High Altitude Almond Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Moist and fluffy almond coffee cake, filled with a layer of cream cheese and almond paste, and sprinkled with almond crumble topping.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- 8x11 inch baking pan (or a 10x10 inch baking pan)
Ingredients
Cake
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 large eggs
- ¾ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup whole milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp almond extract
- 1 ¾ cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 2 tbsp corn starch
- 1 ½ tsp baking powder
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- ½ tsp ground cardamom
Filling (optional)
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
- 4 oz almond paste, grated (not almond pastry filling)
Topping
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- ½ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ cup sliced almonds
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray an 8x11 or 10x10 inch baking dish with non-stick baking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together the sugar, melted butter, eggs, sour cream, milk, vanilla and almond extracts.
- In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, corn starch, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cardamom.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet, and whisk briefly just to combine.
- Set aside while you make the filling.
Filling
- With an electric mixer (or just with a spoon), beat the cream cheese and almond paste for about 30 seconds until combined.
- Spread half the cake batter into the bottom of your pan.
- Dollop the filling over the batter, then use a knife to swirl it in a little.
- Spread the remainder of the batter over the filling.
Topping
- In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, salt, melted butter, and almonds until moistened and crumbly.
- Sprinkle the streusel over the batter.
Bake
- Bake the cake on the center oven rack, for about 45-50 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let cool for at least 30 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature.
Notes
- The filling is optional - I've made this coffee cake with and without the cream cheese and almond paste, and it's great either way. The cream cheese adds a moist, creamy, slightly dense layer inside the fluffy cake. Another option would be to just crumble and sprinkle a layer of almond paste over half the batter, without the cream cheese.
- Leftover coffee cake should be stored in an airtight container at room temperature, for up to 3 days. It's fantastic leftover, and can be rewarmed for 20-30 seconds in the microwave for that "just-baked" texture.
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