Lemon Almond Coffee Cake

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When I was growing up every once in awhile my dad would make coffee cake on Sunday mornings.  It had a crunchy topping and in between that and the actual cake part, he put orange marmalade.  It had an amazing flavor and added moistness.  Lately I’ve been thinking about that coffee cake, wanting to make my own version but with a lemony flavor.  I started searching for a lemon marmalade.  Marmalade is basically a thick jam, made with the peels when working with citrus.  I found this recipe and really liked it.  It results in a lemon marmalade that’s almost creamy, like a cross between a marmalade and a curd.  It makes a TON, and keeps a while in the fridge (I didn’t bother canning it).  If you don’t have time to make your own, you can certainly use store-bought.  In case you haven’t figured it out, lemon marmalade is the “twofer” component of this recipe, which means I’ll be sharing another recipe later this week featuring it.  🙂

Ok, let’s get to it!

Start by preheating your oven and greasing an 8” square pan. Next put together the crumble topping.  In a medium bowl, pour your melted butter, then whisk in the sugars, cardamon, ginger, and salt until the mixture is smooth. 

Cardamom is a great spice and works wonderfully with lemon.  If you want other recipes using this spice, you can find it in my Honey Cardamom Applesauce and Apple and Green Tomato Pie. 

Now stir in the flour, until it all clumps together into one.  

To make the cake, start by mixing together the sour cream, egg, yolk, and almond extract in a small bowl.  Now mix together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. 

Add the butter and a spoonful of the sour cream egg mixture and mix until the flour is moistened. 

Then add the remaining sour cream and egg mixture and mix another minute.  Make sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl and mix that in.  

Now pour the cake batter into your prepared pan. 

Dollop the marmalade on top of the batter by small spoonfuls as evenly as you can.  Spread it with a rubber spatula to help even it out.

The final step is the crumble!  Make large crumbs in between your fingers and put it on top of the marmalade.  

Put it in the oven and bake 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean (if there’s just marmalade on the toothpick, that’s ok).

Let the coffee cake cool at least 2 hours before cutting into it.  This cake stays really moist for up to 5 days after baking.  

I really love the flavors in this coffee cake!  The sharpness of the marmalade is tempered by the crunchy crumble topping and warm spices.  The cake is also really moist without being too dense.  I think you’re really going to enjoy it!

Don’t forget to stay tuned later this week to see what else I do with lemon marmalade.