Sourdough Coffee Cake (Delicious Recipe for Any Time of Day!)

Last updated on June 24th, 2026

This recipe is how you make a delicious sourdough coffee cake! If you’re like me who loves both coffee and baking sourdough, you’re gonna love this. It’s time to bring out your sourdough discard from hiding.

The best part is, you can take a bite or two at any time of day. Although I must admit, you won’t be able to stop there!

This delicious, tender coffee cake is made with a sourdough discard for that perfect sourdough tang and a wonderful lift to the crumbly cinnamon-spiced cake.

Typically, ordinary coffee cakes are flavored with cinnamon spices and finished with a wonderful crumble topping. Don’t let this stop you; customize this recipe if you want with various flavors like blueberries, cranberries, or pumpkin puree.

What Type of Sourdough Starter Do You Need For This Recipe?

You can really use any type of sourdough starter you like here. Whether it is a mature starter that has been recently fed or a refrigerated, and partially inactive sourdough starter, both will do.

Although if you were to use an active sourdough starter, you need to be conscious of the fact that this recipe may take longer, with fermentation time.

For this recipe, however, we are going to be using a sourdough starter discard.

Ingredients for Sourdough Coffee Cake

Many of the ingredients for this recipe are likely already in your pantry. Some key things you’ll need:

• Flour: You can use all-purpose flour, plain flour, whole wheat flour, or einkorn flour.

Flour	Texture	Flavor	Density	Best for
All-purpose	Light, tender	Neutral	Low	Classic version
Whole wheat	Dense, hearty	Nutty, earthy	High	Rustic version
Einkorn	Soft, delicate	Mild, slightly sweet	Medium	Lighter texture
Plain flour	Similar to all-purpose	Neutral	Low	Direct swap for AP

• Sugar and brown sugar: you’ll need both for the texture and depth of sweetness. You can also soften the brown sugar a little bit for softer cake.
• Butter: if using unsalted, add 1/4 teaspoon of salt.
• Sour cream: key to soft and moist cake!
• Extracts: Coffee is quite strong, so the extract is key for an interesting flavor profile. I used almond and vanilla
• Almonds: Is it not obvious how much I love the taste of almonds? I also used some for the topping!

How to Make Sourdough Coffee Cake

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Spray a 13 by 9-inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Line the baking pan with parchment paper, and spray it again. Set this aside.
2. To make the crumble topping, combine all the crumble ingredients into a bowl, and use your hands, to squeeze the ingredients together until a crumble forms.
3. Alternatively, you could add this to a stand mixer. Combine the ingredients with a paddle attachment set to low speed until your crumble starts to form. Remove the crumble and use your hands to press it together, then crumble it into large pieces. Place the crumble in the fridge, until it’s ready to use.
4. In a large mixing bowl, or stand mixer bowl, combine eggs and sugar until you achieve a light and fluffy texture. Add in your melted and cooled butter, sourdough starter, sour cream, vanilla, and almond extract. Mix until well combined.
5. In another large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Then add in your dry ingredients 1/2 cup at a time. Make sure to not overmix. Pour the dough into the prepped pan and smooth it out so that it’s evenly spread. The dough will be sticky, so spray your spatula before using it to spread.
6. Remove crumble from the fridge and sprinkle over cake.
7. Bake this for 30-35 minutes.
8. Remove and place on a wire cooling rack. Slice and enjoy when cooled!

Sourdough Coffee Cake Nutrition

• Calories: 600kcal
• Carbohydrates: 80g
• Protein: 8g
• Fat: 29g
• Saturated fat: 13g

Tips For Making This Sourdough Coffee Cake

• Use Sourdough Discard or Starter: You can use sourdough discard to make this quick version or use an active sourdough starter for a much tangier taste. Although for the latter, you’ll have to be patient due to the long fermentation.
• Baking Tools: I used a glass pan, but you can also use metal baking pans or muffin tins. These leads to tender crumble cakes.
• Mix with a Mixer: Use a stand mixer to combine your ingredients. This saves time and effort, making your recipe ready in moments rather than hours.

