Traditional German Coffee Cake Recipe – Oma's Zimt-Kaffeekuchen Rezept

by: Gerhild Fulson  /  Cookbook Author, Blogger, German Oma!

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Making this German coffee cake recipe to get a Zimt-Kaffeekuchen just like Oma used to make is so easy. Just mix, layer with nuts and cinnamon, and bake. YUM!

It's so fun to make this with the kids and grandkids. They love to help sprinkle the yummy nut mixture over the layers. And, of course, they just love to lick the bowl!

Because of its ease and deliciousness, this is one of those easy dessert ideas that you'll return to time and time again.

Delicious served with whipped cream, but ice cream would be nice as well. Oma's German Coffee Cake.

Perfect for Kaffeeklatsch!

How to make this Kaffeekuchen 

Quick to make, this coffee cake is a good one for beginners. Master this easy method and you are well on your way to creating quick and easy cakes. 

You can easily alter this German coffee cake recipe by omitting the cinnamon and/or adding raisins.

The first step for baking this cake, in fact for any cake, is to get your ingredients ready. If you pre-measure everything, you'll make easy work of the baking process.

Once you're ready, make the dough. It will be nice and creamy, a bit on the thicker side.

Once the dough is ready, make the nut mixture. 

Make sure that you really mix this well. You don't want large clumps of the brown sugar in the mix. I'll quickly use my fingers to make sure everything is mixed.

Then you are ready to start layering. Using a water-dipped spoon to spread the dough will make it go easier.

Once the remaining nut mixture is sprinkled over the top, you're ready to put this into a preheated oven.

And, you're done! Lick the bowl while you wait for the cake to bake.

You'll see that I used a square springform pan. That my favorite to use since it's so easy to remove the sides and then remove the cake. 

Of course, any type of 9" pan can be used. Just make sure to grease it or line it with parchment paper.

You can add a half cup of raisins to the nut/sugar mixture. Of course, I used almond extract, our favorite :-)

It's delicious served with whipped cream. Ice cream would be nice as well, but plain is also good.

Can one bake this in an Air Fryer Oven?

Yes, I do that all the time. I have a Kalorik Digital MAXX Air Fryer Oven and it works just like a regular oven. I like using this because it preheats so quickly.

The only difference I find in using this air fryer is that the time is sometimes a bit shorter. If a recipe states that it should take about 30 to 35 minutes (as in the recipe below), I'll take a look at it at around 25 minutes and see how it's doing.

Depending on which brand of air fryer oven you are using, follow the manufacturer's recommendations. Some brands require an adjustment of temperature as well.

Again, following the manufacturer's recommendation, I make sure that I rotate the pan halfway through the backing time. The back of this oven bakes hotter than the front.

For the cake shown above, you'll see that I'm using a square 9" springform pan, making it easy to remove the cake without having to tip it over to remove it and perhaps lose some of the nuts on top.

Grab your copy of Oma's favorites in her Special Occasion German Cakes & Tortes e-Cookbook.

Take a peek at all Oma's eCookbooks. They make sharing your German heritage a delicious adventure!

Oma says,

This method of mixing the butter, sugar and eggs first and then alternately adding the flour and liquid is a simple version of the German "rührteig" (translated as "stir dough").

HINT: For this cake, I either wet my hands with water or use a wet spoon to help smooth the dough over the nut filling.

Ready to make this German coffee cake?

Print Recipe

Traditional German Coffee Cake Recipe – Oma's Zimt-Kaffeekuchen Rezept

My German coffee cake recipe, aka Kaffeekuchen, is a delicious way to learn how to make coffee cake. With nuts and cinnamon, it's fun to make with the kids. They just love to lick the bowl!

Because of its ease and deliciousness, this is one of those easy dessert ideas that you'll return to time and time again.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Bake Time 35 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients:

• ⅓ cup butter, room temperature
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1½ cups flour, all-purpose
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup chopped nuts (walnuts, pecans, or almonds)
• ¼ cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ¾ cup powdered sugar (optional)
• 3 - 4 tablespoons milk (optional)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Greased a 9-inch square baking pan. In mixing bowl, beat butter, sugar, and extract until creamy.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
4. Blend flour and baking powder together.
5. Stir flour mixture alternately with the milk into the sugar mixture.
6. Spread half of batter in greased pan.
7. Combine nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Sprinkle half over batter in pan.
8. Carefully top with remaining batter and sprinkle with remaining nut mixture.
9. Bake 30 to 35 minutes until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.
10. Cool in pan on wire rack.
11. If desired, blend powdered sugar and milk to make glaze. Drizzle over cooled coffee cake.

Notes/Hints:

• Dip a spoon into water and use that to smooth the dough as you are layering it in the pan and then over the nut layer.
• For a delicious variation on this Coffee Cake recipe add ½ cup raisins to the nut mixture.

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Unless otherwise noted recipe, images and content © Just like Oma | www.quick-german-recipes.com

08.20.2021 revision update

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German Coffee Cake Recipe ~ Oma's Zimt-Kaffeekuchen

By Oma Gerhild Fulson

This German coffee cake recipe is a delicious way to Making this German coffee cake recipe to get a Zimt-Kaffeekuchen just like Oma used to make is so easy. Just mix, layer with nuts and cinnamon, and bake. YUM!

Ingredients: butter, sugar, vanilla extract, eggs, all-purpose flour, baking powder, milk, nuts, brown sugar, cinnamon, powdered sugar, milk,

For the full recipe, scroll up ...

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More about me >

Hi, I'm Oma Gerhild! As a food writer and cookbook author, I'm always looking to find ways to pass on my German heritage using local ingredients. Quick and easy. That's my goal. Wunderbar food. That's the result.