Brown Sugar Cinnamon Topped Coffee Cake with Vanilla Glaze

I love brunch. Egg dishes of all kinds, fruits, bacon, sausage, muffins, bagels, bread...you name it - I love it. But brunch wouldn't be brunch without coffee cake, right?

Right.

So, today I'm sharing with you my new favorite version of coffee cake: brown sugar cinnamon topped coffee cake with vanilla glaze.

Oh boy.

I made this coffee cake this past weekend for brunch with friends. Thankfully, it was a hit! 

The cake and glaze recipes are both from Averie Cooks. The original glaze recipe that goes with the brown sugar cinnamon coffee cake was a cream cheese glaze...but I decided to use Averie's buttery vanilla glaze instead. She uses that for her blueberry and jam buttermilk coffee cake (another recipe I'd love to try sometime!).

Ingredients:

For the brown sugar topping:

-1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened

-1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed

-3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour

-1 tsp. cinnamon

For the cake:

-1 cup all-purpose flour

-3/4 cup granulated sugar

-2 tsp. baking powder

-1 Tbsp. cinnamon (not a typo - yes, 1 TABLEspoon :))

-1 tsp. ground nutmeg

-pinch of salt

-1 large egg

-1/2 cup buttermilk*

-1/3 cup Greek yogurt

-3 Tbsp. canola or vegetable oil

-2 tsp. vanilla extract

For the glaze:

-1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

-1 cup confectioners' sugar (sifted)

-3/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray an 8x8 or 9x9 pan with cooking spray and set aside. For the brown sugar topping, combine all four ingredients in a small bowl, mixing with a fork until crumbly (some lumps will remain and that's okay).

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the egg, buttermilk, yogurt, oil, and vanilla. Add the wet mixture to the dry, stirring with a spoon or spatula until just combined; do not overmix. Pour batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle the brown sugar topping evenly over top of the cake batter. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove cake and place on cooling rack, cooling for at least 30 minutes before glazing.

For the glaze, melt the butter. To start, add about 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar and the vanilla, and whisk to combine. Continue to add the remaining sugar and whisk until desired consistency is reached. If too thick, thin out by adding milk or cream, one half teaspoon at a time. Drizzle glaze over cake just before serving. If not serving entire cake immediately, only drizzle the glaze over the portion you are serving, and wait to drizzle the rest until closer to the time it will be eaten. If have any cake leftover with the glaze on it, store in the fridge. Makes 9 servings.

*For the buttermilk, if you don't have regular buttermilk, you can make your own with a few different methods:

Combine milk and lemon juice or combine milk and white vinegar.

Use buttermilk powder; add the powder with the dry ingredients and the water with the wet ingredients.

So if you don't have actual buttermilk on hand, have no fear! You have a few other alternatives.

Several months ago, I bought King Arthur Flour's dried buttermilk powder, and I love it. It has completely solved my problem that occurs when I buy a quart of buttermilk when really all I need is a cup...and then if I don't have time to bake something else, the buttermilk goes to waste. :(  Anyone else had that problem?! Powdered buttermilk is definitely a great solution! If you bake a lot, I highly recommend it.

Back to this cake though...  It's full of flavor, moist, sweet but not too sweet, and so, so easy to make.

This cake would make an excellent addition to any brunch table. Or, it would be a wonderful, simple breakfast on a lazy weekend morning. Served with a hot cup of coffee, I'd call this coffee cake "perfection." :)