• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Delicious Not Gorgeous logo
  • Coffee
  • Cantonese
  • Recipe Index
  • About
menu icon
go to homepage
search icon
Homepage link
  • Coffee
  • Cantonese
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • ×

    Home » Coffee

    Pecan Chocolate Espresso Coffee Cake

    Feb 25, 2016 · 11 Comments

    • Share
    • Tweet

    usually if there's something special-ish for breakfast at home on the weekends (special meaning something besides toast, oatmeal or yogurt), it's going to be omelettes, challah french toast or alton brown's pancakes, made by my dad. on christmas morning, 99% of the time it's this french toast casserole (basically cinnamon toast bread pudding). the rest of the time is up in the air, and this was one such occasion, perfect for coffee cake.

    moist and tender. it had a tight crumb and was a little dense, but that’s how i like it. there were crunchy bits on top where the cake peeked through the streusel, always a good thing. you couldn’t even taste the white whole wheat flour. there was something spicy, maybe even a touch fruity, that i couldn’t pick up on, even though the only thing i could think of doing that was cinnamon. which i recognize.

    the crumble is the main flavor component, and i loved all the pecans and coffee and chocolate. it was super sandy and kept falling off the cake, though. a higher fat/dry ratio could work, or i’m leaning towards increasing the amount of cake surface area that the crumble touches (either by swirling it into the batter, or layering it within the batter). lmk how it goes if you try it!

    moist, espresso-flavored coffee cake with a pecan chocolate streusel

    Pecan Chocolate Espresso Coffee Cake
    adapted from Cheryl and Griffith Day’s The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook

    1 cup all-purpose flour
    1 cup white whole wheat flour (or you could use all all-purpose flour like the original)
    ⅔ cup packed light brown sugar (I cut the original 1 cup down to ⅔ cup)
    ⅓ cup granulated sugar (I cut the original ½ cup down to ⅓ cup)
    1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
    ¾ teaspoon kosher salt
    ¾ cup chopped (or hand-broken) pecans, toasted
    3 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped (I got lazy and used semisweet chocolate chips)
    ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
    2 teaspoon espresso powder (I used 1 T French roast coffee)
    1 teaspoon baking soda
    1 cup buttermilk, room temperature (I used 1 T white vinegar and 1 cup - 1 T milk)
    1 egg, room temperature
    ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
    ½ teaspoon almond extract

    1. Grease a 9x9" (8x8" is fine too) pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
    2. Combine the flour, sugars, butter and salt until the mixture resembles coarse meal.
    3. Transfer ¾ cup to a small bowl. Stir in the nuts, chocolate and espresso for the topping.
    4. Sprinkle the baking soda onto the remaining flour mixture; add the buttermilk, egg, and extracts. Beat just until combined. Scrape into the prepared baking pan, spreading it evenly. Sprinkle the topping on top.
    5. Bake at 350F for 40 to 45 minutes, until the top of the coffee cake is golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean. Unmold when the cake has cooled.

    More Coffee Recipes

    • Chestnut Praline Latte
    • Biscoff Latte
    • Oat Milk Pumpkin Spice Latte
    • Matcha Espresso Drink

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Hop Nguyen says

      February 25, 2016 at 11:43 pm

      What a coincidence to find another food blogger from orange county ! I just randomly clicked on a blog from the foodie blog roll and found yours !

      Cool recipes btw. And I agree, taste is definitely more important than looks.

      http://www.eatwithhop.com

      Reply
      • Heather says

        February 26, 2016 at 9:05 am

        nice to meet you! for some reason it's cooler when i find neighboring bloggers (;

        Reply
    2. Brenda @ a farmgirl's dabbles says

      February 26, 2016 at 7:21 pm

      You had me at espresso!!

      Reply
    3. David @ MilkFrotherJudge says

      August 05, 2016 at 11:51 am

      Awesome combination chocolate and espresso. I’ve never actually tried any coffee cake before. I am always looking for tried and true baking recipes and this coffee cake is up there on the list. I can even get my coffee in the same delicious morsel. Thanks for sharing

      Reply
      • Heather says

        August 05, 2016 at 12:57 pm

        coffee cake is a must try! i love it for brunch (or whenever i have a long day ahead and need a little something sweet in the morning). thanks for stopping by, david!

        Reply
        • Alex @ Smart Kitchen Guide says

          December 19, 2016 at 2:08 am

          I love espresso! It's a mouth watering combination of chocolate and espresso!

          Reply
    4. Rezoan Rockey says

      January 30, 2017 at 8:49 am

      As a coffee lover this post is very helpful for me. Anyways after looking your photos I am feeling hungry. Let make it asap by myself and taste it. Thanks for share it.

      Reply
      • Heather says

        January 30, 2017 at 10:06 am

        thanks, rezoan! let me know how you like it if you try it; it's a keeper 😊

        Reply
        • Rezoan Rockey says

          January 31, 2017 at 12:45 am

          Welcome, Ok let me try first. 🙂

          Reply
          • Heather says

            January 31, 2017 at 11:31 am

            i look forward to it! now you've got me thinking about making another batch 😋🍰

            Reply
            • Rezoan Rockey says

              February 01, 2017 at 12:47 am

              Yes, sure.

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Popular Recipes

    • Nutella Waffles
    • Lemon Ginger Cucumber Water
    • Wife Cakes (Lou Po Beng)
    • Furikake Chicken
    • Blood Orange Vodka
    • Grinch Mimosa
    • Kung Pao Paneer
    • Oolong Milk Tea
    Picture of Chinese American woman in front of a blurred building
    Hi, I'm Heather!
    More about me →









    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Privacy Policy
    • Disclaimer

    Contact

    • Contact

    Copyright © 2022 Delicious Not Gorgeous