Moist carrot cake meets coffee crumb cake in this anytime, single layer cake recipe. When you are craving cake for breakfast or need something sustainable for grazing each time you pass through the kitchen, this counter cake is your best friend. With a ripple of brown sugar and drizzle of vanilla bean glaze, this Carrot Coffee Cake is as every bit comforting with morning pj’s as it is perfect for any spring celebration.

This Carrot Coffee Cake is everything you could ever ask for (and then some) from a sturdy cake made for snacking, nibbling, and satisfying our everyday cake cravings. The perfect lunch dessert. What, you don’t crave dessert after each meal? It is a rich, tender cake base that gets some added moisture and flavor from grated carrots and sour cream before being rippled with cinnamon-scented brown sugar and topped with a generous shower of streusel crumbs and clusters.

As we continue to socially distance ourselves, the desire to bake feels ever stronger. And when a large celebration cake might feel frivolous, this is the type of recipe that not only feeds our sweet tooth without being over-the-top but it also helps us bake our blues away. Baking is therapeutic and the results are downright comforting.

This single-layer cake is packed with flavor. Brown butter adds depth and richness. It is nutty and aromatic. The sour cream adds a bit of fat and acidity that keeps the cake moist and tender on our counters for days (if it lasts that long). If you don’t have sour cream, try substituting it with equal full-fat, plain Greek yogurt (or any plain yogurt you have on hand), applesauce, or even mashed banana. Looking to classic carrot cake for our spice blend, a bit of cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger add warmth and flavor.

The flavors of this cake don’t need to hide behind a blanket of frosting or monsoon of sprinkles (although we sometimes love those types of cakes too). The current of brown sugar that runs through the middle of the cake melts when baked, adding sweetness and spice to each bite. The crumbly bits of sugar and cinnamon coated butter on top might be our favorite part. In fact, when is streusel ever not a great idea? It adds texture and ever more flavor. All that being said, this cakes needs nothing more that a drizzle of vanilla bean glaze before being devoured.

As the name implies, it is perfect along side your coffee (morning, noon, and night). But does coffee cake have coffee in it? Probably sometimes it does, but not typically. Most coffee cakes are spiked with cinnamon and offer a crumbly, buttery texture on top. Sure enough, there are probably coffee-flavored coffee cakes, but that is not the standard.

Carrot Coffee Cake

serves 8-10

Oat Streusel Topping

⅓ cup brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
⅓ cup rolled oats
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
pinch salt
3 tablespoons very soft, partially melted unsalted butter

Mix together the sugar, flour, oats, cinnamon, and salt in a small mixing bowl. Add the butter and stir until the dry ingredients are moistened and small clumps form. Place the streusel in the freezer as you prepare the cake batter.

The butter should be extremely soft but not completely melted (partially melted is best). This helps create larger crumbles in the streusel.

Cinnamon Carrot Cake

½ cup unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon ginger
½ teaspoon cardamom
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup sour cream
1 ¼ cups grated carrots
½ cup chopped pecans (optional)

½ cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon

Pre-heat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan and set aside.

Dice the butter and melt it in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Continue to cook the butter until it browns, about 8 minutes. Stir the butter as it browns to keep the butter fat from sticking and burning at the bottom of the pan. When done, the butter will be golden in color and very aromatic with a pleasant nutty smell. Remove the browned butter from the heat and strain through a mesh sieve into the bowl of a stand mixer (or large bowl with a hand mixer).

Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom. Set aside.

And the sugar to the browned butter and mix on medium speed for a couple minutes. Not only are we incorporating the sugar into the butter, but we are bringing down the temperature of the browned butter before adding the eggs. After mixing in the sugar, add the eggs and vanilla. Once the eggs are incorporated, add the sour cream and mix until combined.

Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour mixture in two batches. Stop the mixer before the dry ingredients are fully incorporated. Fold in the carrots and pecans, if using, until combined.

Tip about ⅔ of the batter into the prepared springform pan and smooth out with a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the top of the batter with the brown sugar and remaining cinnamon. Carefully spread the remaining batter over the top of the brown sugar mixture.

Sprinkle the Oat Streusel Topping over the top of the cake batter. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake on a wire rack before removing the the ring of the springform pan.

To serve, drizzle with the Vanilla Bean Glaze. Serve and store covered at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

Vanilla Bean Glaze

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 - 2 tablespoons milk
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste
pinch salt

Stir together all of the ingredients minus 1 tablespoons milk in a small mixing bowl until smooth. It should be thin enough to drizzle off of a spoon. Add more milk as needed.

Baker’s Notes

• You may try a substitute of equal parts full-fat, plain Greek yogurt, applesauce, or mashed banana for the sour cream.

• Don’t have rolled oats? Try replacing them with ½ cup chopped nuts

• Use pure vanilla extract or the seeds of a vanilla bean if vanilla bean paste is not available.