This Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Pecans is perfect as a breakfast cake, dessert, or mid-day treat. Not too sweet or rich, this classic cinnamon streusel cake has simple ingredients and tastes delicious. It’s a moist old-fashioned cake that has air fryer and oven instructions.
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I’m on a quest to make all my favorite cakes in the air fryer. This moist coffee cake with brown sugar-pecan streusel is part of my series of family-favorite cakes adapted to the air fryer.
Maria Tavares and her sister Bella were two elderly widows who lived next door to me in the Boston area. Mary often made this cake. She lived to be almost 100 years old! I still have her handwritten recipe in my recipe collection, and I think of her every time I make it.
Coffee cakes usually contain a filling, the most popular of which is cinnamon. This pecan sour cream coffee cake has cinnamon pecan streusel for the filling and topping.
❤️ WHY YOU SHOULD TRY THIS HOMEMADE SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE RECIPE
- You can customize the pecan coffee cake by adding more or less of the streusel filling.
- You can use yogurt to make it healthier, and it tastes just as good.
- It’s a simple cake that’s great for a tea party or as an everyday snack.
- You can make a small cake in the air fryer, which is excellent for one or two people, or you can bake it in the oven for more servings.
- It’s budget-friendly and made with simple ingredients.
This recipe has instructions for both the oven and the air fryer. Making it in the air fryer is faster than making it in the oven, but the disadvantage is that the cake is pretty small.
Because of my air fryer’s size limitations, I can only fit a 7 to 8-inch cake pan. If you want to make a larger quantity, you may want to follow the oven directions, which are also included below.
➡ Looking for more tea cake recipes? Try my Swedish visiting cake, air fryer pound cake, or pear tart. You’ll love them as much as I do! Or for something different, try these melt-in-your-mouth cardamom cookies.
🧂 Pecan Sour Cream Coffee Cake Ingredients
- The pecan coffee cake uses dry ingredients of all-purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, which are mixed together and set aside.
- For best results, use eggs and butter at room temperature.
- The recipe uses two types of sugar: granulated sugar for the cake and brown sugar for the streusel topping. Depending on your tastes, you can use light or dark brown sugar in the topping.
- I like to use cinnamon and nutmeg in the streusel, but you may omit the nutmeg if you wish.
- Pecans can be substituted with walnuts, or they can be omitted.
Quantities and details are provided in the recipe card at the bottom of this post
💡 Tips for the best coffee cake
- I generally use sour cream because of its thickness and creaminess, but I have substituted whole milk yogurt for sour cream. That makes the cake slightly healthier.
- Use room-temperature unsalted butter. I love Kerrygold and Land ‘O Lakes brand, but you can use your favorite brand.
- My favorite brand of flour is King Arthur all-purpose flour. If you’re not weighing the ingredients, spoon the flour into the measuring cup and level off with a straight edge spatula or butter knife. Don’t scoop the flour directly from the container.
- Some people love extra crumb coffee cake. I’ve already doubled the quantity of streusel that my neighbor Mary used to use, but you can increase it further by doubling my recommended quantity!
- This recipe was tested in the Cosori basket-style air fryer. If the cake browns too quickly in your air fryer, reduce the temperature by 10 degrees and bake it for a bit longer.
- I use my handheld mixer (which I highly recommend and is the best one I’ve ever owned because it doesn’t splatter and it’s cordless!) You can also use a whisk to beat the batter.
If making it in the oven, use a standard 9-inch cake pan or a loaf pan. If using an air fryer, you can’t use a full-size baking pan. However, you can try one of these out. Just measure the compartment of the air fryer to make sure it won’t fit too snugly; you need about ¼ inch to allow air to circulate freely:
❓ FAQS
Coffee cake is meant to be eaten with coffee or tea and doesn’t usually have coffee as an ingredient.
Use a toothpick to poke the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done. Let it bake for a few minutes if it comes out wet. The longer you wait, the drier it becomes, so stop the baking as soon as the toothpick comes out clean.
Each air fryer is different. If you find the cake too brown on top, reduce the temperature next time. You may need to increase the cooking time by 2 to 5 minutes.
The temperature may be too low, or you may need to increase the baking time. Since every air fryer is different, yours may just run hotter or cooler than mine.
📝 How to Make Sour Cream Coffee Cake in Air Fryer (Step by Step Instructions)
- Line pan and make batter
- Layer streusel and batter in the prepared pan
- Bake the cake and allow to cool
- Grease and flour a 7-inch cake pan. I like to line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper.
- Stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt and set aside.
- Use a hand mixer to beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a silicone spatula. Add egg and vanilla extract and beat on low speed until incorporated. Don’t overmix.
