8 Tasty Coffee Cake Recipes

Most of us know coffee cake as a fluffy, single-layered treat enjoyed alongside a cup of coffee or hot tea. Some might compare coffee cake to crumb cake — there are subtle differences, but both generally involve a crumbly streusel concoction, appearing as a topping but sometimes spread through the center of the cake as well. Whichever way the cake crumbles, you'll be ready to roll with this innovative collection of tasty recipes.

Running the gamut, our Tasting Table recipe developers bring everything from nutty coffee cakes to a whiskey caramel-glazed rendition, a cinnamon flop cake, and fruity interpretations with fresh oranges, peach jam, blueberries, and even edible lavender flowers. There's also a gluten-free almond coffee cake made with a harmonious blend of non-gluten flours. You'll get valuable input on techniques, substitutes, optional glazes, and lots more.

Try one, or master all, of these heart- and tummy-warming coffee cake recipes. Lucky folks in your edible orbit will most certainly share the love.

Nuts are nothing new in coffee cakes, but Tasting Table recipe developer Jaime Shelbert puts her own subtle stamp on this creation. Rather than getting a bold nut infusion through ground walnuts, almonds, or pecans, this recipe employs almond flour for a gentler approach. You'll also be working with all-purpose flour and usual ingredients such as cinnamon and brown sugar — but other innovative surprises include applesauce and maple syrup. Shelbert also mentions making a very simple, but optional, powdered-sugar glaze for gloriously sweet drizzling.

Recipe: Nutty Coffee Cake

Hazelnuts hold a name-claim in this recipe, but they don't get sole credit for the delightfully crunchy texture and rich nutty flavor. When creating this crumbly hazelnut coffee cake, you'll be in tree-nut heaven on multiple levels. We're talking real chopped hazelnuts and almonds, but also almond flour and the luscious Nutella or comparable hazelnut spread. Room-temperature Greek yogurt, milk, and butter provide the rich moisture a coffee cake needs. You'll also gain valuable information about retaining that moisture and on choosing nut substitutes such as pecans, walnuts, pistachios, and macadamias.

Recipe: Crumbly Hazelnut Coffee Cake

Apple and cinnamon combinations are widely recognized in baking, but this recipe instead features fresh oranges. It may be tempting to employ jarred orange marmalade when making this cinnamon orange coffee cake, but the small bit of extra effort is well worth your time. The bright rush of flavor in this cake comes from microwaving whole oranges for up to six minutes, chopping them into small juicy bits, and folding them into the batter. A layer of cinnamon and brown sugar bakes into the center, while a crumbly streusel reigns atop.

Recipe: Cinnamon Orange Coffee Cake

Expanding your fruit-based coffee cake repertoire is easy with this recipe from Tasting Table developer Taylor Murray. In this carefully curated creation, Murray specifically chooses peach jam over fresh or frozen peaches, primarily for controlling moisture and cake consistency. Rather than fully blending peach jam into the cake batter, you'll be swirling it gently into the top, where it deliciously slides into created pockets as the cake bakes. It's all crowned by crunchy cinnamon streusel. This recipe also works with other jams, including apricot, blackberry, and strawberry, or with spiced apple butter.

Recipe: Cinnamon Peach Coffee Cake

Created by recipe developer Katie Rosenhouse, our blueberry-lavender coffee cake features the indigo kings and queens of summer. Perky round blueberries, fragrant lavender flowers, and zesty lemons define this cake, but there's no need to worry about the relatively unusual combination. To avoid overpowering the cake with lavender flavor, you'll be using only two teaspoons of dried culinary-grade lavender. Before entering the oven, half the lavender joins the blueberries on top of the batter, just beneath the crumble topping. The other teaspoon of lavender stars in a delightfully fragrant lavender glaze.

Recipe: Blueberry-Lavender Coffee Cake

With this gluten-free almond coffee cake from recipe developer Jessica Morone, there's no need to compromise on flavor or texture. Using a duo of almond and coconut flours, she's mastered the art of coffee-cake baking sans the gluten. A key component here is sour cream, which counterbalances the inherent dryness of nut-based flour. For a smoother consistency in the crumble topping, Morone guides us through pulsing the ingredients in a food processor. Alternatively, you'll get similar results with blending, chopping, or even using an old-fashioned mortar & pestle.

Recipe: Gluten-Free Almond Coffee Cake

What's not to love about whiskey, coffee, caramel, and cake, especially when they're tumbled together and baked in an oven. That's what you'll be creating with this whiskey caramel-glazed coffee cake recipe from developer Jessica Morone. In this case, there's actually a hefty splash of hot brewed coffee in the batter. The whiskey slips more subtly into the batter, but roars louder in the caramel glaze. You'll be making the decadent whiskey caramel separately, ending up with a deliciously rich topping and a brand-new skill to boot.

Recipe: Whiskey Caramel-Glazed Coffee Cake

Cinnamon takes the cake in this fluffy, casual coffee cake recipe. It's a cinnamon flop cake, assumably a loose variation of Swedish flop cakes, but recipe developer Jessica Morone definitely makes this one her own. It aligns closely with American-style coffee cakes but with fewer steps than elaborate versions. This one requires only eight minutes of prep time and 30 minutes in the oven. That's a pretty marvelous start to any day, but this one isn't just for breakfast. Tuck a slice into your lunch bag or pop it out for evening dessert.

Recipe: Cinnamon Flop Cake