What happens when you combine the two most comforting flavors – date and cinnamon? You get the ultimate comfort coffee cake! This Date Cinnamon Crumble Coffe Cake is the perfect companion for your cup of tea or coffee and is sure to make you come back more! The cake is super moist, filled with a smooth and delicious date paste, topped with a crunchy cinnamon streusel topping, and is super simple to make!
If you have tried my Cinnamon Crumble Coffee Cake recipe, you know it is literally *chef’s kiss*. I never thought I would be able to top that, but this one really takes the cake (pun intended).
I am a massive fan of dates, which is probably a side effect of growing up in the Middle East. But seriously, give me a bowl of good dates, and you are never getting it back. I equally love date-filled anything. Maamoul? Hell yes, Date-filled bread? YES, PLEASE.
To sum it up, I love dates. And with Ramadan around the corner, I really wanted to make one date-filled recipe, and I was thinking about a date cake, and I was like…hold up. What if I filled my coffee cake recipe with date paste instead of cinnamon? That sounds like a genius idea.
And you know what? It was. This cake turned out better than I could ever imagine. The ultra-soft, ultra-moist cake paired with the sticky, soft, sweet date paste and topped with the crispy, crunchy cinnamon crumb, you know that’s a match made in heaven.
Before we move ahead, I think there’s something I should clarify – a coffee cake is not a cake that is flavored with coffee but one that’s eaten with coffee/tea. It’s similar to other tea/coffee cakes, like pound cakes, that accompany your hot beverages perfectly.
Confusing, right? I know; I was confused, too. But it is what it is.
Okay, I know what you are thinking right about now. This doesn’t look like a simple cake. How do you get the cinnamon filling inside? That crumb looks complicated. There are 3 components; it’s surely not an easy cake, right?
Wrong. It’s a super easy cake to make. And yes, there are three components in this cake – the cake batter, the date filling, and the cinnamon crumb, but each component is so easy to make that you can barely even count them as separate components. Don’t believe me? Then let’s dive a little deeper into each one.
Love dates? Try the Sticky Date Pudding Recipe!
The Coffee Cake Batter
Coffee cakes are more reminiscent of pound cakes than sponge cakes. The cake is denser than a regular sponge cake and has defined golden brown edges. This means that the batter is also made a little differently than a regular sponge cake. The secret behind the moistness of this coffee cake, though, is a special and very unexpected ingredient – yogurt. Yes, yogurt.
You might not have heard of yogurt as a part of cake batters before, but it’s actually quite a common baking ingredient. Yogurt plays many different roles in baking – its creaminess makes the cake super moist, its tangy flavor adds an old-school kick to the taste of the cake, and its acidity helps the baking soda in cakes activate better and results in a cake that rises better.
This cake batter uses quite a lot of yogurt. When it’s whisked into the batter, it appears to split, and you might think that you’ve ruined the batter. But hold up! Don’t give up just yet. Once you fold the dry ingredients into the batter, it will come together beautifully and result in a thick, creamy texture.
How to make the coffee cake batter:
- Cream the butter with brown and white sugar until it’s light and fluffy, then add the eggs, one at a time, and mix until just combined.
- Now add the yogurt and mix until just combined. The batter will look split at this point but don’t worry; once you add the dry ingredients, it will come together properly.
- Add the dry ingredients, which are flour, baking powder, and salt, and fold them into the batter gently in two increments until fully combined. The batter should be smooth and creamy at this step.
The Date Filling
The date filling is nothing but a simple date paste mixed with cinnamon powder. You can either buy store-bought date paste or make your own by steaming and blending the dates with cinnamon powder.
The filling is added to the cake by adding a layer of it in between two layers of the batter. In simple terms – add half of the cake batter into the baking pan, then add a layer of the date filling and top it with the remaining flour. This creates that delicious date layer in between the cake.
