Coffee Coffee Cake
The breakfast cake that fixes all your snack, caffeine, and happiness needs
If you’ve ever thought “does coffee cake even have coffee in it?” Let me tell you that Claire Saffitz’s recipe will ensure that you don’t have any doubts. Her “Coffee Coffee Cake” from her book Dessert Person has instant coffee in the crumble, in the cinnamon swirl, and in the batter, as well as brewed coffee mixed into the batter. As strong as the coffee taste sounds, it is well balanced with notes of cinnamon and cardamom, the cake is moist, and the crumb is tender.
This cake is easy to put together, accurately makes about 20 pieces, and freezes well to enjoy later. I made this after work one day, but made the mistake of tasting some of the batter along the way. I was awake much of that night.
For this recipe, I used a number of different instant coffee packets. Thank you remote conferences that sent me gift packages which included many of these instant coffee packets! Thankfully, there weren’t any indicators that you would know they were different coffee grinds in the end.
Midway through, I realized that I left out the neutral oil. I am reading Samin Nosrat’s book Salt Fat Acid Heat and though I have not reached the part about fats yet, I decided that it was okay to add the neutral oil into the batter a few steps later. Adding the oil made a huge difference. I had gotten to the step where I creamed the butter, sugars, and eggs. By adding the oil, the batter transformed from being granular and viscous, to light and fluffy, almost resembling a buttercream frosting.
My sister knits and says there is something called “yarn chicken,” where knitters hedge their bets on whether they have enough yarn to finish their project. This is my version of “baking chicken” - timing when to take the baked goods out of the oven, at the risk of under or over cooking it. Claire instructed 40-45 minutes in the oven, with visual cues that a toothpick should come out clean after inserting it in the middle, but the middle can still be a little jiggly. I finally took it out at 55 minutes with a clean toothpick but not jiggly. Whoops. The lesson I am gathering here is that either this is a very forgiving recipe, or trust your gut and take it out when you think it’s ready. You will sharpen your senses and perhaps grow your gut with all the baking.
As I revise this piece about 6 weeks later, know that this recipe is the gift that keeps on giving. I doled out more than half of the coffee cake slices to friends and family, and individually wrapped each remaining piece and froze them. Whenever I need a quick snack and extra caffeine kick, I take it out of the freezer, let it thaw for about an hour, and pop it in the toaster oven at 350 degrees. I feel like I can have my own little coffee shop in my apartment, with my coffee and coffee cake, whenever I want.
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If you’ve made it this far - sweet! Thank you for your time and attention. In my free time, I also sit on the board of a wonderful organization, Asian Counseling and Referral Services (ACRS). ACRS provides culturally relevant food at their food bank, and advocates for more comprehensive and just systems for immigrants in Washington.
I am building a team for the organization’s annual Walk for Rice on June 17th from 9:00am-12pm where we will walk around Seward Park in honor of raising funds for the ACRS food bank. Will you join my team? If you are not in Seattle or aren’t able to make it, would you be willing to give something meaningful to you (if meaningful for you is $5, that feels meaningful to me!)? Please ask me anything about the Walk for Rice or about ACRS’ work! I am proud to be a part of an organization that values systemic changes for social justice, holistic and multilingual services, and cultivating leaders for the future.
Thanks for reading and see you soon!