Carrot Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Ribbon
Let’s pretend the Easter bunny grew up. Instead of Cadbury eggs, his palette has become a bit more refined. He now enjoys coffee in the morning and a tasty afternoon treat. And my friends, if the Easter bunny were an adult, this is the coffee cake he’d eat. It’s a carrot coffee cake made indulgent with a cream cheese ribbon and layers of brown sugar oatmeal streusel.
The inspiration for this carrot cake came on – not surprisingly – National Coffee Cake Day. I was going to make our family’s favorite coffee cake and had also been trying to plot out time to make a carrot cake for Easter weekend. Then I had an epiphany that the two combined could possibly be a stroke of brilliance. And well, I wasn’t wrong.
While this recipe has many individual parts, it’s not an overly difficult cake. You’ll need a bundt tin and a few mixing bowls, but that’s really as complicated as it gets. So let’s dive into a few recipe notes.
Recipe notes for my Carrot Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Ribbon:
- The streusel topping is pretty standard – a brown sugar/flour mixture all crumbled up finely with butter. My one key difference is the addition of oatmeal. It adds a textural component that pairs well with the smoothness of the cake and cream cheese filling. If making again, I would even add crushed walnuts for further added crunch. Running short on oatmeal? No worries. Simply use another 1/2 cup of flour and pull back on a few tablespoons of butter (start with 1 stick and add more, a tablespoon at a time, to get a nice crumble).
- For the streusel, I use my food processor as it lends a helping hand with cutting in the butter (think pie crust), but no need to get hung up on this. Your fingers will work just as well.
- The cream cheese filling is also a simple combination of ingredients. You’ll notice in the recipe I state to mix until “few” lumps remain. Most recipes will say until no lumps remain, but here’s the thing. I baked mine with probably more than a “few” lumps, and it turned out perfectly fine. I’m notorious for forgetting to leave out cream cheese to thaw to room temperature. If you are like me, don’t fret. Leave out as long as you can and beat until just a few lumps remain. Surrounded by the streusel and cake, you will not be able to tell.
- For the carrot cake, I utilized both plain yogurt and buttermilk. This is not because I believe it’s a magical pairing. It’s simply because this is what I had on hand. No yogurt? Use all buttermilk. No buttermilk? Use all yogurt. Neither? Use sour cream. While they each might give you a slightly different cake crumb, they all serve to help make the cake moist.
- Lastly, you can add a simple powdered sugar/milk icing to this as you see in these photos, but I don’t think it’s needed. The coffee cake itself is not overly sweet so if you are inclined towards sweeter baked goods, then I would go ahead and add it. Otherwise, it’s still bursting with flavor without it.
And really, that’s it! The most complicated thing is waiting for the long baking time to be over so you can dig into this delectable darling. I can vouch firsthand that your cup of coffee should be jealous of this cake. Recipe below!
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Carrot Coffee Cake with Cream Cheese Ribbon
This spiced and gently sweet carrot coffee cake is made especially delicious by the brown sugar streusel layers and the cream cheese ribbon running through it. It's perfect with a morning cup of coffee as a breakfast treat – delicious both fresh from the oven and chilled in the refrigerator.
Servings: 10 slices
Ingredients
For the streusel topping:
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oatmeal
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 3/4 cup cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks)
For the cream cheese ribbon:
- 1 package cream cheese, softened (8 oz)
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
For the carrot cake:
- 1/2 cup softened unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 cup buttermilk
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 2 cups packed finely grated carrots (about 14 oz or 5-6 medium carrots)
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes
Instructions
For the streusel topping:
- 1) Begin by adding the flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, salt and cinnamon to a food processor and lightly pulsing to combine. Cube the cold butter and add to the food processor. Blend until the streusel topping just starts to come together but remains mostly crumbly. Set aside. (You can also do this by hand. It will just take a little longer. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Use your fingers to break apart the butter, gently tossing to incorporate into the dry ingredients until consistency is that of damp sand.)
For the cream cheese ribbon:
- 1) In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or with a hand mixer), blend the cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add in the egg and vanilla and continue mixing until few lumps remain. Set aside.
For the carrot cake:
- 1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Finely grate the carrots utilizing the shredding attachment on the food processor and continue blending until finely grated. (If grating by hand, roughly chop the carrots on a cutting board after grating.)2) Cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and combine until well incorporated. 3) In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.4) Alternate adding the dry ingredients, yogurt and buttermilk to the wet ingredients until well combined. 5) Fold in the carrots and shredded coconut until just combined. Set aside.
Assembly:
- 1) Prepare a bundt pan by spraying with nonstick cooking spray and coating in flour. Make sure the interior of the pan (the side of the small hole) are well covered in flour. Tap out any excess. 2) Layer a third of the streusel topping in the bottom of the bundt. Make sure to break apart any big clumps so the streusel is spread evenly. Follow this by adding half of the carrot cake batter and spreading evenly. 3) Layer another full third of the streusel (we only want to leave a little remaining for the "crust") on top of the cake batter. Then add the cream cheese mixture by dolloping the mixture in the center of the batter, trying not to touch the sides. 4) Top the cream cheese mixture with the remaining batter making sure it is spread evenly. Then finally add the remaining streusel.5) Bake for 60-75 minutes or until a knife inserted in the cake comes out clean and top is golden brown. Let cool for at least 20-30 minutes before turning out. Enjoy warm or chill in the refrigerator (the refrigerator really gives it a dense texture and moist flavor…my personal favorite!) 6) ***Optional. Mix together powdered sugar and milk to desired consistency to create a simple glaze.
