egg, 4 total, beating them first, folding them into my well mixed batter, at the end with the baking soda. Lisa, you have managed to fix the worst problem that I’ve had with coffee cake, there is never flavor in the middle, your filling mix, although a dry layer, worked so very nice. This recipe takes attention as I had to dump my batter out of dish to add the forgotten filling, also forgot the butter in the topping, I thought it looked a little funny, when it came out of oven the edges were perfectly crispy and the top dusty instead of crumbly, decided to melt the butter and drizzle over the top, crisscrossing the top and around the whole edge, My hubby is in love with this cake, I love you for your inventive home and recipes, keep em’ coming Lisa.
Hello, I’m wanting to make this today. I’m just having a hard time understanding the instructions. Is it missing the cinnamon filling instructions? I’ve read it a few times. I see it says to mix melted butter, sugar, flower, and cinnamon I’m assuming that that’s the crum topping? But I’m not seeing instructions for the cinnamon filling?
Thank you for your help!
Sarah, the cinnamon filling has no butter. It is listed as 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup einkorn (or 3/4 cup AP flour), and 3 teaspoons cinnamon. Just mix those together and follow directions as to when the recipe tells you to add it. I’ve made this before and it turned out great! The butter is listed for the crumb topping…and if you use it in place of coconut oil for the cake.