Easy Almond Streusel Coffee Cake with Amaretto

The best almond coffee cake! This easy almond streusel coffee cake is super moist, made with almond flour and sour cream, with a layer of streusel running through the cake as well as giving a classic crumble top! Finished off with a quick Amaretto glaze for a lightly boozy almond kick.

Jump to:

• A Bit of Background to this Recipe
• Ingredients
• Almond Streusel Mixture
• How to Make Almond Coffee Cake
• Filling Baking Pan
• Tips for Baking
• Amaretto Glaze
• FAQs
• Easy Almond Streusel Coffee Cake

A Bit of Background to this Recipe

When I was in university, I once bought a tub of soured cream, with no real plans of what to do with it. As with many impulse buys, it sat in my fridge for far too long and quickly approached its 'Use By' date. When that came, I was determined to find some way not to waste it and baking was my easiest solution. I found recipes for coffee cakes online, which used sour cream in place of other liquids, such as buttermilk. Unfortunately for following these recipes, I was missing other key ingredients like walnuts or maple syrup. I did, however, have a strange surplus of ground almonds and figured amaretto could never hurt a situation. Thus, my Amaretto Almond Coffee Cake was born. Developed in part from desperation for not wasting a carton of cream and in part from a desire to add amaretto to pretty much anything...

Ingredients

The ingredients for a coffee cake can usually be divided into two main parts: the cake batter and the streusel crumb.

For the Streusel

• Brown sugar - light brown sugar, sometimes called muscovado. Firmly packed.
• Flour - all purpose flour or plain flour will work in this recipe.
• Almond flour - or finely ground almonds.
• Ground cinnamon
• Salt
• Butter - unsalted butter, melted. You can substitute with salted butter, but you may then wish to reduce the amount of additional salt being added. In this streusel if you're using salted butter, simply leave out the salt.

For the Cake Batter

• Butter - unsalted butter, softened to room temperature. Again, you can substitute with salted butter, but this may leave a saltiness to the overall bake. You may wish to consider reducing the additional salt added to the recipe.
• Sugar - superfine granulated sugar or caster sugar.
• Eggs - large eggs, best at room temperature for baking.
• Sour cream - you can substitute with yoghurt in this recipe if needed (Greek yoghurt will work best for giving a similar acidity).
• Amaretto liqueur - the alcohol will bake out of the cake batter. You can use almond extract instead, however, if substituting with almond extract do not use the full amount - I'd recommend only using about ½ teaspoon of almond extract as a little goes a long way for flavour!
• Flour - all purpose flour or plain flour.
• Baking powder
• Baking soda
• Salt

Almond Streusel Mixture

Streusel topping, also known as a crumb topping in some recipes, is super simple. All you'll need to do is mix together the dry ingredients - the flour, almond flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Pour in melted butter and mix together. Tip: I find this mix easier to blend together with your fingers, just like making a crumble or crisp topping, like my classic Oat Crumble Topping.

Set this aside for the moment while you make your batter.

How to Make Almond Coffee Cake

For this recipe, start off by preheating your oven to 350°F (175C/160C Fan) and preparing your cake pan. Tip: due to the streusel topping, it is best to use a springform tin. You don't want to flip this at the end and risk losing some of your topping! The first time I made this, I didn't have a springform nor did I consider the looseness of the streusel on top. Needless to say my kitchen floor paid the price.

First cream together butter and sugar. As long as your butter is well-softened, this is easily done by hand. Then, add your eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Once well-blended, add the sour cream and amaretto, whisking until combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together your dry ingredients (the flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt). Add this to your egg mixture and stir together with a spatula until just combined.

Filling Baking Pan

Pour half of your almond coffee cake batter into your prepared tin. Spread this evenly and sprinkle about half of the streusel over this. Then spoon out the remaining cake batter on top of the streusel layer and carefully spread this out in a smooth layer.

Finish by sprinkling your remaining streusel in a layer over the top of the cake. Now, you are ready to bake! Place in the centre of the preheated oven and bake until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.

Tips for Baking

• Use a springform pan to avoid flipping the cake out of the pan at the end. This will help avoid mess and loss of streusel topping!
• Grease and flour the pan well to prevent sticking or use a good non-stick baking spray if you have a tried and tested one that you use with your cakes.
• The baking time can vary based on the size and type of pan being used. Keep an eye out and begin testing once risen and golden on top.
• I've baked this in 8", 9" and 10" round pans. The recipe will work in each, however, be aware that the smaller the pan, the thicker the over all cake. If you're using an 8" pan in particular, be sure this is a deep sided pan to avoid overflow when the cake rises!
• Let the cake cool in the pan for about 30 minutes. Once it is cool enough to handle, release the springform and gently remove.

Amaretto Glaze

The final touch for this almond coffee cake is a quick Amaretto glaze. Whisk together the powdered sugar and Amaretto to form a thin glaze and drizzle this over the top of the warm coffee cake.

Now, because this won't be baked, it will have alcohol in it and might not be appropriate for everyone. If you need to make this glaze without alcohol, simply use some almond extract - a little goes a long way, so rather than 2 tablespoons of Amaretto, I'd recommend half a teaspoon of almond extract. You will then need some milk or water to thin the glaze to the appropriate consistency.

FAQs

Looking for other tea time treats? Try:

• Mini Battenberg Cakes
• Maple Praline Eclairs
• Almond Angel Food Cake
• Almond Coffee Cake Cinnamon Rolls