What can I say about this recipe that will get you to taste this coffee cake? It’s very good. It’s very very VERYYYY good. The rich creamy interior sandwiched together by a moist carrot cake with an irresistible crunch from the streusel topping. I still can’t believe I developed this one. As a recipe developer, you are always thinking of new ideas and foods that can captivate; constantly incorporating new and popular ingredients into household favorite recipes to change-it-up. That said, we are always moving from one recipe to another and I LITERALLY can’t stop thinking about how good this one came out.
I thought about the components of carrot cake and coffee cake. I knew streusel topping and I knew cream cheese frosting HAD to be a key factor in this recipe. Since both of these things go on top of the cake, we needed to compromise. Turns out the cream cheese on the inside makes the cake even more tender and adds this addicting texture to every bite. Speaking of addicting, the topping. The soft cake and creamy interior needs a crunch! That’s exactly what the streusel is for. I’m seriously so proud of myself for this one.
This was my second attempt making this recipe because the first version the cake lacked a little flavor and the cream cheese filling was a little too spongey. Taking away the flour from the cream cheese filling makes it melt-in-your-mouth, then adding crushed pineapple to the cake recipe makes the crumb far more crumbly. A revelation in baking for me!
Ingredients
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup whole milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup finely grated carrots
8 oz. crushed pineapple, drained
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Ingredients
6 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tablespoons sour cream
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon orange zest
1 egg yolk
Ingredients
4 tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch of salt
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 400º F and prepare a greased, parchment-lined 9×9 baking pan.
Mix the brown sugar, eggs, oil, milk, cider vinegar, and vanilla until smooth and combined.
Stir in the grated carrot, crushed pineapple, and unsweetened coconut. Set aside.
Sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and kosher salt in a bowl. Fold immediately into the carrot mixture until no lumps remain.
Combine the ingredients for the cream cheese filling using a whisk until smooth.
In a mixing bowl, stir the melted butter, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt for the streusel. Crumble the mixture into little pea-sized pieces. Set aside.
Pour half the batter into the 9×9, then top with dollops of cream cheese mixture. Top the cream cheese filling with the remaining batter.
Crumble over the streusel topping and bake for 45 – 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