- Working in batches, add half the flour mixture, the sour cream, and the remaining flour, mixing after each addition. Make sure you scrape the sides of the mixing bowl periodically while beating. The batter should be thick and creamy.
- Stir together brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and nuts in a small bowl and set aside.
- Add half of the batter to the lined baking pan.
- Sprinkle half the streusel over the batter.
- Add the remaining batter over the streusel and sprinkle the remaining streusel over the top of the cake batter.
- Preheat air fryer to 330 degrees for 4 minutes. Place the baking pan in the center of the air fryer.
- Bake until the cake feels firm to the touch, 30 to 35 minutes. Check on the cake a few minutes before the time is up to make sure it’s not overcooked. If a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, with little to no crumbs, it’s ready! Note that streusel may cling to tester, and that’s okay.
- Cool cake in pan on wire rack for about 5 to 10 minutes.
- Loosen the edges of the cake with a butter knife and remove the cake from the pan to cool completely on the wire rack.
♨️ Oven Instructions for Coffee Cake
Double the ingredient quantities! You can use a stand mixer instead of a hand mixer.
- Prepare the sugar and cinnamon streusel and set aside.
- Prepare the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Combine the dry ingredients.
- Make the batter.
- Add batter and streusel to the pan alternately, with the final layer being streusel on top.
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until done.
- Cool the cake completely.
See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Pecan Coffee Cake With Brown Sugar Topping
Equipment
Ingredients
Streusel Ingredients (See NOTE 1)
- ¼ cup brown sugar (53 grams)
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
- ¼ cup pecans (28 grams) finely chopped
Coffee Cake Ingredients
- 1 cup all purpose flour (120 grams)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- pinch salt
- ½ stick butter unsalted (½ stick = ¼ cup = 57 grams), room temperature
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100 grams)
- 1 egg room temperature
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream (114 grams) or whole milk yogurt
Instructions
Streusel Instructions
- Make the streusel by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pecans in a small bowl. Set the topping aside.
Air Fryer Coffee Cake Instructions
- Generously grease and flour a 7-inch cake pan. Use a round of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan if desired.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Use a handheld mixer to beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl on medium speed until light and airy, for about 2 minutes. Do not use high speed. Periodically scrape the sides of the bowl using a silicone spatula.
- Beat in the egg on medium speed until just combined. Don't overmix.
- Beat in vanilla until just incorporated.
- Use a sieve or flour sifter to sift in half the flour mixture. Beat until just combined.
- Beat in the sour cream until just combined.
- Add the remaining flour mixture and mix to combine. Use a silicone spatula to scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl periodically.
- Pour half the batter into the prepared cake pan. Use a spatula to gently even out the batter. Sprinkle half the streusel over the batter. Pour in the remaining batter over the streusel, using the spatula to spread the batter evenly. Finally, sprinkle the remaining streusel over the top.
- Preheat the air fryer to 330 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius) for 4 minutes. Place the cake pan in the middle of the air fryer basket and bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Test the cake with a toothpick about 2 minutes before the time is up to make sure it's not overcooking. If the toothpick comes out wet or has crumbs on it, bake for another 3 to 5 minutes. (See NOTE 2)
- Transfer the cake from the air fryer onto a cooling rack and allow to cool for 7 to 10 minutes.
- Turn the cake out onto a cake rack, streusel side up, and allow it to cool completely before serving.
To Make Coffee Cake in the Oven, Follow Air Fryer Instructions Except:
- Double all ingredients.
- Use a 9 inch cake pan, bundt pan, or loaf pan.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (177 degrees Celsius).
- Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Notes
- NOTE 1: For an extra-crumb coffee cake, increase the quantity of each streusel ingredient by the same percentage. e.g. To add 50% more, add an extra two tablespoons brown sugar, ¼ teaspoon cinnamon, ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg, and two tablespoons chopped pecans. To double the streusel, double the quantity of brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and pecans.
- NOTE 2: Every air fryer is different, and yours may run hotter than mine. Please check on the cake a few minutes before the time is up.
- See the blog post for more detailed recipe tips, including some pro tips for success!
Nutrition
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I am not a certified nutritionist. I provide my best estimate of nutritional information merely as a courtesy to my readers. If you depend on nutritional information for dietary or health reasons, I suggest using your favorite online nutrition calculator to confirm the nutritional value of this recipe based on the actual ingredients that you use.
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✅ Why Trust Neena at Paint the Kitchen Red?
I’m Neena, and I’ve spent a lifetime perfecting the recipes I share. My years of practice have honed my skills, resulting in consistently delicious and easy meals. My experience (including hits and misses!) enables me to provide valuable insights, troubleshooting advice, and innovative recipe ideas. Every recipe is tested multiple times, so you can be sure it works the first time!
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