The Cinnamon Crumb
Okay, this. This is the real star of the show. This is what takes this cinnamon coffee cake to the next level. It’s crunchy, it’s cinnamony, it’s sweet, it’s salt. It’s absolute perfection. It’s made with 4 simple ingredients – brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, and butter.
The key to creating a ‘crunchy’ crumb is using cold butter. The dry ingredients have to be ‘cut’ into the butter (which means that the dry ingredients are mixed with the cold butter using your hands or a fork). The cold butter helps create clumps of crumbs that bake to crisp perfection and pair perfectly with the soft cake.
The crumb is added on top of the cake batter, I like to add a thick layer of it cause I absolutely love how it tastes, and I would recommend you do that, too!
So, now that we know that this cake is super simple to make and tastes absolutely delicious, it’s time to get to the kitchen.
Let’s begin!
Date-Filled Cinnamon Crumble Coffee Cake Recipe
Equipment
- 7×7" baking pan
- Stand or electric mixer
- Silicone spatula
- Blender
Ingredients
Date Filling
- 200 gs pitted dates weigh without the seed
- 100 ml water
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
Cinnamon Streusel Crumb
- 60 gs packed brown sugar
- 55 gs all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 50 gs unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
Cake Batter
- 180 gs all-purpose flour
- 20 gs corn flour
- 10 gs baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 113 gs unsalted butter, softened
- 100 gs white granulated sugar
- 100 gs packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- 160 gs full-fat yogurt
Instructions
Date Filling
- In a saucepan, add the dates and water and bring to a boil on high heat, then let it simmer on low heat for 10-15 minutes until the dates are soft and most of the water has evaporated.200 gs pitted dates , 100 ml water
- Transfer the dates (with the remaining water) and cinnamon powder into a blender and blend until completely smooth. Let the date puree cool before using.1 tsp cinnamon powder
Cinnamon Streusel Crumb
- In a bowl, mix all the dry ingredients: brown sugar, flour, cinnamon powder, and salt until well combined.60 gs packed brown sugar, 55 gs all-purpose flour, 1 tsp cinnamon powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- Cut the cold butter* into small cubes and add it to the dry ingredients. Rub the mixture using your hand or a fork until the crumb reaches a wet sand-like mixture. Don't overwork the mixture, or the butter will become too soft, and the crumb will not crisp up while baking.50 gs unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
Cake Batter
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. Prepare the baking pan by lining it with baking paper. Make sure to leave an overhang on the sides to make removing the cake from the pan easier after baking.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl using a hand whisk: flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt.180 gs all-purpose flour, 20 gs corn flour, 10 gs baking powder, 1/2 tsp salt
- In a bowl, add the softened butter and both the sugars, then whisk for 3-5 minutes on high speed using an electric or stand mixer until the mixture becomes pale and creamy.113 gs unsalted butter, softened, 100 gs white granulated sugar, 100 gs packed brown sugar
- Add the eggs into the batter, one at a time, and whisk on low speed for 30 seconds after every addition. Then, add the vanilla essence and whisk for another 30 seconds until well combined.2 eggs, 1 tsp vanilla essence
- Add the yogurt to the batter and whisk for 1-2 minutes on medium speed until it's fully combined. The batter may appear split at this point, but it will come together once you add the dry ingredients.160 gs full-fat yogurt
- Add the dry ingredients and fold in the batter slowly using a silicone spatula, and mix until just combined. Don't rush this process, you want the batter to retain as much air as possible.
- In the prepared pan, pour half the cake batter, then top it with the cinnamon filling. Pour the remaining batter on top of the filling, then top it with the cinnamon streusel crumb.
- Bake the cake for 30-45 minutes, until the top is golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cake.
Notes
- Using cold butter for the cinnamon streusel crumb: if the butter is not cold, the crumb will not hold its shape properly and will not crisp up while baking.
- You can make the date puree ahead of time and use it as needed.
If you are a date lover like me, you will definitely be a fan of this recipe. If you give it a try, don’t forget to let me know how you liked it in the comments. And of course, share it with me on Instagram!
Until next time 💓.
