If you’re looking for a high altitude orange coffee cake that’s soft and moist, with buttery crumble topping, then look no further. This orange crumb cake is so tender, incredibly soft, and full of bright orange flavor. I’ve topped my cake with streusel crumbs that are lightly spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg, and finished it with a drizzle of sweet orange icing. And it’s as quick and easy to make as it is delicious!
Looking for more coffee cake recipes? You’ll love this pumpkin crumb coffee cake, banana bread coffee cake, and almond cream cheese coffee cake.
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Why You’ll Love This Coffee Cake
The Cake for Breakfast Factor. I love an excuse to eat cake for breakfast, and coffee cake is the perfect excuse!
Standard Pantry Ingredients. While the ingredients list may look long – since there’s the cake, the streusel and the icing – this is an uncomplicated recipe with simple ingredients that you most likely have in your pantry already.
A Perfect Combination of Flavors and Textures. The soft cake, the crumbly topping, the sweet orange and hint of spice and vanilla – it all works together perfectly in this delicious coffee cake.
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- Sugar. I used granulated sugar, but you could use brown sugar, too.
- Flour. Gives the topping structure and makes it crumbly.
- Nutmeg + Cinnamon. The combination of nutmeg and cinnamon is delicious with the orange.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
- Butter. Melted, unsalted butter moistens the topping, binds it together and makes it crisp.
Cake
- Butter. Melted, unsalted butter adds moisture to the cake, fat and flavor.
- Sugar. Granulated sugar adds sweetness and moisture.
- Orange Juice. Orange flavor, of course, but also moisture and acidity for a tender cake crumb.
- Milk + Sour Cream. Use full-fat milk and sour cream for flavor and richness in your cake.
- Egg. Adds structure.
- Orange + Vanilla Extracts. Flavor.
- Flour. Gives the cake structure and strength.
- Baking Powder + Baking Soda. Leavening agents.
- Salt. Balances the sweetness.
Icing
- Powdered Sugar. Sweetens and thickens the icing.
- Fresh Orange Juice + Orange Zest. Adds fresh orange flavor, and thins the icing to desired consistency.
Instructions
Getting ready.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Spray an 8 or 9 inch baking pan with non-stick spray, or line the pan with parchment paper.
Make the streusel topping.
- In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
- Drizzle with the melted butter, and toss with a fork until moist and crumbly. Set aside.
Make the cake batter.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, orange juice, milk, sour cream, egg, orange extract and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and whisk for about 10 seconds until combined and mostly smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the batter with the streusel.
Bake.
- Bake on the center oven rack for about 28-34 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Set on a cooling rack to cool slightly while you make the icing.
Drizzle with icing.
- In a bowl, stir together the powdered and orange juice until smooth, and a nice drizzling consistency.
- Drizzle the icing over the coffee cake.
- If you like, grate a little fresh orange zest on top. Or sprinkle with some chopped candied orange peel for a pretty and delicious finish.
- Let cool for about 15 minutes, and serve warm.
Frequently Asked Questions
Should I use bottled or freshly squeezed orange juice?
Both fresh and bottled juice work fine in this recipe.
Can I leave off the icing?
You can, but the cake and streusel aren’t overly sweet, so the icing adds a nice sweet finish and more orange flavor.
Why does my cake taste bitter?
If you use too much fresh orange zest, you can end up with a bitter aftertaste. Make sure you use a microplane zester to zest just the outer skin of the orange, and not the bitter white pith. A little orange zest goes a long way, so keep it in check, even though it looks beautiful.
How long does this cake stay fresh?
This coffee cake stays moist and fresh tasting for days. You can even bake it the night before and serve it at room temperature the next morning, and it will be fantastic.
How do I reheat this coffee cake?
You can rewarm individual pieces in the microwave for about 10 seconds at 50% power.
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High Altitude Orange Sour Cream Coffee Cake
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Ingredients
Streusel Topping
- ⅓ cup (72g) granulated sugar
- ½ cup (65g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
- ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted
Cake
- ¼ cup (56g) unsalted butter, melted
- ½ cup (108g) granulated sugar
- ¼ cup (67g) orange juice
- ¼ cup (67g) whole milk
- ½ cup (120g) sour cream
- 1 (55g) large egg
- ½ tsp orange extract
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups (163g) all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ¾ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
Icing
- ¾ cup (105g) powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp orange juice
- ½ tsp fresh orange zest
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray an 8 or 9 inch baking pan with non-stick spray.
Streusel Topping
- In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, nutmeg, cinnamon and salt.
- Drizzle with the melted butter, and toss with a fork until moist and crumbly. Set aside.
Cake
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter, sugar, orange juice, milk, sour cream, egg, orange extract and vanilla extract.
- Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and whisk for about 10 seconds until combined and mostly smooth.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan, and sprinkle the batter with the streusel.
- Bake on the center oven rack for about 28-34 minutes, until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Set on a cooling rack to cool slightly while you make the icing.
Icing.
- In a bowl, stir together the powdered and orange juice until smooth, and a nice drizzling consistency.
- Drizzle the icing over the coffee cake.
- If you like, grate a little fresh orange zest on top.
- Let cool for about 15 minutes, and serve warm. Store leftovers at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days.
Sounds so yummy. And congratulations!
Snow day = need to bake something. I was looking for a coffee cake to use up extra sour cream when I found this gem. Just had a warm slice. Fantastic!! Even the hubs loved it-he usually doesn’t like it when I stray from the classic cinnamon coffee cake. Now he has a new fave!! Thanks for sharing 😊
I’m so glad to hear that! 🙂
Turned out fantastic! I was skeptical about adding orange juice with sour cream due to curdling potential but cake turns out to be okay with that. Sorry to be one of those recipe altering folks…I added an egg (usually helps gluten-free baking at altitude) and some almond flour. Absolutely delicious and I’ll be making another one… like this week. ; )
My streusel topping completely melted… any idea why?? 🙁
That could happen if you measured the ingredients incorrectly and used too much butter or sugar, or not enough flour.
Ok so I made 2 more of these, I weighed all of the ingredients, and it still melted on both of them 😩
I’m not sure what the issue is!
It’s very strange. What brand of butter are you using?
Love this coffee cake! It’s so moist and flavorful.