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This sourdough coffee cake is the perfect sweet way to use up sourdough starter discard! It’s a moist vanilla bean-filled cake with tons of cinnamon and almond-scented crumb topping.
Are you a lover of all things cake? Are you a lover of all things sourdough?
Well, I have a big treat for you today!
This sourdough coffee cake is moist, flavorful, and topped with tons of flavorful crumb topping.
My favorite way to eat this cake is to heat a slice in the microwave for about 20 seconds. It makes it super soft, crumbly, and oh-so delicious.
If you feel extra decadent, drizzle the top with vanilla glaze or sprinkle it with powdered sugar.
This cake is the perfect addition to your sourdough discard recipe pile!
Need more sourdough in your life? Have you tried my Cinnamon Raisin Sourdough Bread, Sourdough Banana Bread, or No Yeast Sourdough Bread?
Ingredients Needed
For crumb topping:
- All-purpose flour
- Granulated sugar
- Cinnamon
- Kosher salt
- Vanilla extract
- Almond extract
- Unsalted butter
For cake:
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Sourdough discard
- All-purpose flour
- Instant mashed potato flakes
- Baking powder and baking soda
- Kosher salt
- Whole milk
How to make sourdough coffee cake
I love a delicious cake, and it’s even better when you throw in sourdough discard! Don’t worry if you have never made a coffee cake before. It’s a breeze!
- Mix the topping ingredients and set aside while you prepare the batter.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Add in eggs, vanilla extract, and sourdough discard and stir to combine.
- Whisk together dry ingredients and stir into the batter.
- Add milk and mix until you have a smooth batter.
- Pour into the prepared pan, top with crumb topping, and bake for 45-50 minutes or until the center comes out clean when checked with a toothpick.
- Let it cool, and then sprinkle with powdered sugar.
My Pro Tips
Recipe Tips
- Let the cake cool completely before cutting into this sourdough coffee cake. This will help the topping stick to the top of the cake and prevent it from squishing while cutting.
- Make note in the recipe where it says to use room-temperature ingredients. This helps the ingredients to be incorporated easily into the batter.
- Use a sourdough discard that has been stored for less than eight days and has been refrigerated.
- You could also use one tablespoon of potato flour or one tablespoon of cornstarch instead of instant potato flakes.
FAQ’s
Substituations and Adaptations
You can change a few of the ingredients, but because this is a baking recipe, you always want to avoid changing too much. Baking is strictly science.
- If you’re not a fan of almond flavor, you can leave it out or double up on the vanilla extract.
- I also really love using vanilla bean paste instead of extract. It adds a little boost of vanilla bean flavor, plus I love the little specks of vanilla bean studded through the cake and crumb.
- Give this sourdough coffee cake a citrus boost by adding lemon or orange zest to the cake batter.
- I have also substituted white whole wheat flour with all-purpose flour. It works equally as well.
- Add 1 cup of fresh blueberries to this cake for a fruity twist.
More Coffee Cake Recipes
Sourdough Discard Cinnamon Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Topping
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 241 grams
- 1 cup granulated sugar, 198 grams
- 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
- ¾ cup melted unsalted butter, 170 grams
Cake Batter
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, 113 grams, room temperature, at least 65 degrees F
- 1 cup granulated sugar, 198 grams
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup unfed/discard sourdough starter, 227 grams
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, 241 grams
- 2 tablespoons instant mashed potato flakes
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 cup whole milk, 57 grams, room temperature
- Powdered sugar, for topping, optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and spray a 9×9 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
For topping:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and kosher salt.
- Add the vanilla and almond extracts to the melted butter and pour the butter into the flour mixture, stirring until you have a uniformly moist mixture.
- Set aside while you make the batter.
For cake batter:
- In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until well combined and light yellow in color. About 3-5 minutes.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, and sourdough discard, mixing until smooth and scraping the bowl's sides and bottom as you go.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, potato flakes, baking soda, salt, and baking powder.
- Add the flour to the butter/starter mixture, stirring until evenly combined.
- Add the milk and mix until smooth.
- Spread the batter in the prepared pan and sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the top.
- Bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes, until a paring knife inserted in the center comes out clean, and the edge of the cake just barely pulls away from the pan.
- Remove it from the oven and cool on a rack. Once cooled sprinkle with powdered sugar if desired.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
