Buttermilk Coffee Cake

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This is a light, yummy and healthy coffee cake to serve with a smoothie! I made it this morning with some more healthy changes and it was scrumptious.

2 1/4 cup flour (I combined whole wheat pastry, aka soft spring wheat & spelt flour)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup rapadura/sucanat
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/2 cup walnuts, optional
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk, yogurt, kefir

Combine flour, salt, and 1/2 tsp. cinnamon into a large bowl. Add sweeteners and oils. Mix till well blended. Take out 3/4 cup for topping and add chopped nuts, and 1 tsp. cinnamon and mix. Set aside. To the original batter, add soda, baking powder, egg and buttermilk. DO NOT OVERMIX. If you do so, it will not rise well. Place in oiled 8×8 pan or pie pan. Sprinkle topping. Bake at 300 degrees for approx. 45 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

To incorporate soaking: Soak flour, buttermilk (make sure it is cultured, or add 1 Tbls whey or lemon juice), honey and oils for 12-24 hours. This will maintain a moist consistency. In the morning, add 1/2 tsp cinnamon and salt to the soaked mixture. Remove 1/2-3/4 cup of soaked mixture for topping. To the topping, add nuts and 1 tsp cinnamon. Set aside. To the remaining soaked mixture, add rapadura/sucanat, egg, and leavenings. Mix briefly to incorporate leavenings. Place in an oiled 8×8 pan and sprinkle with toppings. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes, or until the knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Enjoy!

About Lindsay

Lindsay Edmonds is first a lover of Jesus, wife, mother of four, homemaker, and writer. She loves inspiring women around the world toward simple, natural, and intentional living for the glory of God.

35 Responses to Buttermilk Coffee Cake

  1. Nikki July 3, 2011 at 2:52 pm #

    I was wondering If you ever soak (or sprout) your grains and then grind them yourself for flour? If you have, would you suggest grinding then soaking, or soaking then grinding?

    Thanks- I’m very new to the whole phytic acid idea… but am learning so much :)

    • Lindsay July 5, 2011 at 5:58 am #

      I have not personally sprouted my own grains, but I soak my own grains frequently. For soaking (which most of my recipes are adapted for), you grind the grain into flour and then soak with liquids in the recipe. For sprouting, which is a different process that accomplishes the same goal, you have to soak the whole grain, dehydrate it to dry, and then you grind it into flour. The sprouting method is a bit more involved but you can make a large batch of sprouted flour at one time.

  2. Sheri June 21, 2011 at 7:46 am #

    Could you use more honey instead of the rapadura/sucanat? Or Stevia? I am just not exactly sure what this is or where to buy it? Thanks!

  3. Flo September 28, 2010 at 1:30 pm #

    I tried this out for our Sunday breakfast and it was a HIT, even with my hubby. Thanks so much for sharing! God bless you and your family!

  4. Coffee Club May 6, 2010 at 1:34 am #

    Looks really delicious. Thank you for sharing this very nice recipe.

  5. GamGam April 10, 2010 at 4:17 am #

    Do you have any instructions for the topping when using the soaking method?

    • Lindsay April 12, 2010 at 6:05 am #

      I updated it above.

  6. Tanya March 25, 2010 at 5:41 pm #

    When you refer to cultured buttermilk are you using raw buttermilk (is there such a thing? We’ve stared buying raw milk, but all the buttermilk (regular dairy dept. of grocery store…pasturized) I buy says “cultured” on it. Is that what you use?

    • Lindsay March 26, 2010 at 2:31 pm #

      Raw buttermilk is not cultured. It has to sit out on the counter for at least 7 hours to get cultured. In Nourishing Traditions they recommend allowing the cream to sit out for 7 hours to culture before turning it into butter and then the by-product is buttermilk. You can use store brand as long as it is cultured. I honestly just use kefir for this recipe most of the time.

  7. Taylor March 16, 2010 at 12:06 pm #

    I love this recipe…just made it this weekend. I didn’t have any problems with it overflowing or not cooking, although I did not mix it in the blender like some did…maybe that is the difference?

    I thought it was pretty sweet! Have you tried reducing the sugar or honey? If so, how did that work out?

  8. Karen Montmeny February 26, 2010 at 7:41 pm #

    I was really excited about finding a soaked coffee cake but I found this recipe to be super sweet and the olive oil a little strange…
    So I omitted the honey and used 1/2 cup rapadura instead (I’m sure you could play with different combinations of these). Soaked flour with buttermilk and coconut oil, ran it through the blender with rapadura in the morning and then added the rest of the ingredients. I also added some water and will use this to soak the flour along with the buttermilk next time. In the morning I melted butter and used that instead of the olive oil. The final result was heavenly- really light and tasty…we’ll see if I can pull it off again : )

  9. Selena August 10, 2009 at 4:52 am #

    I had the same thing happen as Christy & Emily! I had to cook it for about an hour and 10 minutes. It went over the pan and had a crusty top after 45 minutes. We just decided to be patient and eventually we got to eat it.

    I do have a couple of questions. I soaked it per your instructions, but did not take any of the batter out for the topping. I quick whipped up a homemade topping that I do and added it to the top. I’m wondering if that’s why it ran over???

    • Selena August 10, 2009 at 6:49 am #

      I am wondering if your measurement for flour is off in this recipe. Your recipe for the chocolate coffee cake only calls for 1 1/2 c flour and is baked in an 8×8.Yet, the buttermilk is 2 1/4 c flour and still baked in an 8 x 8. Maybe that’s the issue?

