Recipes » Sweet Orange-Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake

Sweet Orange-Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake

ByJulie Menghini Published onFebruary 25, 2019June 23, 2023 Modified onJune 23, 2023

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Orange-Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake is a sweet quick bread that is stuffed and topped with a warm cinnamon brown sugar streusel. It’s great with a cup of coffee at breakfast or complements a savory dish at dinner.

Table view of a loaf of Orange Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake with a thick brown sugar pecan streusel sitting horizontally on a piece of parchment paper.

Orange-Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake isn’t just any coffee cake! I don’t know what it is about streusel topping. I love it.

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Nebraska temperatures are supposed to be in the 40s this time of year. However, we can’t even get to 30 and have been dumped on with snow for the last two weekends. This weekend will be the third storm in a row.

A loaf of Orange Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake with a thick brown sugar pecan streusel sitting at an angle on a piece of parchment paper.

That calls for kitchen time. I’m a happy girl if I can stay inside and cook some comfort food like my Down-Home Chili recipe or Easy Instant Pot Chicken and Rice recipe.

When I have comfort food on the brain I like baking a sweet treat to go with my meal. A lot of the time it’s muffins so it wasn’t unusual when my brain instantly went to warm cinnamon streusel muffins and morphed from there.

Is there such a thing as recipe ADD? Within about 5 minutes my muffins turned to bread adding orange as well. And skidded to a halt once I landed on this Orange Streusel Coffee Cake.

Close up of streusel showing crumbly pea-sized pieces of butter mixed with brown sugar and cinnamon.

Tips for making perfect streusel

When I make streusel the first thing I do is dice up the butter and put it in the refrigerator until I’m ready for it. I want to keep it cold.
Don’t over-work the butter into the streusel. You want pea-sized pieces of butter throughout your streusel.
Sprinkle the streusel onto your batter. Don’t press it into the bakery.
Don’t skimp! It’s delicious!

Why is it called coffee cake? Coffee cake is cake intended to be eaten with or flavored with coffee, Coffee Cake can have more than one layer, contain nuts or have an icing. Wikipedia

How did coffee cake get its’ name? The first coffee cakes are thought to have originated in Germany. These were more like sweetbreads than cakes. It wasn’t until 1879 that the term “coffee cake” became a common term.

The inside crumb of this slice or Orange-Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake is soft and tender and loaded with sweet brown sugar pecan streusel.

Coffee cake can be whatever you want it to be! Here are some amazing examples!

You may need:

Loaf Pan – I use these pans for meat loaf, bread and of course coffee cakes. Nothing sticks and mine have lasted for years.

Pastry Blender – I like the blender with the round wire instead of the rectangular cutters. They do a great job make streusel or pie crust.

Don’t forget to save this recipe to your favorite Pinterest board for easy reference!

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Orange-Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake

Author: Julie Menghini

Orange-Pecan Streusel Coffee Cake is a sweet and crunchy quick bread that is loaded with a delicious streusel inside and out!

5 from 20 votes

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Prep Time 15

Cook Time 55

Total Time 1 10

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword: Orange pecan coffee cake

Servings:

Ingredients

Coffee Cake Batter

2 cups all-purpose flour
1.25 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1.50 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup yogurt plain
1 egg large
1 tbsp orange zest about 1 orange
1 tsp orange extract
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup milk any will work

Streusel Topping

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup pecans coarsely ground
1/4 cup unsalted butter cold and diced
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp flour

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan with oil, butter, or a non-stick cooking spray.

Coffee Cake

In a large bowl combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, combine sugar, and egg. Blend together and then add yogurt, orange zest, orange extract, and milk. Blend until smooth.
Gradually add dry ingredients to wet ingredients.

Streusel

Combine brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon. Stir together. Add cold diced butter using either two forks, a pastry blender or your fingers in a pinching motion until crumbly and the size of peas. Don’t overwork. Add flour and lightly mix.

Assembly

Pour half of the batter into the loaf pan and sprinkle half of the streusel over the batter. Pour the remaining batter over the streusel and then sprinkle remaining streusel over the top.
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cover the top with foil if the streusel gets too dark.

Notes

The flour in the streusel will keep it suspended in the batter. I just lightly mix it in the streusel with a fork.

Nutrition

Calories: 246kcalCarbohydrates: 40gProtein: 4gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 26mgSodium: 222mgPotassium: 147mgFiber: 1gSugar: 22gVitamin A: 165IUVitamin C: 0.7mgCalcium: 75mgIron: 1.3mg

Nutritional Disclaimer

This recipe was calculated using the exact brands and measurements I used to make this recipe. If you are following a strict diet please note changing anything will cause the nutritional info to change. My calculations are intended as a guide only.

Tried this recipe?Let me know how it was!

A final note. If you’re a batter tester you’re not going to notice a strong orange flavor. However, it is smoothly present in the baked coffee cake.

You know what a bread lover I am and here are a few more recipes that we can’t live without!