This Browed Butter Coffee Bundt Cake is moist, delicious, and packed with a flavors that will get your day off to a good start.
And by a good start, of course, that includes CAFFEINE. Espresso powder is included in the icing!
What I love about this cake is that it has all the luscious flavors of a coffee cake without the crumbly mess of the topping. In this cake, that crunchy, extra-sugary layer is in the center!
This is a great cake for a breakfast or brunch, and it’s a fantastic one to cut into individual slices, wrap up, and freeze for later.
If 2021 is anything like 2020, it’s a very good idea to have a stash of quick-thaw cake in the freezer.
Modified from Fall Baking Magazine 2013.
Bready or Not Original: Browned Butter Coffee Bundt Cake
This cake has all the delicious flavors and textures of a coffee cake, but without the crumbling, messy topping!
Equipment
- large bundt cake pan
Ingredients
Bundt cake
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter 1 1/2 sticks
- nonstick spray with flour
- 2 cups pecan pieces finely chopped, divided
- 2 cups brown sugar packed, divided
- 2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt or plain yogurt, crème fraiche, or sour cream
Coffee icing
- 4 teaspoons milk or half & half, or more as needed
- 1/2 teaspoon espresso powder
- 2 cups confectioners’ sugar or more as needed
Instructions
- First of all, brown the butter. (Note that this can be done a day ahead of time with the butter stashed in the fridge; set at room temperature to soften again or briefly and carefully, zap in microwave before mixing into recipe.) In a medium saucepan, melt the butter on medium-low heat for 5 to 6 minutes, until it becomes brown and embodied by a nutty fragrance. Remove from heat and cool for a while, then transfer to a small bowl. Cover and chill in the fridge for 2 hours, at minimum, to make firm.
- Preheat oven at 325-degrees. Apply nonstick spray with flour to coat inside of a large bundt pan. Soften the browned butter a bit.
- Prepare the filling. In a small bowl, mix together 3/4 cups of chopped pecans, 1/2 cup brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons of flour. Add 3 Tablespoons of the browned butter and work it in with a fork until it makes a crumbly mix.
- In another bowl, mix together the 3 cups flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In a big mixing bowl, beat together the remaining browned butter with the rest of the brown sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla. Take turns mixing in the dry ingredients and the yogurt until just combined. Fold in the remaining 1 1/4 cups pecans.
- Pour about half the batter into the prepared pan and even it out. Sprinkle filling over it all the way around. Pour in the rest of the batter and spread it even again.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until it passes the toothpick test in the middle. Let cool for about 20 minutes, then invert it onto a rack to completely cool.
- Make the coffee icing. Stir together the milk, espresso powder, and confectioners’ sugar, adding more milk or sugar as needed to make an icing of a good consistency. Drizzle over cake.
- Store at room temperature. Can be sliced and frozen for later enjoyment.
