Description
This bright Lemon Coffee Cake is sending traditional coffee cake to the curb. The cake is bursting with lemon flavor galore, extra tender and moist, and so delicious. Lemon-flavored sponge cake, a brown sugar cinnamon center, a crumbly topping, and a slick lemony-vanilla icing to finish…sheesh. This lemon coffee cake makes for a lovely breakfast/brunch treat alongside your favorite hot beverage, mmm!
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 ½ cups buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- Zest & juice of 1 small lemon
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 (3.4 ounce) box Jell-O lemon instant pudding & pie filling
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
For the cinnamon sugar center:
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- Pinch of salt
For the crumb topping:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ cup (1 stick) butter, melted
For the icing- (optional):
- 1 cup powdered sugar, sifted if lumpy
- 1 ½ tablespoons milk of choice
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325°F. Generously coat a tubular-shaped baking pan (aka tube/angel food cake pan) with non-stick spray and set aside.
- For the cake: In a large mixing bowl, combine the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, vanilla extract, and lemon zest + lemon juice. Whisk the wet ingredients well to combine. Then add the flour, dry lemon pudding mix, baking powder, and salt. Mix the batter until just combined. Then set the cake batter aside.
- For the cinnamon sugar center: In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Use your hands or a utensil to work the mixture together until well combined. Set aside.
- For the crumb topping: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter and stir until the mixture resembles coarse, sand-like crumbles. I like to use my hands to form the streusel.
- For cake assembly: Pour half of the cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Then use a utensil to spread the batter to the edges or gently tap to fill the bottom. Evenly sprinkle the cinnamon sugar on top of the cake batter. Then evenly pour the remaining cake batter over the cinnamon sugar. Lastly, evenly sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake, gently patting the crumbs into the cake batter.
- Bake the cake at 325°F for 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Meanwhile, prepare the icing.
- For the icing (optional): In a medium bowl, combine the powdered sugar, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract. Whisk the icing until silky smooth and well combined.
- After baking, let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Then carefully remove the cake from the pan and transfer the cake to a cooling rack to continue cooling, and evenly drizzle the icing over the cake (if using). Let the cake sit for 10-15 minutes for the icing to set.
- Serve. Slice the lemon coffee cake into wedges and serve. Enjoy!
Notes
- Gluten-free needs? Swap the all-purpose flour for any gluten-free baking flour as a 1:1 ratio (we love Bob’s Red Mill gf flour!).
- Please read blog post in its entirety for more tips + tricks.