      • Lindsay August 11, 2009 at 2:23 am #

        No, it is not off. I originally made this in a 13×9 pan, so you could try that. The main key here is not to overmix your batter. I have found that will result in a dense coffeecake that really does not bake entirely.

    • Lindsay August 11, 2009 at 2:24 am #

      That could have definitely had an effect.

  10. Melissa July 7, 2009 at 1:42 pm #

    So funny, I make this exact coffee cake only with sucanat instead of rapadura. I occasionally find rapadura on sale through the co-op and use it, but with 10 in the house, it’s not always practical!

    • Lindsay July 7, 2009 at 3:30 pm #

      I use sucanat all the time as well! I just use whatever one is one sale!

  11. Emily June 9, 2009 at 6:34 am #

    Christy, I had the same thing happen! :-( I don’t know what happened, but it was a total mess lol. And it overflowed big time out of the pan. Oh well! Live & learn, I suppose. The chocolate coffee cake is wonderful, though. A definite keeper in our house.

  12. Christy April 16, 2009 at 6:22 am #

    Oh my goodness, I don’t know what on earth happened, but this is probably my worst cooking disaster ever. The timer beeped, I opened the oven… and found a soupy disaster! Its seriously soup, with a thin crusty layer on top??? I’m so confused (but laughing).

  13. Francesca April 11, 2009 at 7:30 am #

    I just delivered my second baby. A good friend of mine brought me this coffee cake while in the hospital. Saved me about 2am one night. I needed something right then and reached for it — WOW!! Delicious and satisfied my very immediate need. (Amazing how nursing revs up the metabolism at all hours!!) Anyway, she told me about your site and I’m enjoying it so. Blessings!!

  14. Danielle Hunt January 31, 2009 at 7:05 pm #

    Have you ever tried it with just kefir? Does it still taste like it would if one used buttermilk? Thanks!

    • Lindsay January 31, 2009 at 8:02 pm #

      Yes! I always just use kefir and it tastes wonderful!

  15. Kathy January 19, 2009 at 1:18 pm #

    Also, I left out the coconut oil until the morning since our house is pretty cold and it seems to require too much mixing to get everything softened if I add the coconut oil to the soaking mix.

    • Lindsay January 19, 2009 at 9:57 pm #

      I always melt my coconut oil in a pan if I use it in soaking, or for pretty much everything I use it for…as the solid state is just a little hard to work with.

  16. Erin Sarah September 6, 2008 at 6:42 pm #

    It looks really good. Thanks for sharing.

  17. Niki July 7, 2008 at 5:47 am #

    I just had a question in regards to this recipe. When you mentioned soaking you said to add buttermilk and flour. The ratio of flour to liquid is very dry. Is this correct when soaking? It just makes crumbles and I was not sure if this was effective? How have you soaked this? Thanks

  18. Michele May 24, 2008 at 8:49 am #

    We just made this for breakfast this morning, and really enjoyed it. Thanks! :)
    By the way, we found that it didn’t need the honey. We left it out, and just added an extra 1/3 cup of water.
    Blessings,
    Michele :)
    http://www.frugalgranola.blogspot.com

  19. Mrs. Taft March 4, 2008 at 1:29 pm #

    That looks delicious!

  20. Christie March 4, 2008 at 10:59 am #

    This looks exceptionally yummy! I’m going to have to give it a try!!

  21. Laura@heavenlyhomemakers March 4, 2008 at 5:51 am #

    YUM!!!! This sounds delicious!! I bet it would have such a great taste after being soaked too! Which do you like better for this recipe?

    • Lindsay March 4, 2008 at 5:21 pm #

      I was in a rush and craving coffeecake so I have not soaked this new version of a family old time classic. I really liked this version, but will be soaking next time, to enjoy the benefits. I have found that soaking makes things a lot lighter, but this recipe was pretty light as it was.

      • Kathy January 19, 2009 at 11:13 am #

        I was just wondering if you have tried soaking this recipe since you posted it. I tried soaking it and added extra kefir. Just wondering if that is how you would have done it or not. It is in the oven now, so I can’t give any feedback on how it worked. However, I highly recommend adding the egg BEFORE you pour it in the baking pan and put the topping on…;)

        • Lindsay January 19, 2009 at 11:50 am #

          I have not tried soaking it yet, as whenever I am making it I am always a little behind and it is a last minute thing. My recommendation for soaking would be to simply replace the buttermilk with kefir or be sure to use cultured buttermilk. Combine the flour, kefir and oil and soak overnight. In the morning add the remaining ingredients. The key with this recipe I have found is not to overmix it, or else it will not rise very well.

          • Kathy January 19, 2009 at 12:59 pm #

            Well, the final product was wonderful even with all of my mishaps! I added a little extra baking powder since I was remixing it and had already placed it in the oven when I discovered my egg sitting on the counter! That seemed to work just fine. Even my husband liked it and he is still making the adjustment to whole grains.

  22. Rachel March 3, 2008 at 10:58 pm #

    Your coffee cake looks scrumptious! I confess I don’t know very much about healthy and alternative ingredients for baking, I had to Google rapadura. I love to cook and bake from scratch and I am intrigued to learn about other ingredients especially if they are more healthful and natural. I look forward to reading more posts.