Carrot Cake Coffee Cake
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This carrot cake coffee cake is incredibly moist with warm spices and loaded with shredded carrots. It’s then topped with crunchy cinnamon streusel and a drizzle of sweet glaze.
If you love a tender, flavorful, perfectly moist carrot cake – then I urge you to try this carrot cake coffee cake. The carrot cake is incredibly flavorful thanks to the cinnamon, brown sugar, vanilla, grated carrots and (optional) crushed pineapple. You’ll love how the slightly springy, almost dense, super moist cake crumb pairs with the crunchy streusel topping.
This carrot cake coffee cake is incredibly comforting and makes for a delicious brunch, afternoon tea or no-fuss dessert recipe.
Step-By-Step
As always, feel free to click the link below. I like to show step-by-step photos and recipe tips to help ensure success.
Jump to Recipe- Prep the pan and preheat the oven. I recommend wrapping the outside of the springform pan with foil just in case it leaks. Grease the pan and dust with flour.
Make the Streusel
- Stir together the flour, sugars and cinnamon. You can do this with a fork – you really just want to get rid of lumps of brown sugar.
- Whisk in the melted butter. When finished, you should have small crumbles. You don’t want big crumbles because they can sink into the batter.
Make the Carrot Cake Batter
- Whisk the dry ingredients. Flour, cinnamon, ground nutmeg, ground cloves, baking soda and salt. I prefer this cake quite heavily spiced.
- Whisk the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. We’re using melted butter (as opposed to oil) for more flavor. Using melted butter also avoids the need for using an electric mixer (which is always a win in my opinion).
- Whisk the sour cream, drained pineapple, and shredded carrots into the wet ingredients. You want to used drained, crushed pineapple because it will add moisture without large chunks. The sour cream makes the cake extra tender.
- Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. I do this with a rubber spatula to avoid overmixing. Overmixing will lead to air tunnels.
Recipe Tip
Use finely shredded carrots. Do not use a bag of pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store. These are too large and won’t dissolve in the batter as the cake bakes. Finely shredded carrots have more moisture and will dissolve – so you won’t have pieces of carrot in your baked cake.
Assemble & Bake
- Assemble. Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle the streusel on top. You may or may not need all of the streusel.
- Bake. This cake will bake for about 35-40 minutes.
Recipe Tip
Using a springform pan means that when the cake has baked and cooled, you’ll unclamp the outer ring and then serve. You do not need to invert the cake to remove it from the pan. You don’t want to invert the cake, because you’ll lose some of the streusel topping.
After the cake is baked and cooled, I like to add a drizzle of glaze for a little extra sweetness. It’s optional, but tastes delicious with warm spices and crunchy streusel.
For more delicious carrot cake recipes, be sure to try:
Carrot Cake Coffee Cake
Equipment
- 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125 grams)
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar (67 grams)
- 1/3 cup brown sugar (70 grams), light or dark – I used light
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/3 cup unsalted butter (75 grams), melted
Carrot Cake Batter
- 1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour (188 grams)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter (112 grams), melted and slightly cooled
- 3/4 cup brown sugar (157 grams), light or dark
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar (50 grams), caster works too
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups shredded carrot
- 1/3 cup crushed pineapple, drained, I prefer pineapple in juice as opposed to syrup
- 1/4 cup sour cream (60 ml), room temperature
Glaze
- 1 – 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar (110 – 165 grams)
- 1-3 tablespoons whipping cream (15-45 ml), or milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C). Wrap the outside of a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan with aluminum foil so that the bottom and sides are covered. Lightly grease the inside of the pan and dust with flour.
Streusel
- Stir together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and cinnamon until there are no lumps.
- Stir in the melted butter. It should feel like damp sand and form small crumbles. I do this with a fork. Set aside.
Carrot Cake Batter
- In a medium bow, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla extract until there are no lumps of sugar or pieces of egg visible.
- Whisk the shredded carrots, drained pineapple and sour cream into the wet ingredients.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Do this by hand using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon to avoid over mixing. When finished, you should no longer see streaks of flour in the batter. The batter will be thick.
Assemble and Bake
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sprinkle the crumble over the top so that there's an even layer. Use small crumbles so that they don't sink into the batter. There will be a lot of crumble – you may choose not to use all of it.
- Bake in the middle of the preheated oven for about 25-32 minutes, or until the top is golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. If you are unsure if the cake is done baking, give it a few extra minutes. This cake is extremely moist, so it's unlikely to dry out. Note: Because of the weight of the crumbles, the cake may not have a perfectly domed top when it's done baking.
- Cool the cake in the pan.
Glaze & Serve
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1 cup powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of cream (or milk). Keep whisking until smooth. Whisk in a little more powdered sugar and cream/milk until the glaze is thin enough to drizzle but opaque in color. If you use cream, you may need a little more for the glaze because it's thick.
- Gently trace around the edge of the cake with a thin knife. Then unwrap the foil and carefully unclamp the outer ring of the cake pan. If the pan is still slightly warm, that's OK, but it shouldn't be hot. Drizzle the glaze over the cake. Serve the cake on the bottom of the springform pan (I always place it on a plate with it still on the bottom of the springform). Use a sharp knife to slice so that you can cut through the streusel.
Notes
- Pan Sizes: An 8-inch round springform pan will work for the recipe, but the cake will be very tall. The bake time will be about 45-55 minutes. You will not need all of the streusel topping.
- Carrots: Be sure to use finely shredded carrots. Do not use the largest side of your cheese grater or a bag of pre-shredded carrots from the grocery store. These will be too large and not dissolve.
- Pineapple: Be sure to drain the pineapple first. Crushed pineapple is optional. If not using pineapple, I recommend adding an extra 1/4 cup shredded carrot for more moisture.
- Storage: Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days, or in the fridge for up to 5 days.
- Nutrition: Details provided are an estimate only based on 1 slice with streusel and glaze, assuming that all the streusel topping is used and the cake is sliced into 12 uniform pieces.
