This is a classic crumb coffee cake that is made with unfed/discard sourdough starter. If you are a devotee of sourdough like I am, you know that you have to remove some of your starter on a regular basis and replace it with new to keep your sourdough starter alive and ready for your next recipe. Instead of making bread, waffles or throwing it in the trash try this light and flavorful recipe for a coffee cake.
You can do a lot more with your starter besides baking bread. For more sourdough recipes just search “sourdough”.
Sourdough Cinnamon Crumb Cake
Recipe by King Arthur Flour Adapted
Topping: (see Note 1)
- 2 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. almond extract
- 12 tbsp. (3/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch square pan.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cinnamon and salt. Melt the butter and add the vanilla and almond extracts and pour into the flour mixture. Stir until it is combined. Set aside while you make the batter.
Batter:
- 8 tbsp. (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
- 1 cup sourdough starter, unfed/discard
- 2 cups flour
- 1 tbsp. potato flour
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1/4 cup milk (whole)
- confectioners’ sugar (optional – I did not add)
In a large mixing bowl beat the butter and sugar until combined. Add the eggs, vanilla, starter mixing until smooth.
Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle the crumb mixture evenly over the top.
Bake the cake for 45 to 50 minutes until a paring knife inserted in the center comes out clean and the edge of the cake pulls away from the pan. Remove from the oven and cool; dust the top with confectioners’ sugar if desired.
Once cooled this cake can be cut into serving pieces and frozen if desired. It’s always nice to have a “sweet” to serve for breakfast/brunch especially for unexpected guests.
Note 1: There is too much topping and you can reduce the amount by 25 percent or more. For another topping see recipe below.
Topping:
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/4 cup sugar (granulated or brown)
- 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/4 cup cold butter cut into small pieces
Combine the first three ingredients and with your hands blend in the butter until it is crumbly. Sprinkle on top of the cake batter before baking.
Recipe by cookingwithauntjuju.com
In addition to the baking powder and baking soda the sourdough starter will help the cake rise. My starter is unfed but ready for this crumb cake.
The batter…
You can see in the picture below this coffee cake rose beautifully. Light, fluffy and delicious!
Mmmmm. Luscious Fall Flavors. 🍁🍂🌾
Cinnamon is a favorite spice and I plan to do a post soon on just “cinnamon” 🙂
Though I love sourdough bread, I never could commit to making the starter and keeping it alive… The cake looks very tasty. Love the crumbly topping.
Sourdough bread has a special taste that I love too! I’ve had fun making other recipes besides bread – amazing what you can do with it. A commitment needs to be made to keep the “starter” going. I received my latest starter (I have neglected starters in the past) from a fellow blogger from England and I’ve made a special effort to keep it going – she passed away from cancer a few years back…
I admire anyone who can keep it alive for such long periods of time. 🙂
Thanks Ronit – my “Rosebud” starter (daughter of Twinkle) has special meaning and I will probably keep it going for a long time…
I’m sure you will! 🙂
A lovely recipe although like Ronit I haven’t been able to commit to keeping a starter…I should as I love a good sourdough loaf 🙂
Thanks Carol – it’s really not as difficult as you think to maintain a starter. Even neglected it can be revived – just takes time. I obviously don’t “bake” every week so there are times I need to spend a few days bringing it “back to life” 🙂
The Crumb Cake looks yummy. What a wonderful way to use discard sourdough starter!
Thanks Sheryl – there are so many different ways to use fed or unfed starter. I like to use it for other recipes besides bread. This cake is an excellent choice for breakfast or just a snack.
My friend works at King Arthur flour in Norwich, Vermont. I love their flour.
Many, many years ago I ordered their flour; then my husband found a local bakery who would sell 50 lb. bags of flour (which I shared); fortunately most of the stores now sell it and not just their AP flour. I’ve been a customer a very long time!
Pure yum Judi. I love crumb cake, it is so good with coffee. Now, I too have a crock of starter that needs feeding, so I’m excited to try this one.
Thanks Ron – I agree! Sourdough is fun to work with and I love all the recipes I frequently find from King Arthur Flour – a very good source 🙂
The topping sounds so delicious! Your cake looks great and I would happily tuck in to this 🙂
Thanks Petra – good to hear from you. It’s a great recipe for using the discard and the cake freezes well too 🙂
Very clever! 🙂 And even better if it freezes, I never know what to do with a whole cake, well, that once/year when I actually make one! 🙂