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Serve this delicious Raspberry Buttermilk Coffee Cake for breakfast, a snack, or just because you’re feeling indulgent.
Full of fresh raspberry jam and topped with a delicious buttery coconut crumb topping this cake will make your mouth water.
I grew up loving a Entenmann’s cake (a grocery store line of baked goods). My two favorites were their crumb cake (which influenced my coffee cake recipe) and their Raspberry Twist Cake which inspired for this amazing cake.
When I lived in England, I missed those cakes so much, but after years of home baking, when I finally got to have them again, they just weren’t as good as I remembered. What boxed cakes are? In comes this delicious cake which I have to say, I could eat every day of the week!!
Why This Recipe Works
- Buttermilk adds a subtle tang and fantastic moisture to the cake
- The vanilla extract works with the other ingredients to enhance the flavor of the cake.
- Shredded coconut in the crumb topping adds a texture and pairs perfectly with the raspberry jam.
Ingredient Notes
- Raspberry Jam – I used my homemade raspberry jam, but any good quality jam will do.
- Shredded Coconut – I used sweetened shredded coconut. If you use unsweetened, just increase the brown sugar by a quarter cup.
- Brown Sugar – I used light brown sugar, but dark brown would work too.
- Butter – I always bake with salted butter, but unsalted would be perfectly fine too.
- Buttermilk – Regular or low-fat buttermilk both work great in this recipe.
How To Make Your Own Buttermilk
To make your own buttermilk at home, add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to 1 cup of milk. Full-fat milk is best, low-fat or skimmed milk will still work. Stir and let stand for 5 minutes. The mixture may look a little curdled, but that’s fine.
For this recipe: ¾ cup buttermilk = ¾ cup milk + 2 ¼ teaspoons vinegar. If you do use your own buttermilk, I would start with using half cup and add more to loosen the batter as needed. The batter needs to be quite thick to support the topping (see the step by step instructions for photos).
How To Make Raspberry Coffee Cake
- Make the cake batter.
- Assemble the crumb topping.
- Add the raspberry jam in rows.
- Crumble the crumb topping over the cake batter.
- Bake for around 25 minutes and cool.
- Drizzle with icing.
- Serve and enjoy!
Step By Step Instructions
Cream together the butter and sugar(for 3 minutes). Add the eggs and combine.
Pour in the buttermilk.
Add the flour.
Add the batter evenly into a square cake pan.
Drop the jam onto the batter in thick lines.
Make the crumb topping by adding flour, sugar, brown sugar, butter and coconut to a food processor.
Pulse until the ingredients resemble a fine crumb.
Don’t have a food processor? A pastry cutter could be used to do the job by hand.
Crumble the topping over the uncooked cake.
Bake for around 25 minutes.
Prepare the icing.
Drizzle the icing over the cake.
Serve and enjoy!
Erren’s Top Tips
- Don’t have a food processor? A pastry cutter could be used to make the topping by hand.
- The secret to a superb light cake is to cream the butter and sugar for at least 3 minutes.
- Not a fan of coconut, replace it with cinnamon instead for a more classic coffee cake.
- Enjoy the tang of cream cheese icing instead of vanilla? Try my cream cheese glaze recipe to switch things up.
- If you don’t have raspberry jam on hand, you can use any other fruit jam of your choice.
- Use cold butter in the topping for best results.
- Find yourself without buttermilk, don’t panic – just substitute using this handy formula: ¾ cup of buttermilk = ¾ cup milk with 2 ¼ teaspoons of lemon juice.
Note: I tested this recipe many times and on a couple of occasions, the jam sank into the cake during baking. When that happened, I added a little more over the hot cake after baking. It worked great giving a nice layer of jam from top to bottom (see the image above to see what it looks like when that happens).
Storing and Freezing Instructions
- Properly stored in an airtight container, the freshly baked coffee cake should stay fresh for up to 2 days at room temperature.
- To freeze the coffee cake (I suggest without icing) wrap tightly with foil or plastic wrap and place in a freezer-safe container or heavy duty freezer bag. It can be kept in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Make Your Own Jam
If you want to try making your own jam for this cake (it’s easier than you think), try my homemade raspberry jam or for something different, I have strawberry jam too!
Other Great Breakfast Recipes
FAQs
What is the difference between cake and coffee cake?
A coffee cake traditionally has a layer of cake and is topped with a delicious buttery streusel crumb topping. Best served with a cup of coffee or for breakfast. (Not to be confused with coffee cake in the UK which is flavored with coffee)
Is coffee cake a crumb cake?
A coffee cake is similar to a crumb cake but a crumb cake would have a lot more topping than a coffee cake.
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Recipe
Raspberry Buttermilk Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 1¼ cup all purpose flour
- ¼ tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp salt
- 6 tbsp butter (softened)
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 egg
- ¾ cup buttermilk
- 1 tsp vanilla (extract)
- 1 cup raspberry jam
For The Topping
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 4 tbsp granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 6 tbsp cold butter (cubed)
- 2 tbsp sweetened shredded coconut
- ¼ tsp salt
For the Icing
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp milk
- ½ tsp vanilla
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/176°C and grease a 8 x 8 inch square pan.
For the crumb topping
- TO MAKE BY HAND Mix the flour, sugar, brown sugar, and coconut in a bow. Add the cold butter and using a pastry cutter, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
- IF USING A FOOD PROCESSOR: Add all of the ingredients to the bowl and pulse until the ingredients it resembles coarse bread crumbs.
- Set aside.
For the cake
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt
- In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes).
- Add the egg, then buttermilk, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
- Mix the flour mixture into the wet in three batches scraping the bowl in between.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Add three rows of jam a third at a time evenly spaced over the surface of the cake.
- Crumble the crumb topping over the in between the rows of jam until evenly distributed.
- Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out with little to no crumbs. Allow cake to cool for 20 minutes while you prepare the icing.
For the Icing
- Add the powdered sugar in a medium bowl, add two tablespoons of milk and the vanilla extract. Mix until fully combined with no lumps. If the mixture is too thick, add one more tablespoon of milk.
- Drizzle the icing over the cooled cake before serving.
Tips
- Don’t have a food processor? A pastry cutter could be used to make the topping by hand.
- The secret to a superb light cake is to cream the butter and sugar for at least 3 minutes.
- To make your own buttermilk for this recipe: Use ¾ cup milk + 2 ¼ teaspoons vinegar. If you do use your own buttermilk, I would start with using half cup and add more to loosen the batter as needed. The batter needs to be quite thick to support the topping (see the step by step instructions for photos).
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