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Almond cream cheese coffee cake, drizzled with almond icing.

High Altitude Almond Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Heather Smoke
Moist and fluffy almond coffee cake, filled with a layer of cream cheese and almond paste, drizzled with almond icing.

All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.

5 from 8 votes
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings16

Ingredients
 

Coffee 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)
  • ¼ tsp ground nutmeg
  • tsp ground cloves

Filling (optional)

  • 4 oz cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • 4 oz almond paste (not almond pastry filling)

Streusel

  • 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 almonds, finely chopped (or 1/4 cup almond flour)

Icing

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • ¼ cup heavy whipping cream
  • ½ tsp almond extract

Instructions
 

Coffee Cake

  • Preheat the oven to 350 F, and spray a 10-inch square baking pan with non-stick 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, nutmeg and cloves.
  • 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, beat the cream cheese and almond paste for about 30 seconds until combined.
  • Spread half the batter into the bottom of your pan.
  • Dollop the filling over the batter, then use a small icing spatula to spread the filling out or just lightly swirl it in.
  • Spread the remainder of the batter over the filling.

Streusel

  • In a bowl, combine the sugar, flour, salt and melted butter until moistened and crumbly. Stir in the almonds (reserving 1-2 tablespoons to sprinkle over the icing later, if you like).
  • 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.
  • Set aside to cool while you make the icing.

Icing

  • In a bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, cream and almond extract until smooth, and has a thick drizzling consistency.
  • Drizzle the icing over the hot cake, and sprinkle with the remaining chopped almonds.
  • Let cool 20-30 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.
  • Because of the long bake time, you may find that the bottom of the cake browns quite a bit if you use a glass or ceramic pan (which conducts more heat).  A light-weight aluminum pan conducts less heat and should result in less of a browned crust at the bottom of the cake.  I used a ceramic pan, though, and didn’t mind the golden brown crust at the bottom, so it’s just a matter of preference.
Keyword Almond, Coffee Cake, High Altitude
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