Chocolate Coffee Crumb Cake

SCRAPS #25: the perfect cake for a gloomy morning with a hot cup of coffee

This is a chocolate coffee crumb cake you bake on a Monday night and munch on throughout the week. I like to have this for breakfast with a hot cup of coffee, but a cold glass of milk or hot tea pairs well too. It’s a coffee cake that actually tastes like coffee! The bottom layer is flavored with instant espresso powder (use more or less to preference), which is a huge staple in my baking shenanigans. If you don’t have it in your kitchen, I recommend grabbing a jar on your next grocery shopping trip. Instant espresso powder is essentially dehydrated brewed espresso crushed into powder or small granules. It’s hard to find a suitable substitute, the closest one you might be able to find is coffee essence, but again, if you can get your hands on it, get it!

The second layer is made out of melty, fudgy chocolate chips. If you don’t have any chocolate on hand, I’d skip adding any or use some store-bought chocolate spread instead. You can also dollop it and swirl it straight in the batter.

The cake gets topped with crunchy crusty brown butter cocoa crumbs, which add a lot of texture and flavor. I like my crumb layer to be substantial, so if you’re unlike me and prefer a more modest crumb height, don’t hesitate to use half the measurements for the crumb topping!

You’ll notice some icing in the thumbnail, which I shot while testing the recipe, but eventually decided the cake is sweet enough and doesn’t need any icing on top, so don’t let my clickbait-y thumbnail confuse you.

My final recipe has no icing, though you are welcome to add some if you want. I hope you enjoy it :)

On another note, here’s a fun series I got to be a part of:

I’m such a huge fan of ChefSteps, I’ve been watching and following their team for the longest time, so I was truly honored to be a part of their Road To Cooking series. If you don’t know who they are, I highly recommend subscribing to their YouTube channel if you want to level up your cooking skills.

The series follows chefs from all around the country, and documents their story and everyday life. I got to share the behind the scenes of filming content, developing recipes, thrift shopping, but also a little story of how I got here.

Grant and Andrew were a pleasure to work with, they spent a day with me, we drove around the city, visited a local dairy farm, ate some fresh cheese, went to a couple of thrift stores, cooked together, biked, and had a sunset picnic. I’m not used to working with a team since I film and edit all of my videos, so it’s always a little nerve racking when it comes to working with someone else behind the camera, but this was such a successful and memorable project, I can’t remember the last time I felt so comfortable working with a team.

I'm one of those who likes to do things independently. I was one of those kids in school who would do an entire group project and add my teammates' names to the finished work. I was always happy with the grade, and my teammates were always delighted not to have to work. Learning to rely on others can be hard when you're used to doing things a specific way. It's probably one of the reasons I haven't made more content. Lately, I feel behind on work, but I'm slowly trying to get back on track. We shot a lot of things that didn't make it into the final 10-minute video, but I hope you enjoy it and get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes!

Weekly recipe recap linked here:

• caramelized onion grilled cheese sandwich - if your looking for comfort food this week, caramelize some onions and throw them in a grilled cheese sandwich for an incredibly comforting grilled cheese sandwich;

• hibiscus orange poached pears - a beautiful and delicious dessert, perfect for the season: serve these poached pears over ice cream with syrup on top, and craft up a delicious cocktail (or mocktail) with the remaining syrup;

• scallion pancakes - a little labour intensive, but so worth the flavor, these flaky crunchy scallion pancakes are the perfect breakfast or have them as an appetizer or savory snack, top them with a fried egg and some soy sauce on top for a hot, delicious meal;

• easy breakfast bowl - felt like I was in a rut after being away from home for a week, so I cleaned my fridge and made this breakfast bowl that was tasty enough for to win a spot on my website;

• a really good balsamic vinaigrette - a fridge staple, you can use this as a salad dressing, as a marinade for meat or fish, as a savory dip for freshly baked bread;

• crunchy maple feta sweet potatoes - this is a dreamy side dish: crunchy, spiced marinade caramelizes around the soft sweet potatoes

• buttery spaghetti squash pasta dish - a rebellious recipe that doesn’t use spaghetti squash as a pasta replacement, but as a pasta compliment, add the buttery garlic sauce and your kitchen smell so delightful and inviting.

As always, if you have any questions, requests, constructive criticism, don’t hesitate to leave it all in the comments :)

I’m so grateful to have you here, wishing you a lovely week!

Best,

Carolina

xx

RECIPE

Makes: 9 servings

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Printable recipe down below:

ChocolateCoffeeCrumbCake

54.4KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

INGREDIENTS

CAKE

• 141 g (1 stick 2 tablespoons) butter

• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

• 1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• 146 g (1/2 cup) full-fat sour cream

• 100 g (1/2 cup) white sugar

• 55 g (1/4 packed cup) brown sugar

• 45 g (1/4 cup) neutral oil, such as grape seed, canola, sunflower seed oil, etc.

• 3 eggs

• 200 g (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

CRUMB & TOPPING

• 141 g (1 stick 2 tablespoons) butter

• 134 g (1 cup) all-purpose flour

• 150 g (3/4 cup) brown sugar

• 50 g (1/4 cup) white sugar

• 1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder, sifted

• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

• 100 g (3/4 cup) chocolate chips, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Add all the butter (2 sticks and 4 tablespoons total) to a saucepan over medium heat. Bring the butter to a simmer, turn the heat to medium-low, and simmer the butter, while occasionally stirring, for 3 to 4 minutes or until the butter turns golden brown. Remove from the heat once the butter has turned brown and there is a visible layer of brown bits at the bottom of the pan. You should be left with about 1 cup of browned butter. 

2. Heat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line an 8-inch square tin with parchment paper. 

3. For the crumb, combine the flour, sugar, salt, and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Whisk to combine. Create a well in the middle and pour 1/2 cup of browned butter. Mix using a fork until clumps start forming. Place the bowl in the fridge.

4. Add 1/2 cup of brown butter to a large mixing bowl. Add salt, espresso powder, vanilla, sour cream, white sugar, brown sugar, and oil. Whisk to combine. Add the eggs and whisk until smooth. 

5. Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda to the bowl. Gently mix using a spatula or wooden spoon until combined. 

6. Pour the cake batter into the lined baking sheet. Sprinkle the chocolate chips (if using) all over the batter. Evenly sprinkle the chilled crumb mixture all over the cake batter. Bake the cake for 35 to 40 minutes until the crumb mixture feels hard to the touch.

7. Serve with hot coffee, and enjoy!