Description
This Gingerbread Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping is the perfect cozy treat for holiday brunches. Featuring a soft, tender crumb infused with warm spices like ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, sweetened naturally with molasses and maple syrup. A buttery, crunchy crumb topping adds the ideal texture contrast, making every bite full of festive flavor and comforting warmth.
Ingredients
Scale
Crumb Topping
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, melted
- ⅓ cup (67 g) granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (67 g) light brown sugar, packed
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ¾ cups (200 g) cake flour
Cake
- 2 cups (240 g) all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup (50 g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ cup (1 stick / 113 g) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
- 1 large egg, room temperature
- ¾ cup (183 g) unsweetened applesauce
- ½ cup (168.5 g) molasses
- ⅓ cup (82 g) buttermilk, room temperature
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pan: Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, allowing excess paper to overhang for easy removal later. Spray the pan lightly with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- Make crumb topping: In a medium bowl, combine melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Stir until well mixed. Add the cake flour and gently stir until the mixture fully combines without overmixing. Set the crumb topping aside.
- Mix dry ingredients for cake: In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add all-purpose flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix on low speed until all the dry ingredients are evenly combined.
- Incorporate butter: Add the cold cubed butter to the dry mixture. Mix on medium-low speed until the butter pieces are broken down into small pea-sized bits. Alternatively, use a pastry cutter or your hands to work the butter into the flour mixture.
- Mix wet ingredients: In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the egg, unsweetened applesauce, molasses, buttermilk, and maple syrup until smooth and uniform.
- Combine wet and dry mixtures: With the mixer running on low speed, slowly add the wet ingredient mixture to the dry ingredients. The batter will have a slightly chunky texture, which is normal. Beat together for about 2 minutes until just combined.
- Assemble cake: Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and spread evenly with an offset spatula or back of a spoon.
- Add crumb topping: Using your hands or a fork, break the crumb topping into small pieces. Distribute the topping evenly over the cake batter in the pan.
- Bake: Place the cake in the preheated oven and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. The crumb topping should become golden brown, and a toothpick inserted into the center will come out with a few moist crumbs but no raw batter.
- Cool and serve: Remove the cake from the oven and let it cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- Ensure the butter for the cake batter is cold to achieve a tender crumb.
- Do not overmix the crumb topping to maintain its crumbly texture.
- If you don’t have buttermilk, you can substitute with ⅓ cup milk plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice or vinegar, let sit 5 minutes before using.
- Use parchment paper with overhang for easy removal of the cake from the pan.
- This cake pairs beautifully with coffee or tea for a cozy brunch.