We love a coffee cake when it has actual, delicious coffee in it. Our Specialty Coffee Cake recipe takes the “coffee” part very seriously--just like we take our coffee. And that's what we think makes it special:
IT’S A COFFEE CAKE RECIPE DESIGNED BY A SPECIALTY COFFEE ROASTER, BUT MADE FOR EVERYONE.
There are a lot of coffee cakes out there, a lot of them without any coffee, but we knew that we needed something special, and more so, made with some of our specialty coffee. After all, this isn’t just a cake -- it’s Specialty Coffee Cake -- and our decades of experience in baking and roasting informed the recipe heavily. In fact, we think it's the perfect blend of those experiences.
Kaldi’s Coffee loves a coffee cake when it has actual, delicious coffee in it. Our Specialty Coffee Cake Recipe takes the “coffee” part very seriously--just like we take our coffee. And that's what we think makes it special.
Brew a very strong cup of coffee (see our blog and coming videos for ways to do this) and cool it off in the fridge before continuing. You could do this the day before.
Finely chop your pecans or walnuts or pulse them a few times in a food processor. Then mix them with the cinnamon and sugar to finish the streusel. Set aside for later.
Combine all your dry ingredients for the cake and mix together.
Combine the cold strong coffee with the buttermilk and vanilla and whisk together. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and if you’re using a bundt pan, lightly butter it and dust it with flour so your cake will come out easily. We use a 9x13 pan
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together the sugar and soft butter until light and fluffy. About 5 minutes with a stand mixer or 10 minutes with a hand mixer.
Mix in one egg at a time, mixing on low after each egg.
Add your dry and wet ingredients to the batter in the following order, stirring after every step: 1/3 dry mix, 1/2 wet mix, 1/3 dry mix, the remaining wet mix, the remaining dry mix. Mix well and scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is well combined.
Pour half of your batter into your 9x13 or bundt pan. Add half your streusel in an even layer. Top with rest of your batter and the remaining streusel.
Bake at 350 degrees until a wooden skewer comes out cleanly, about 35 minutes for a 9x13 pan and an hour for a bundt pan. It could vary based on your pan so just check it regularly.
Cool the cake for 10 minutes on a rack and then, if you used a bundt pan, invert it on a plate to carefully remove the cake. You can slide a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen the cake a bit.
Cool the cake completely.
Mix glaze ingredients together and drizzle over cake.
Recipe Video
Recipe Note
HOW TO MAKE THE COFFEE CONCENTRATE
FRENCH PRESS:
We enjoy the depth of flavor and the comforting ritual of a French Press:
Use 10g of 700 blend coffee beans (ground for drip)
Add in 100ml of boiling water and stir, saturating all of the grounds evenlyWait 4 minutes, strain, and refrigerate
STANDARD DRIP MAKER:
Just make your usual cup, but don’t use as much water (we recommend around half as much). When it’s done, pour out what you need, and then add water (dilute) to the remainder of your pot to taste.
So, if you normally put 50g of coffee in and add in 900ml of water, use 450ml of water instead. Then, once you have the coffee you need for the cake, add in about ~300ml to the remaining coffee in the pot.
