Starting with a simple goal of perfecting the classic coffee cake, and following several months of tinkering, the culinary team at King Arthur Baking Company developed a failproof recipe that combines the most tender cake with the crispiest crumbs.

In honor of its tenth year of its beloved Recipe of the Year announcement, the ingredients company created ten variations of this coffee cake, with new versions being revealed throughout the year. The initial announcement on Wednesday, December 28 included four variations of coffee cake for the winter collection:

Coffee cake is a popular item that’s ideal for any time of the day. While often positioned as a breakfast food, coffee cake can also be enjoyed as a snack and as a shareable dessert. In order to perfect this classic, King Arthur went through the following steps:

  • Reverse creaming – Mixing the dry ingredients with the butter to form a paste limits gluten development and results in a tender, moist cake
  • Cornstarch – The addition of confectioners’ sugar, which includes a touch of cornstarch, to the topping lends a slightly crispy texture to the crumb as it bakes
  • Hint of tang – Using buttermilk or Greek yogurt in the cake balances the sweetness, and the acidity helps keep the cake soft
  • Something special – Each coffee cake recipe King Arthur developed has a special ingredient that gives it big flavor

In May of 2023, more recipes will be released for the spring/summer collection, and the same in September 2023 for the fall/holiday collection.

The classic recipe, as well as all available variations, can be found at King Arthur’s website.