I can practically hear you saying, “WTF is an upside down coffee cake? Is there fruit in this?! I swear if I see one maraschino cherry….”
Ok. Maybe not quite that reaction, but fear not!
There will be no neon red fruit type substances in this cake!
The reason this is called an “Upside Down” cake is because the streusel is cooked on the bottom rather than the top.
Why would you want the streusel baked into it rather than just on top?
It is a well known that the people in my family are notorious for thieving the top of the cake and but leaving the actual cake behind.
So how do you keep those streusel thieves from destroying your hard work? Bake that shit right into the cake.
You know what else is cool about this cake? It’s yeasted.
That’s right: yeasted.
So how do you make this thief-proof wonder? I will show you!
Start by getting your shit together.
No, I mean your ingredients.
So get your ingredients together and let them sit out for a while (*cough* an hour *cough* to come up to room temp.
The lovely part about this recipe is you can just dump all of the cake ingredients into a bowl and mix. No waiting for the yeast to bloom, no adding eggs one at a time, just lovely dump and mix.
Before you ask: of course there is salt in there. There should always be salt.
Once mixed, it looks like a wet bread dough or a dry cake batter:
After your dough comes together, cover it and set the bowl somewhere draft free and charming like your kitchen window!
While that rises (sort of) you can get your streusel together.
Much like our lovely cake batter, this is a one bowl wonder. Unfortunately, it requires some elbow grease.
No, that’s not the hard part. It’s once you start adding the flour. There are just over 3 cups of flour and the more you work it, the stiffer it gets.
Get your mind out of the gutter! Or don’t. No judgement here.
Anyways, this is what I was talking about:
Not too bad. 
Getting harder to mix. 
So freaking stiff.
After that you have to break up all that lovely streusel and press it into your pan.
Next, take your slightly puffy batter and gently spread it over the crumb topping.
Slightly Puffy 
Evenly Spread
Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean.
Let it cool for 5 minutes before turning it out onto a serving dish. Then finally:
Beautiful, thief proof, delicious coffee cake.
Enjoy!
Adapted from the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook
Upside Down Coffee Cake
Course: Breakfast, DessertDifficulty: Easy1
hour40
minutes45
minutesIngredients
- Cake
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup milk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sour cream, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons instant yeast (not active dry; from one 1/4-ounce or 7-gram packet)
2 2/3 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
- Crumbs
1 cup melted butter, no need to cool
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light or dark brown sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Directions
- Cake
- Combine all cake ingredients in a medium sized mixing bowl. Stir until the mixture becomes cohesive, then stir for 2 minutes more. This can be done by hand or in the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment at low-medium speed for 3 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bow and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise in a draft free place for 60 minutes, until it is slightly puffy.
- Crumbs
- Mix the melted butter, sugars, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Add the first two cups of flour and the baking powder and stir.
- Add the remaining flour about 1/2 a cup at a time, mixing between each addition. The mixture will be very stiff, but keep mixing until the flour disappears. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the bowl and set aside until needed.
- Bake
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray and parchment paper.
- Break up the crumbs with a fork into small and large pieces and sprinkle into the bottom of the pan.
- Pour the batter over the crumbs in a thin sheet. Use an offset spatula to smooth it out. Cover with plastic wrap and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Bake cake for 40-45 minutes until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the cake portion comes out clean.
- Let cake cook on a wire rack for 5 minutes before running a knife along the edge to loosen and flip cake onto a serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.
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