Cinnamon Pecan Crunch Cake (Printable Version)
Moist coffee cake with cinnamon sugar and crunchy toasted pecans layered throughout. A perfect breakfast or afternoon treat.
# What You Need:
→ Crunch Topping and Filling
01 - 1 cup chopped pecans
02 - ⅔ cup packed light brown sugar
03 - 2 tsp ground cinnamon
04 - ¼ cup all-purpose flour
05 - ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
→ Cake Batter
06 - 2 cups all-purpose flour
07 - 1½ tsp baking powder
08 - ½ tsp baking soda
09 - ½ tsp salt
10 - ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
11 - 1 cup granulated sugar
12 - 2 large eggs
13 - 1½ tsp vanilla extract
14 - 1 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
# Directions:
01 - Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish or a 9-inch round springform pan with butter or nonstick spray.
02 - In a medium bowl, combine the chopped pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, and melted butter. Stir until the mixture becomes crumbly and well distributed. Set aside.
03 - In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until evenly blended.
04 - In a large mixing bowl, beat the softened butter and granulated sugar using an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract.
05 - Alternately add the dry ingredient mixture and the sour cream to the creamed butter mixture, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix gently until just combined — avoid overmixing to keep the cake tender.
06 - Spread half of the cake batter evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon pecan crunch mixture over the batter in an even layer.
07 - Carefully spread the remaining batter over the pecan layer, smoothing the top. Finish by sprinkling the rest of the crunch mixture evenly across the surface.
08 - Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
09 - Allow the cake to cool in the pan for 20 minutes before slicing into squares and serving warm or at room temperature.
# Expert Tips:
01 -
- The cinnamon pecan layer hidden in the middle is a surprise that makes every bite feel like finding buried treasure.
- Sour cream keeps the cake impossibly moist for days which means leftovers taste just as good on Tuesday as they did on Sunday.
02 -
- Overmixing the batter once the flour goes in develops gluten and turns your cake tough so stop mixing the moment everything looks combined.
- Adding rolled oats to the topping was an accident that changed everything and now I do it on purpose for extra crunch.
03 -
- Toast your pecans in a dry skillet for three to four minutes before adding them to the topping and the flavor will be twice as deep and nutty.
- Wet your hands or the back of a spoon with water when spreading the batter over the filling because it is sticky and this little trick prevents it from pulling up the crunch layer.