I’ll take any excuse I can find to eat cake for breakfast.
Pancakes, muffins, waffles, coffee cake– these are the best parts of waking up. Screw the coffee, the birds chirping, the sun streaming through the windows, and EVEN the tantalizing aroma of bacon.
Yeah, I actually ♥ cake for breakfast that much.
Weirdly enough, I actually prefer cake in the morning to cake in the middle of the day, at night, or as an after-dinner treat. Unless I’m going full-tilt BFD (breakfast for dinner), in which case, bring on the breakfast-y cake items at night.
To fete the unparalleled edible manifestation of happiness that is cake for breakfast, I’ve devised a “Christmas Morning Coffee Cake” ya’ gotta’ make this season. If you make the spiced streusel ahead of time, the rest of the process will only take you about an hour (45-50 minutes of which is bake time, which, let’s be honest, equals present-opening time), and minimal effort. A little bit of apple and crystallized ginger filling, a little bit of pan greasing, a holy-friggin’-crap-ton of streusel, and there you go: a cake for breakfast worthy of Christmas morning.
*The base of this recipe is adapted from a recipe I recently came across on Tasting Table
Apple Ginger Streusel Cake, aka. “Christmas Morning Coffee Cake”
Ingredients
- See recipe here
- 2 medium Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, & diced into small pieces
- 3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 2 Tablespoons finely chopped candied or crystallized ginger
- 1 Tablespoon softened unsalted butter, for greasing
- 33/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 Tablespoon baking powder
- 11/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled to room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 4 large eggs, beaten
- 1/4 cup sour cream
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Instructions
- Begin with the streusel (get recipe and directions here)
- Now move on to the filling: heat butter in medium skillet over medium heat until frothy
- Add diced apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt to the skillet
- Stir occasionally, making sure apples are evenly coated, until sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes
- Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for an additional 5 minutes
- Use a fine mesh strainer to strain out liquid so you're left with the apple chunks
- Place apples in a medium bowl, stir in crystallized ginger and set aside
- Now, the cake: preheat the oven to 350°F, grease a 13" x 9" baking pan with the softened butter and dust the pan with flour
- In a large medium mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda
- In a separate large mixing bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, sour cream, vanilla extract, and melted butter until smooth
- Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients, stirring and folding with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until fully incorporated
- Pour half the batter in the prepared baking pan and smooth it out to the edges with a spatula
- Sprinkle filling as evenly as possible over the first layer of batter
- Pour remaining batter on top, again making sure to smooth it out to the edge
- Generously sprinkle the spiced streusel topping evenly over the batter (I use the full recipe's worth of streusel!)
- Bake for 45-50 minutes on the center rack
- Remove and allow to cool slightly on a wire rack, about 10 minutes
- Slice and serve immediately
Kristen says
Cake for breakfast is the best!
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Agreed!!
The Blonde Chef says
I love cake for breakfast, too! Especially when it looks as yummy as this! Love a good streusel 🙂
Lauren Kelly Nutrition says
Your pictures are gorgeous! Everyone should eat cake for breakfast 🙂
Kailley @ Kailley's Kitchen says
Thank you, Lauren! And totally– the world would be a better place if we all did!
Christie - Food Done Light says
I absolutely love the ginger in this cake. Plus a streusel topping! I’m in love.
dina says
this cake looks delicious!
Emma says
Beautiful pictures, and coffee cake is the bomb diggity! Pinning this for a lazy weekend (or Christmas morning!) soon 🙂
Thalia @ butter and brioche says
This streusel cake looks awesome! Definitely craving a slice of it right now – pinned!