Night Before Christmas Coffee Cake
The Night Before Christmas Coffee Cake is a holiday morning dream come true. This holiday classic dessert features a spiced batter infused with cinnamon and cardamom, topped with a sweet walnut crumble. The best part? It’s prepared the night before, so all you need to do on Christmas morning is pop it in the oven.
The warm, comforting aroma will fill your home as the cake bakes, creating the perfect backdrop for a fun Christmas morning with the family. Easy to make and irresistible to eat, this coffee cake is destined to become a cherished holiday tradition. And it’s perfect to enjoy with your coffee.
Night Before Christmas Coffee Cake
I love a holiday breakfast recipe that you can prepare ahead, and then pop in the oven in the morning. You can do either with this recipe; prepare and bake right away, or store in the fridge until you’re ready to turn that oven on.
Why I love this recipe
- Make ahead the night before Christmas; bake in the morning for warm coffee cake!
- Can be made fresh in the morning if you don’t want to prepare the night before.
- Delicious any time of the year–it’s so good!
Gather these ingredients
- Sugar
- Dark brown sugar
- Butter – melted
- Eggs – beaten
- Vanilla extract
- Flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Salt
- Cinnamon
- Cardamom
- Buttermilk (or 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to 1 cup milk)
- Walnuts – chopped
Topping:
- Dark brown sugar
- Cinnamon
- Walnuts – chopped
How to make Night Before Christmas Coffee Cake
- Prepare a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- Mix (in a large bowl) 1 cup sugar and ½ cup dark brown sugar with the melted butter.
- Add eggs and mix until well blended.
- Combine (in another large bowl) the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom and mix together.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the egg batter. Add the buttermilk and nuts and mix until well blended.
- Pour mixture into prepared 9×13 baking dish.
Make the topping:
- Combine ⅓ cup dark brown sugar, 3 teaspoons cinnamon, and chopped walnuts to create a crumble topping.
- Sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake. Take a knife and run it up and down the cake pan about 4 times to barely mix in the crumble, but keeping most on top.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- Bake (when you wake up Christmas morning) in an oven at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes, depending on if the dish is cold just coming out of the fridge, or if it has sat on the counter to warm up. Watch the baking time – according to your oven and how cold the prepared cake is in order to not over bake the cake.
- Serve with coffee and hot cocoa on Christmas morning and enjoy!
Tips & substitutions
- Make your own buttermilk: If you don’t have buttermilk you can make your own: 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to 1 cup of milk.
- Swap out dark brown sugar for light brown sugar.
- Optional to add a few chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or raisins to the topping (about ½ cup).
- You can leave out the cardamom (but we love the flavor!).
- Replace walnuts with chopped pecans.
- Prepare the night before and store in the fridge until ready to bake!
Serving suggestions
Night Before Christmas Coffee Cake is absolutely fabulous when paired with hot cocoa, Pioneer Woman’s mulled apple cider, a warm slow cooker breakfast, or an elegant English Muffin Board. These accompaniments create a perfect spread for a cosy and festive holiday morning!
Storage
Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3-4 days. Also, this cake is freezable. We wrap tightly in plastic wrap, and then another layer of foil and keep in the freezer.
Check out these other breakfast delights while you’re here
Get the Recipe:
Night Before Christmas Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1 c. sugar
- ½ c. dark brown sugar
- ⅔ c. butter, melted
- 2 eggs, beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 2 c. flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. cardamom
- 1 c. buttermilk, or 1 tablespoon cider vinegar to 1 cup milk
- ½ c. walnuts, chopped
Topping:
- ⅓ c. dark brown sugar
- 3 tsp. cinnamon
- ¼ cup walnuts, chopped
Instructions
- Prepare a 9×13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix 1 cup sugar and ½ cup dark brown sugar with the melted butter.
- Add eggs and mix until well blended.
- In another bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and cardamom.
- Stir dry ingredients into the egg batter.
- Add buttermilk and nuts and mix until well blended.
- Pour mixture into prepared 9 X 13 baking dish.
Make the topping:
- Combine ⅓ c dark brown sugar, 3 tsp. of cinnamon, and chopped walnuts to create a crumble topping.
- Sprinkle the mixture on top of the cake. Take a knife and run it up and down the cake pan about 4 times to barely mix in the crumble, but keeping most on top.
- Cover and refrigerate overnight.
- When you wake up on Christmas morning, bake bread at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes, depending on if the dish is cold just coming out of the fridge, or if it has sat on the counter to warm up.
- Watch the baking time – according to your oven and how cold the prepared cake is, to not over bake the cake.
- Serve with coffee and hot cocoa on Christmas morning!
Hello and welcome to my home and table!
I’m Sandy—lover of food, family, cooking, THE BIG BOARD, travel, and bringing people together. Through great recipes and connection around the table, we become better, stronger, and more courageous people. Feasting on Life is real, and every time we do it, we grow a little more. Read more...
