Coffee cake made with sourdough discard! A buttery, moist cake with gooey cinnamon sugar filling and the best crumble topping. Eat it for breakfast, brunch, an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee, or even dessert.
Coffee cake is a perennial favorite at my house. Good for breakfast, good for a snack with an afternoon cup of coffee, and totally acceptable as dessert.
When I really have things together, I make this coffee cake and an egg bake for Sunday lunch and we eat leftovers all week long for breakfasts.
Keep leftovers on the counter and I dare you not to shave off a slice every time you walk by.
Oh, and if you didn't know, coffee cake gets its name because it's a great cake to eat while you drink coffee, not because it has coffee in it (which it doesn't!).
The 3 parts of this coffee cake
There are three elements to mix up for this coffee cake. Which in itself speaks volumes about how good it is because I would NOT dirty this many dishes without a really delicious payout.
- The cake - Sour cream makes this super moist and tender. It's slightly vanilla-y and the perfect base for a hefty dose of cinnamon.
- The cinnamon-sugar filling - This is layered between the cake batter in the baking dish. It's a perfect ribbon of gooey, sweet cinnamon once it's baked.
- The crumble topping - I love this crumble topping and use it any chance I get! (See: these discard pumpkin muffins.) It's sweet, packed with cinnamon, and adds the perfect buttery crunch. Sublime on top of a soft, gooey cake!
Making this efficiently
There are a lot of repeat ingredients here, and constantly putting away and getting back out the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon really tripped me up my first few times making this. Rather than putting things away as you use them, it's easier and less headache-inducing to get all the ingredients out, make all of the components, then put everything away.
Here's my order of operations:
- Make the crumble topping - this needs some time to cool before using, so start with it!
- Make the cinnamon filling.
- Make the batter.
- Assemble + bake!
Discard in cake
I love using discard in sweet foods because it adds such a satisfying balance.
Keep in mind that you'll want to use discard that's fairly liquid here - you want the batter to be pourable.
Serving
You can eat this warm, fresh from the oven, or serve it at room temperature.
Coffee cake is excellent leftover. You can reheat individual slices if you want the melty cinnamon experience, but it's *almost* as good at room temperature!
I store this at room temperature in the baking dish covered in foil or plastic wrap. It will last at least 3 days and likely a few days beyond that (but it's never lasted long enough for me to test).
Sourdough Discard Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Topping
- 1 ½ cup flour
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 12 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
For the Filling
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
For the Cake
- ½ cup neutral oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup sourdough discard (see note)
- 1 cup sour cream (whole milk Greek yogurt works too!)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
Directions
For the Topping + Filling
- Topping: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugars, and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter and mix until no dry bits remain. Set aside to cool.Filling: Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.
For the Cake
- Grease or butter a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.In a large bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, eggs, discard, sour cream, and vanilla until well combined. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat on medium speed for 1-2 minutes, until very smooth.Transfer half the batter to the prepared baking pan and spread into an even layer with a spatula. This will be a very thin layer - it will puff up as it bakes! Sprinkle the filling over top to cover, then add the remaining batter, spreading into an even layer over the filling. Top with the crumble topping. Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. Cool for 5-10 minutes before cutting.Leftovers can be covered and stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.
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