This glazed chai streusel coffee cake is a necessary level up from traditional coffee cake. Chai spices are added to both the chai cinnamon swirl and streusel topping for optimum fall flavors! The streusel topping is made with quick cooking oats, giving it a brown sugar oatmeal cookie-like texture and flavor, and it might be my favorite thing I've ever created. A slice of this cake served warm with your favorite cup of coffee is sure to give you all the best fall vibes.
Ingredients you'll need to make this chai streusel coffee cake:
- All-Purpose Flour: You'll need about 3 ½ cups of all-purpose flour.
- Baking Soda: Test the freshness of your baking soda by mixing a little in some vinegar.
- Baking Powder: Test the freshness of your baking powder by mixing a little in some water.
- Unsalted Butter: In total, you'll need a little less than three sticks of butter for this recipe. It's a lot, but it's so worth it.
- Brown Sugar: You'll need brown sugar in every element of this recipe. I used light brown sugar, but you can use whatever you have on hand.
- Eggs: You'll need 3 eggs at room temperature for this recipe.
- Vanilla Extract: Vanilla extract adds a wonderful depth of flavor that you don't want to skip out on.
- Buttermilk: Buttermilk is a key ingredient in coffee cake, giving it moisture and it's signature flavor.
- Chai Spices: I used a combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom for both the chai cinnamon swirl and streusel topping.
- Oats: Used quick cooking oats for a brown sugar oatmeal cookie-like streusel topping.
- Powdered Sugar: You'll a little powdered sugar for the glaze.
How to make the best streusel topping for coffee cake:
The best streusel has texture, depth of flavor, and remains in tact when baking in the oven (not melting into the cake). I have always felt underwhelmed by streusels that contain mainly flour and without another element to give it texture and crunch. I am not a fan of nuts in baked goods, so I opted for oats. If using rolled oats, I felt that flour was necessary to combine with the butter properly. However, with quick cooking oats, flour is not necessary, because the oats are fine enough that they resemble flour enough to absorb the butter. The result is a brown sugar oatmeal cookie-like topping, and it is incredible. I urge you to make this cake just for the streusel topping!
Other fall recipes you'll love:
- Chocolate Dipped Pumpkin Biscotti
- Cinnamon Swirl Pumpkin Bread with Brown Sugar Frosting
- Apple Cider Donut Muffins
- Brown Butter Cardamom Cinnamon Rolls
- Caramel Layer Cake with Vanilla Bean German Buttercream
- Apple Spice Loaf Cake with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
- Chai Macarons with Swiss Meringue Buttercream and Chocolate Ganache
A few tips to make this glazed chai streusel coffee cake:
- I recommend making the chai cinnamon swirl and streusel topping before making the cake batter, so it's all ready to go when you need it.
- Use a large piece of parchment paper to line the cake pan, leaving the edges sticking out for easy removal of the cake.
- Let the cake cool completely in the pan before removing, or it may fall apart.
Happy baking! x
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Glazed Chai Streusel Coffee Cake
- Yield: 1 9-inch cake 1x
Description
This glazed chai streusel coffee cake is a necessary level up from traditional coffee cake. Chai spices are added to both the chai cinnamon swirl and streusel topping for optimum fall flavors!
Ingredients
For the Chai Cinnamon Swirl:
- 28g unsalted butter (cold; cubed)
- 106g brown sugar
- 2 tbsp (15g) cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp cardamom
For the Streusel Topping:
- 100g quick cooking oats
- 106g brown sugar
- 30g granulated sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- ½ tsp cardamom
- 113g unsalted butter (cold; cubed)
For the Coffee Cake:
- 420g all-purpose flour
- ¾ tsp baking soda
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp salt
- 170g unsalted butter (room temp)
- 213g brown sugar
- 3 eggs (room temp)
- 310g buttermilk (lukewarm)
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
For the Glaze:
- 85g powdered sugar
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp milk
Instructions
For the Chai Cinnamon Swirl:
- In a small bowl, combine the brown sugar and spices.
- Add in the cubed cold butter and mix into the sugar and spices with your fingers. Mix until the butter is fully incorporated. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
For the Streusel Topping:
- In a medium bowl, combine the oats, sugars, and spices.
- Add in the cubed cold butter and mix with your fingers until the butter is fully incorporated. Place in the fridge until ready to use.
For the Coffee Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and line a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper. I used a large piece of parchment paper, leaving the edges sticking out for easy removal.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and brown sugar on high speed until smooth and light for about 2 minutes.
- Add the eggs in one at a time, beating between each addition.
- Add the buttermilk and vanilla, and mix until fully combined.
- Add the dry ingredients, and mix until just combined.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared cake pan, then sprinkle the chai cinnamon swirl around evenly. Pour the rest of the batter on top and gently spread out evenly with a rubber spatula.
- Bake the cake for 25 minutes. Then, remove and quickly add the streusel topping, gently pressing it into the top of the cake.
- Bake the cake for another 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Allow the cake to cool completely in the pan before removing and glazing.
For the Glaze:
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk.
- Once the cake is cooled, drizzle the glaze over the top and enjoy!
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