This Christmas morning coffee cake is studded with dried cherries and sugared green cherries, It's topped with a crunchy pecan crump topping and a sweet glaze! Serve this on Christmas morning with a cup of coffee or tea!
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🎄A Coffee Cake for Christmas
I have a few coffee cake recipes on my website, like this one and this one, and I felt like adding a Christmas coffee cake that would be especially nice to eat on Christmas morning. I love how this one turned out!
This Christmas morning coffee cake has a tender sponge that is dotted with red and green cherries. If you don't like candied green cherries (my husband loathes them 🤣), then leave them out and double the dried cherries.
The coffee cake is then topped with a pecan crump topping and a sweet glaze. Make this on Christmas eve and enjoy on Christmas morning!
🥘Ingredients
Ingredient notes
- Butter - Recipe is for unsalted. You can substitute with salted butter. Leave out the salt in the recipe.
- Cherries - The cherries give a red and green colour inside the cake. If you don't like candied cherries, use all dried. Or vice versa.
- Sour cream - I recommend using full fat sour cream in this recipe.
- Milk - I prefer using whole milk for this recipe. 2% milk will work too.
- Pecans - Use pecan halves in this recipe. If you can't find pecan halves, lightly chop your whole pecans.
🔪Instructions
Streusel
Start by making the streusel. Combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Whisk together.
Add butter and use a fork or a pastry cutter to combine. You want the butter to be about the size of peas when done, and the dry ingredients should be well worked into the butter. Add pecans and stir to combine. Store streusel in the refrigerator while you make the cake.
Coffee Cake
In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Set aside.
Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well creamed together, about 3 minutes. Add 4 eggs and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl. Add sour cream and milk and mix until well combined. The batter will be very liquid like at this stage.
Mix in the dry ingredients until almost all combined. Add the dried and candied cherries and mix until just combined. Spoon batter evenly into a greased 10-inch bundt pan. Scatter streusel over the top of the batter. Bake for 70-75 minutes, or until the streusel is browned and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
Cool cake in it's pan for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the outside of the cake and turn out to remove. Let it cool fully on a wire rack.
Glaze
In a small bowl mix powdered sugar with milk, adding one tablespoon at a time until you have a pourable glaze. Pour glaze over top of the coffee cake. Let glaze harden before serving, about 30 minutes.
If you are making this on Christmas eve day, store in an airtight container at room temperature overnight.
✔️Expert Tips
- If you don't like candied cherries, leave them out. Substitute with more dried cherries.
- Pecan halves are used in this recipe. If you only have whole pecans, lightly chop them up.
- Instead of using pecans, use pistachios or walnuts.
- Add red and green sprinkles to the top if you feel fancy!
💭FAQs
This cake can be made the day before and stored at room temperature in an airtight container. It's perfect to make on Christmas eve for breakfast on Christmas morning!
You can freeze this coffee cake for up to 3 months. Wrap slices in plastic wrap and store in a freezer container. Thaw at room temperature.
Coffee cakes are usually topped with a crumply topping, like streusel. They are a tender cake, and are sometimes topped with a glaze too, but not always. A coffee cake slice is usually accompanied with a cup of coffee, or tea.
🔖Related Recipes
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Christmas Morning Coffee Cake
Equipment
- One 10-inch bundt pan
Ingredients
Streusel
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- ½ cup all purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter room temperature, cut into 1-inch pieces
- ¾ cup pecan halves
Coffee Cake
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup unsalted butter room temperature
- 1¼ cups granulated sugar
- ¼ cup brown sugar packed
- 1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 large eggs room temperature
- 1 cup sour cream room temperature
- ¾ cup whole milk
- ½ cup dried cherries
- ½ cup candied green cherries chopped
Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2-3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Streusel
- In a medium sized bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk together.
- Add butter and use a fork or a pastry cutter to combine. You want the butter to be about the size of peas when done, and the dry ingredients should be well worked into the butter.
- Add pecans and stir to combine. Store streusel in the refrigerator while you make the cake.
Coffee Cake
- Preheat oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease a 10-inch bundt pan well and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda together. Set aside.
- Beat butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until well creamed together, about 3 minutes. Add 4 eggs and mix until well combined, scraping down the sides and bottom of the bowl.
- Add sour cream and milk and mix until well combined. The batter will be very liquid like at this stage.
- Mix in the dry ingredients until almost all combined. Add the dried and candied cherries and mix until just combined.
- Spoon batter evenly into the prepared bundt pan. Scatter streusel over the top of the batter. Bake for 70-75 minutes, or until the streusel is browned and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
- Cool cake in it's pan for 30 minutes. Run a knife around the outside of the cake and turn out to remove. Let it cool fully on a wire rack.
Glaze
- In a small bowl mix powdered sugar with milk, adding one tablespoon at a time until you have a pourable glaze.
- Pour glaze over top of the coffee cake. Let glaze harden before serving, about 30 minutes.
- Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 4 days.
Notes
- If you don't like candied cherries, leave them out. Substitute with more dried cherries.
- Pecan halves are used in this recipe. If you only have whole pecans, lightly chop them up.
- Instead of using pecans, use pistachios or walnuts.
- Add red and green sprinkles to the top if you feel fancy!
Did you try this recipe? Comment below to let me know ☺️