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Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Course: Dessert
Cuisine: Cake
Author: Jessie Sheehan

Ingredients

For the swirl

  • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar packed
  • 4 tsp ground cinnamon

For the crumb

  • 1 stick 8 Tbsp, unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 1 cup self rising flour
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

For the cake

  • 1 8- ounce package cream cheese room temperature
  • 2 1/4 cup light brown sugar packed
  • 1 cup mild olive oil NOT extra virgin
  • 4 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 2 large eggs
  • 3 yolks
  • 3 1/4 cup self rising flour
  • 1/2 cup club soda NOT mineral water or seltzer
  • Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Instructions

To make the swirl

  • Combine the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and using your fingers or a fork, blend the two ingredients together. Set aside.

To make the streusel

  • Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl, and using your fingers (fingers work best) or a fork mix the ingredients together until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

To make the cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350-degrees. Spray a 13x9x2-inch (preferably) glass pan. Line the bottom with parchment, and spray the parchment. Set aside.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the cream cheese and sugar on medium-low speed until light and fluffy, stopping and scraping the bowl as needed. Add the oil and vanilla and continue to mix until fully incorporated, scraping the bowl as necessary. On low speed, add the eggs and yolks, one at a time, stopping and scraping the bowl after each addition.
  • Continuing on low speed, add the flour in three installments (I like to add a bit more than a third of the flour in the first installment), alternating with the club soda, and beginning and ending with the flour. Scrape the bowl down as needed, but definitely after the second flour installment. Remove the bowl from the mixer when there is still visible flour in the batter, and use a rubber spatula to finish mixing the batter.

To assemble the cake

  • Transfer half of the batter (this is about three cups) to the prepared pan and smooth the top with a small offset spatula. Evenly sprinkle the swirl over the batter. Add the remaining batter and smooth the top again. Using your fingers, evenly crumble the crumb over the top of the cake. Press the crumb down lightly with your hands.
  • Transfer the cake to the oven and bake for 50 to 55 minutes, rotating after 30. My cake baked in exactly 55 minutes, but please check it with a toothpick after 50 minutes, just in case. Ideally the toothpick will have moist cake crumbs, and not dry crumbs, on it when the cake is ready. Let it cool to room temperature and dust with confectioners' sugar before serving. As the cake cools it may sink slightly in spots and have a somewhat craggly top. No worries. The cake will keep tightly wrapped in plastic wrap for up to three days on the counter.