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Our favorite espresso coffee cake with mile high crumb! With brewed espresso and ground espresso in the batter, this coffee cake actually tastes like coffee!
There are people who like coffee and then there are people who need coffee.
My husband Ryan is someone who needs coffee. I almost believe that Ryan needs coffee like he needs oxygen to breathe.
He’s been known to go to the coffee shop and order what’s called a red eye (a cup of coffee with one shot of espresso) or the black eye (a cup of coffee with 2 shots of espresso) at 10pm at night!!
I’m pretty sure the baristas know him by name and I really think they should offer some kind of discount to grad students!
There is no denying that Ryan’s coffee addiction has increased since we got a Nespresso machine – I mean we’ve already gone through 60 pods! No judgment zone friends!
I’m definitely more of a coffee every once in a while kind of girl, drinking it for fun. But my weakness is coffee flavored desserts. Espresso chip ice cream is way up there on that list, along with espresso creme brûlée (aaamazing!). I guess I like my espresso with a side of …. sugar hahaha.
I pulled out all the stops for this espresso coffee cake. To make this espresso coffee cake I used my Empire Red Nespresso machine.
There’s 2/3 cup brewed espresso in the cake itself along with finely ground espresso in the batter and the crumb. And since I brought up the crumb – it’s like a mile high! If you like as much crumb as cake in your coffee cake, you will love this.
For those of you who want an average amount of crumb, you can certainly prepare this recipe with half the amount of crumb topping recipe.
For the million dollar question – does it taste like espresso?
YEAH! This coffee cake tastes and smells like espresso, plus you can see flecks of ground espresso baked throughout.
It’s a coffee lover’s dream but friends did say it wasn’t overly in your face so even if you don’t love coffee (GASP!) I think you’ll still enjoy this!
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Espresso Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 cup butter, 2 sticks softened
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
- ⅔ cup brewed espresso
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ tbsp finely ground espresso beans
Topping
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- 1 ½ sticks butter, COLD and cubed (3/4 cup)
- 2 ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp finely ground espresso beans
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325º F. Butter or spray a 9×13 inch pan.
- Combine all of the ingredients for the topping in a mixing bowl. Use your hands or spatula to combine the mixture into a clump-able sandy like texture. Set aside.
- In a separate mixing bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar and sugar with electric mixer for 1-2 minutes, until fluffy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Use a spatula to hand mix in the brewed espresso.
- Add the flour, baking powder, salt, and finely ground espresso beans, mixing with a spatula until just combined. Just combined means it's okay if the batter has flour lumps or minimal streaks of flour visible. Pour the batter into the pan. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the batter, breaking up large clumps of topping with your fingers.
- Bake for 50-55 minutes or until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Nutrition
Nutrition Disclosure
All nutritional values are approximate and provided to the reader as a courtesy. Changing ingredients and/or quantities will alter the estimated nutritional calculations.
This coffee cake looks awesome :) I love the idea of espresso in coffee cake- double the caffeine when you eat this with a cup of coffee!
I am in the same boat as your husband…I need coffee to survive. Being packed with so much coffee will make this perfect coffee cake for me.
I know!! Coffeeeee!!
Hi Beth!
I just wanted to say thanks so much for these recipes. I didn’t know I really have a sweet tooth until I found your blog today…this is the first time where I am saying “Yes! This looks yummy and let’s make this” and “Oh! This one looks soooo good, let’s make this one next” to almost every single recipe I see on a blog!!!!
Apples and coffee are my buddies so your recipes are just too wonderful and so lovely to see!!!
Thanks! I am off to make this coffee cake!
You are SO sweet! Thanks for the kind message of support Kelly!
Hi Beth, looking over this recipe, (I think I have coffee running through me instead of blood), I am wondering if it is able to be baked in mini loaf pans?
Thanks
Kim
Hi Kim! I’m sure it could be – the baking time would have to be adjusted but I’m not sure by how much. Report back if you make it!
Tus postres y dulces se ven muy ricos que motivan a prepararlos lo mas pronto posible para probarlos de una vez y saber que asi como se ven por fuera están tan ricos por dentro.
Te felicito por eso y espero que cuando los prepare me queden dan ricos y bien presentados como los tuyos que se ven bien en las fotos.
Muchas gracias por compartir tus recetas conmigo y con las demás personas que te siguen en tus blogs o en redes sociales yo recien te veo por aquí por primera vez que buscando la receta del Expresso coffee cake te encontré aquí en esta pagina y me encantaron tus demás recetas por eso ahora quiero suscribirme a tu canal para seguirte viendo y saber que mas recetas vas a colgar por aquí.
Poderte escribir si tengo alguna duda ya que tu eres una experta repostera y me puedes quitar algunas dudas que a veces tengo. Gracias por tu atención prestada a mis comentarios. Un beso y chao.