Gingerbread Coffee Cake
The holidays are for relaxing with friends and family, and this Gingerbread Coffee Cake is a perfect special occasion breakfast. It’s full of warm spices and topped with a delicious crumble topping!
When the holidays are just around the corner, I love to bake a few extra treats with my family. The extra days to relax and spend time with family are so special. Take time to slow down and just be with family.
Vacation days call for a special breakfast. This Gingerbread Coffee Cake is the perfect holiday breakfast. It’s an easy treat to prepare for brunch when you have out of town guests visiting as well. If you love gingerbread you might like my Gingerbread Coffee recipe or classic Gingerbread cookies.
This Gingerbread Coffee Cake is light, moist, and full of warm spices. A bit of molasses brings out the gingerbread flavor. And on top we’ve got lots of buttery crumble topping. Yum!
I’ve simplified the process of making the coffee cake and crumble topping, so you can get this Gingerbread Coffee Cake in your oven with as little time and effort as possible. You’ll mix up most of the dry ingredients, plus cold butter cubes, and then remove one cup of the mixture for the topping. Add a little more butter, a little more sugar, and the topping is done. Using a bit of the cake mix makes it so much faster than making a separate topping from nothing!
This recipe is a lighter coffee cake, but you’ll still feel like you’re treating yourself when you sit down with a slice. This cake is made with a combination of Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour and Organic Unbleached All Purpose White Flour. Using a combination of whole wheat and all purpose flours creates a nutritious twist on your favorite baked treats.
I love using Bob’s Red Mill products when I bake and this post was sponsored by Bob’s Red Mill. Their quality has proven itself time and again. Bob’s Red Mill Organic Whole Wheat Flour has all of the nutritious bran and germ still intact, and it contains vitamins, minerals, and protein. The organic all-purpose flour is the same high protein flour used by professional bakers. It produces a light and airy texture in baked goods such as this coffee cake.
What is your favorite way to celebrate the holiday season? Baking is a special part of my family traditions, and this Gingerbread Coffee Cake will be included in our holiday baking from now on!
More Gingerbread Recipes:
- Gingerbread Cookies
- Gingerbread Pancakes
- Gingerbread Spice Mix
- Gingerbread Scones
- Gingerbread Coffee
Gingerbread Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar, divided
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon cloves
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- ½ cup 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 large egg
- ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup molasses
- 1/3 cup buttermilk, or milk
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8-inch round springform pan with cooking spray. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, ¼ cup packed brown sugar, salt, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Mix until well combined.
- Add the cold butter cubes, and mix on medium-low speed until the largest pieces of butter are the size of small peas.
For the Crumble Topping:
- Transfer 1 cup of the flour mixture to a medium bowl for the crumble topping. Stir in the 2 tablespoons melted butter and then the remaining 2 tablespoons packed brown sugar; Set aside for crumble topping.
Continue with Cake:
- Mix the baking soda and baking powder into the dry ingredients in the mixer bowl until just combined.
- In a liquid measuring cup or bowl, whisk together egg, applesauce, molasses, buttermilk, and maple syrup.
- With the mixer running on low speed, pour the wet ingredients into the mixer bowl with the dry ingredients. Increase mixer speed to medium-low and beat until batter is smooth, about 2 minutes.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle on set aside crumble topping. Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 40-50 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let coffee cake cool slightly on a wire rack before serving.
This coffee cake looks absolutely gorgeous, Kristine! I would gladly devour this for breakfast any day. And that streusel topping is just perfect. What a great holiday treat!
Thank you, Gayle! We have sure been enjoying this during my recipe testing! 😉
Even though you’re sharing with this delish cake to celebrate Thanksgiving, this reminds me Christmas is coming. This fragrant cake could a cozy dessert for a cold December day. Well done!
Thanks so much, Ben! This coffee cake would be a perfect Christmas breakfast or dessert!
Oh yum, I love gingerbread! It’s such a festive flavor! This cake looks amazing, especially that beautiful crumble topping! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thank you, Jess! I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving!
This is really getting me into the holiday spirit- love it!
Thank you, Medha! Gingerbread is one of my favorite holiday flavors!
Swoon! This gingerbread coffee cake sounds RIGHT up my alley, Kristine! That crumb looks beyond delicious 🙂
Thanks so much, Rachel! We can’t get enough of this coffee cake!
Yes yes and yes! LOVE coffee cake this time of year! Perfect to munch on along side a hot cup of coffee! And this gingerbread version sounds awesome!
Thanks for your kind words, Krista!
I am loving the gingerbread flavor! It is the one flavor I forget about during the holidays! Now how can I go about making this delicious coffee cake without my husband finding it?!
I could never forget about gingerbread! It’s my favorite. 🙂 That would be tough to do… it’s hard to hide the gingerbread smell from this coffee cake as it bakes!
Mmmmm bring on the gingerbread! This looks delish!
Thank you, Stephanie!
I love baking coffee cakes! This gingerbread version looks perfect to enjoy on a chilly Winter afternoon!
Thanks so much, Anna!
This just screams Christmas doesn’t it? I can’t wait to try this!
Yep! Thanks, Kristyn!
Ooooh that streusel!! Beautiful! This is so perfect for Christmas!
Thanks so much, Katerina!
This sounds amazing – I’d die for a slice of this with a hot mug of tea!
That would be my perfect afternoon snack! 🙂
Anything gingerbread and I am all in! This looks fabulous!
I haven’t had a gingerbread cake before, it sounds really delicious! Looking at it’s picture, it looks like one of those desserts that goes super well with milk. I should ask my sister if she want’s to help make this for my mothers birthday!
This looks and sounds like the most perfect gingerbread cake ever! I’ve pinned it to make later this season, even if Christmas is over!
I can eat gingerbread all year long! I hope you enjoy this cake, Rachel!
This looks wonderful! I want to make this but am vegan, any substitution recommendations? I plan on substituting the butter for coconut oil, but am not sure about the egg.
Thanks so much!!!!
Hi Kels, you can use a flax egg in this recipe. If you google “flax egg” you’ll find info on how to make one. Let me know how the coffee cake turns out for you!
I am excited to make this for friends and neighbors for Christmas! Can you tell me if you use sweetened applesauce or plain? And is there a big difference between using buttermilk vs. regular milk?
Thank you!
I used unsweetened applesauce. You shouldn’t notice much of a difference between buttermilk and milk in this recipe. I hope you love it!
Made with pumpkin instead of applesauce, was beautiful and delicious.
Divine! I was out of buttermilk, so I substituted yogurt, and I added 1/2 cup chopped walnuts to the topping. With a cup of coffee on a chilly day, it’s the best!