April 7th is National Coffee Cake Day (to see more Food Holidays click National Food Holidays), and this buttermilk coffee cake is a great way to celebrate. I stole the recipe from Better Homes and Garden: New Baking Book which stole it from another Better Homes and Garden cookbook that called it Cowboy Coffee Cake.
Did you know? A coffee cake is a rich, sweet cake-like bread usually served for breakfast or brunch. Coffee cakes often contain fruit, nuts and sometimes a cream cheese filling. They can be frosted or not and are usually best served slightly warm.¹ (see more trivia in the Trivia tab)
Chop ½ cup nuts of your choice (I like pecans) and set aside.
Grease the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large mixing bowl add 2 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ cups packed brown sugar and ½ tsp salt.
Stir to combine
Cut in ⅔ cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside ½ cup crumb mixture.
Stir 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp ground cinnamon and ½ tsp ground nutmeg into remaining crumb mixture.
In a small mixing bowl combine 2 beaten eggs and 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk.
Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture
mix well
Spoon batter into prepared pan. Stir together reserved crumb mixture and nuts.
Sprinkle over batter.
Bake in a 350 F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean.
Serve warm
Buttermilk Coffee Cake
A soft cake-like texture and a pecan topping is highlighted in this traditional coffee cake. Celebrate National Coffee Cake Day with this Buttermilk Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 2 ½ cups AP Flour
- 1 ½ cups packed brown sugar
- ½ tsp salt
- ⅔ cup butter or shortening
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground nutmeg
- 2 beaten eggs
- 1 ⅓ cups buttermilk or sour milk
- ½ cup chopped nuts
Instructions
-
Grease the bottom and ½ inch up the sides of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large mixing bowl combine flour, brown sugar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside ½ cup crumb mixture. Stir baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg into remaining crumb mixture.
-
In a small mixing bowl combine eggs and buttermilk. Add egg mixture all at once to dry mixture; mix well. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Stir together reserved crumb mixture and nuts. Sprinkle over batter. Bake in a 350 F oven for 35 to 40 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm.
Recipe Notes
I rarely have buttermilk in the house so I normally make sour milk when a recipe calls for buttermilk unless the quantity of buttermilk is large enough to purchase a container of buttermilk. To make 1 cup sour milk place 1 tbsp of lemon juice (you can also use white vinegar) in a liquid measuring cup. Then add enough milk to measure to the 1 cup measurement line. Let the mixture stand for 5 minutes before using it in the recipe. For this recipe I make the sour milk first, I just use 1 tbsp + 1 tsp of lemon juice then add milk to measure 1 ⅓ cup volume and let it sit on the counter while I chop the nuts, then prep the dry ingredients. Be warned you will start to smell the sour milk after it sits awhile, this is normal.