Mid-Century Kitchen with Molly Starlite - Episode 3: 1950s Coffee Cake!

When I was kid, my mom used to make this delicious coffee cake that would be waiting, warm, when I got off the school bus. I loved how the topping was crunchy and the cake was crumbly with gooey veins of sweetness running through it.

I don't get many opportunities to make a coffee cake - being as Pinochle and Bridge have fallen out of style, as it were - but I still like to make this authentic 1950s coffee cake recipe every once in a while. Call it nostalgia, but there really isn't any treat tastier than a real midcentury coffee cake.

Watch me make it in episode three of my Mid-century Kitchen series on YouTube, and be sure to subscribe to my channel if you like what you see!

You can also support my video efforts by becoming my patron on Patreon.com, a web site that connects makers and patrons. I have tons of awesome rewards already available with more coming soon!

Here is the 1950s Coffee Cake Recipe (Download PDF - Click Here)
COFFEE CAKE
Topping:
2/3 cups sugar
3/4 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tbs cinnamon
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
Cake
3/4 cup butter or shortening
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 tsps baking powder
2 tsps vanilla
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
1 1/4 cups milk
3 3/4 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan or two 9" round cake pans.

Make the topping by whisking together the sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, stirring until well combined. Set the topping aside.

Make the filling by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Set it aside.

To make the cake: In a large bowl, beat together shortening, salt, sugars, baking powder, and vanilla until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream and milk till well combined. Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk/sour cream mixture, beating gently to combine.

Pour half the batter into the prepared pans, spreading all the way to the edges. If you're using two 9" round pans, spread 1 1/3 cups batter in each pan. Sprinkle the filling evenly atop the batter. Gently spread the remaining batter atop the filling. Sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan.

Bake 55 minutes. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before cutting and serving.