Additional Flavors

Variation	How to add	Pairs well with
Blueberry	Fold in fresh or frozen blueberries	Lemon zest, vanilla
Citrus zest	Add zest of 1–2 lemons or oranges to batter	Blueberry, almond
Mixed nuts	Swap almonds with walnuts, hazelnuts, or pecans	Brown sugar, cinnamon
Pumpkin	Stir in pumpkin puree + pinch of nutmeg	Cinnamon, walnuts
Cranberry	Use fresh or dried cranberries	Orange zest, vanilla
Espresso	Add 1 tsp instant espresso powder to batter	Chocolate chips, almond

Have you had coffee cake with a zing of orange zest? It made me think of what other things I can add to this recipe.

You may want to check out some of these flavorful ideas that you can try with today’s sourdough coffee cake recipe.

• You can mix in blueberries for a mild fruity taste.
• For a citrusy burst, include the zest of one or two lemons or oranges in the cake batter.
• You can include other nuts for a delicious crunch. Think peanuts, hazelnuts, and walnuts. I chopped up almonds to sprinkle over the top of my coffee cake.
• You can also use buttermilk for this recipe for a deeper flavor. If you don’t have buttermilk, you can always improvise with 90g of whole milk and 10g of white vinegar. Or try my homemade buttermilk recipe!

Sourdough Coffee Cake Storage

Keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to a week.

(But maybe you won’t have to and you’ll finish it in one go! It’s best eaten fresh after all.)

When Something Goes Wrong

Problem	Likely cause	Fix
Cake is dense or gummy	Overmixed batter or too much starter	Add dry ingredients in ½ cup increments; stop mixing as soon as combined
Crumble is too dry or floury	Too much flour in topping	Use ¾ cup flour; butter to flour ratio should be roughly 1:1.5
Crumble doesn’t hold together	Butter was too warm	Use cold cubed butter; refrigerate crumble until ready to use
Cake sinks in the middle	Underbaked or oven too low	Test with toothpick at 30 min; bake in 5-min increments if needed
Cake is too dry	Overbaked or not enough sour cream	Check at 30 minutes; measure sour cream accurately
Batter too thick to spread	Normal — batter is naturally sticky	Spray spatula with non-stick spray before spreading
Topping sinks into cake	Crumble pieces too small	Break into larger chunks; chill crumble longer before using
Not tangy enough	Using discard instead of active starter	Use active starter and allow fermentation time

Can I Make This Sourdough Coffee Cake Recipe Vegan?

For those who follow a gluten-free diet, you can certainly make some substitutions to suit your personal preference. The results are equally as amazing.

You can use the same recipe, with a few substitutions.

• Plant-based milk: Swap out your whole milk for any plant-based milk you desire. Though you may prefer almond, or coconut milk for this specific recipe.
• Vegan butter: Substitute butter for vegan butter, coconut oil, or avocado oil.
• Vegan sour cream: Substitute sour cream with vegan yogurt (like soy yogurt), coconut oil, or cashew milk.
• Coconut sugar: Not a must, but you may require a substitute for your sugar, I like to use brown sugar in my vegan recipes, although you might prefer the taste of coconut sugar better.
• Applesauce: Since you’re going to be using a non-dairy substitute for milk, you’ll need the addition of applesauce to thicken your batter.
• Mashed banana: As an egg substitute

Ingredient Substitutions

Adjust for your needs and use the chart below for guidance:

Original	Substitute	Notes
Butter (cake)	Vegan butter, coconut oil, avocado oil	Use same quantity; coconut oil adds mild sweetness
Butter (topping)	Vegan butter or coconut oil, kept cold	Must be cold to form crumble texture
Eggs	Mashed banana (1 medium per egg)	Adds slight banana flavor; use ripe bananas
Sour cream	Plain yogurt, buttermilk, coconut yogurt, soy yogurt	Keeps the cake moist
Whole milk	Almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk	Add applesauce to thicken batter
Sugar	Coconut sugar	Slightly less sweet with a caramel undertone
All-purpose flour	Whole wheat flour, einkorn flour	Whole wheat = denser; einkorn = lighter
Buttermilk	90g whole milk + 10g white vinegar	Let sit 5 minutes before using

Sourdough Coffee Cake – A Must-Try!

This sourdough coffee cake might make the best breakfast or afternoon treat. But why stop there? It’s a great way to enjoy a sourdough snack at any time of the day.

If you love baking with your sourdough discard, then check out these delicious sourdough discard recipes.

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