Cardamom Coffee Cake | Step-by-Step Instructions

Every cook needs a great coffee cake recipe for those lazy Sundays or potluck brunches or bake sales. This cardamom coffee cake is one of my favorites. It’s a classic crumb cake, topped with a generous sprinkle of streusel and perfumed with cardamom, which, in my view, is an completely underused spice. Click here for the full cardamom coffee cake recipe! So let’s make it together. First, butter a 9-inch cake pan with removable sides and set your oven to 350º. Now, make the crumb topping: In a medium-size bowl, combine the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon.

Add the softened butter and use a pastry cutter or your fingertips to work it into a crumbly topping. It’ll look like this:

Chill in the refrigerator while you prepare the cake. For best results, use a standing or handheld mixer. Start with the butter, brown sugar, and sugar in the bowl.

Beat these ingredients together until pale and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes. Be sure to scrape down the sides periodically.

Do take your time with this—it really improves the texture. Here’s the finished product.

Then you beat in the egg and egg yolk. In another bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cardamom. Add these dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the buttermilk.  That means adding one-third of the flour, then half the buttermilk, another third of the dry mixture, the rest of the buttermilk, and the last of the dry. Don’t forget to scrape down the sides occasionally.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and level with an offset spatula.

Sprinkle the topping over the cake (don’t press it into the batter).

Bake until the top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Set on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Use a thin knife to loosen the cake from the sides of the pan. Carefully remove the sides, transfer the cake to a platter. Dust with confectioner’s sugar, if desired. and serve warm or at room temperature.