The Best Cowboy Coffee Cake Recipe with Buttermilk

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I have a fascination with older things. It’s probably why I bought an old house. Or why I like black and white movies. Older things just speak to me. That’s where this beloved old recipe comes in. I am told the original cowboy coffee cake recipe was first shared in the 1957 version of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, but I’m certain that I had it when my Grandma made it at some point. Being born in 1945, Grandma was the master of old-timey desserts like peach crunch pie, hand-fried pies, peanut butter fudge, and other things that you just can’t find on the internet these days.

This is the perfect recipe for special occasions like the first or last day of school, birthdays, or any holiday morning where you want to make something a little special. The secret to the coffee cake is the buttery toasted pecans combined with the sweet cinnamon sugar topping. The result of this pairing is a perfectly buttery and sweet crust on the top of the cake. The subtle sweetness shines when you pair it with a hot steaming mug of coffee. Coffee + Cake. Dare I say more?

Ingredients you need

This cake comes together in a pinch with a few ingredients that you probably already have on hand!

Ingredients:

• Dry Ingredients (Whole white Wheat Flour, All Purpose Flour, Brown Sugar, Granulated Sugar, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt)
• Wet Ingredients (Eggs, Butter, Sour Cream, Buttermilk, Vanilla, Maple Syrup)
• Nuts (Pecans or other nut of your choosing)
• Spices (Cinnamon, Nutmeg, cloves)

Equipment Overview

You don’t need any fancy equipment to make this recipe. You can either bake this cake up in 2 8×8 square pans, or 1 9×13 pan. I’ve seen some people bake it up in a springform cake pan, but this increases cooking time, and I’m not one to wait. You’ll need a baking sheet for the roasted pecans, and a couple of mixing bowls. That’s it!

How to Toast Pecans

I know what you are thinking – do I have to toast the pecans? Short answer – yes. Longer answer – double yes, and let me tell you why: I thought that I, too, could skip out on toasting the pecans. No way, no how. This cake is just not the same without the buttery crunch of toasted pecans. Luckily, toasting the pecans is quick and easy. I’ll show you the no-fuss way to toast the nuts:

Grab yourself a baking sheet, and line it with parchment paper. Take your whole pecans, or other nut of your choosing, and place them on the baking sheet. Top them with a tablespoon of melted butter, and then sprinkle with cinnamon. Mix it all around, and put in a preheated oven at 375 for 10 minutes. Voila! Perfectly toasted nuts. Let the nuts cool completely before chopping them up for use.

Step by step instructions

This recipe can really be broken down into three easy parts:

1. Making the Cake
2. Making the Topping
3. Assembling the Cake

Make the Cake

In a large bowl combine the whole white wheat flour, all-purpose flour, brown sugar, maple syrup, salt, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon nutmeg, and ¼ teaspoon cloves. Combine the dry mixture with the softened butter, and stir together until the mixture forms large coarse crumbs. (Grandma always did this part with her hands). Stop here! Save ½ cup of this mixture for the toasted pecan topping. 

Combine your well-beaten eggs with one cup of buttermilk, or if you don’t have buttermilk, sub ¾ cup sour cream and ¼ cup milk. Add eggs and buttermilk mixture, as well as baking powder, baking soda, and vanilla to the remaining crumbs. Mix well. A few lumps in the batter can remain!

Make the topping

Combine the ½ cup of crumbs that you set aside earlier with the toasted pecans. Mix well and set aside. In another bowl, mix together your cinnamon-sugar topping by combining 2 tbsp of granulated sugar with 1 ½ teaspoon of cinnamon.

Assemble the Cake

Spoon the batter into a well-greased prepared pan. Smooth the surface. Sprinkle your nut and crumb mixture evenly over the batter, and then top with your cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake the coffee cake in a preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out with only a few crumbs attached. Allow to cool for about a half hour for easy slicing, but dig in immediately if you love warm crumbly cinnamon-y goodness – we always do. 🙂

Success Tips

1. Prepared pan: In order to prepare your pan so that your cake will come away easily, spread butter on the bottom and sides of your pan(s). Sprinkle the butter with some flour, and spread evenly throughout the pan (sides and bottom). Dump out any excess flour.
2. Room temperature ingredients: We are working with a few cold ingredients here – buttermilk, sour cream, butter, eggs. Cold ingredients do not cook evenly so you’ll want to make sure that these ingredients have time to reach room temperature before using them in your cake.
3. Batter Consistency: The first time I made this recipe, I wasn’t sure if I should beat out all of the crumbs, leave them, or WHAT? You will want to beat the majority of the crumbs out of the batter, but do not sweat a few crumbs being left in. I do this part by hand, but you can use a stand mixer if you have one. Err on the side of leaving crumbs in, because an over-beaten batter produces a tough body.

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Storage Tips

This baked cake can be left on the counter at room temperature for two days. You can also wrap the cake in plastic wrap or foil, and refrigerate for up to 4 days. You can reheat the cake in the oven at 300 degrees. 

Can you freeze this cake? I’m glad you asked! Not that I’ve ever had any left to freeze – you can freeze this cake. Just wrap individual slices in plastic wrap, and store in a freezer bag. It will keep for 2 months in the freezer. Just like with refrigerated cake, you can reheat the cake in the oven at 300 degrees.

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