Common Ingredients in coffee cake Recipes

We researched the most common ingredients in over a dozen popular coffee cake recipes and found the top 15 ingredients.

The most common ingredient in coffee cake dishes is butter.

White sugar, flour, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, pecans, baking powder and sour cream are also common ingredients in coffee cake recipes. For herbs and spices, cinnamon is popular. Variations include:

• walnuts in place of pecans
• milk in place of sour cream

Salt is in 55% of coffee cake recipes.

The average coffee cake recipe has about 11 ingredients, with a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 16.

In terms of directions, coffee cake recipes have about 5.5 steps on average, ranging from 1 to 10 instructions.

Ratios of Common Ingredients in Coffee Cake

For 2 tablespoon butter (28 g), the median and average amounts of other significant ingredients are below. Some ingredients are potential substitutes for others, meaning they almost never exist together in a single coffee cake recipe, and are marked below.

Ingredient	Median	Average	% of recipes with butter	Potential subsitutions
eggs	1 (56 g)	1.2 (69 g)	75%
cinnamon	0.67 teaspoon (2 g)	0.76 teaspoon (2 g)	75%
flour	3.3 tablespoon (25 g)	3.1 tablespoon (24 g)	63%
brown sugar	a third of a cup (73 g)	0.37 cup (82 g)	63%
pecans	0.13 cup (14 g)	0.16 cup (18 g)	50%	walnuts
baking powder	1.3 teaspoon (7 g)	1.2 teaspoon (6 g)	50%
salt	a third of a teaspoon (2 g)	0.28 teaspoon (2 g)	50%
milk	a quarter cup (61 g)	0.28 cup (68 g)	38%	sour cream

Ingredients by Average Weight in Coffee Cake

We also found the average content of the significant ingredients by weight in coffee cake recipes. This would be: 25% white sugar, 16% brown sugar, 13% sour cream, 12% butter, 11% eggs, 7% flour, 7% blueberries, 4% milk and 3% pecans.

Here are the top ingredients, listed in order of popularity.

butter

Butter is the most popular ingredient in coffee cake dishes. In fact, over 90% of coffee cake recipes contain butter.

Softened is a frequent preparation for butter in coffee cake dishes.

Butter is often included in coffee cake dishes in amounts of 2 tablespoons.

In coffee cake recipes that contain butter, it is on average, 7% by weight.

For coffee cake recipes, butter is frequently used with white sugar, cinnamon, eggs, flour and brown sugar. However, walnuts is almost never used together with butter in coffee cake dishes.

cinnamon

Another popular ingredient in coffee cake is cinnamon. From the recipes we've sampled for coffee cake, over 80% have cinnamon.

Coffee cake dishes often call for cinnamon to be ground.

Cinnamon is often included in coffee cake dishes in amounts of 1 teaspoon.

In coffee cake recipes that contain cinnamon, it is on average, 0.4% by weight.

In recipes for coffee cake, cinnamon is often used with white sugar, flour, brown sugar, eggs and butter.

white sugar

White sugar is another common ingredient in coffee cake dishes. In fact, over 80% of coffee cake recipes contain white sugar.

Granulated is a frequent preparation for white sugar in coffee cake dishes.

Common quantities for white sugar in coffee cake dishes include half a cup or three quarters of a cup.

In coffee cake recipes that contain white sugar, it is on average, 16% by weight.

Cinnamon, eggs, butter, flour and brown sugar are commonly used together with white sugar in coffee cake dishes.

flour

Another popular ingredient in coffee cake is flour. From the recipes we've sampled for coffee cake, over 70% have flour.

Flour is often included in coffee cake dishes in amounts of 1 tablespoon.

In coffee cake recipes that contain flour, it is on average, 5% by weight.

For coffee cake recipes, flour is frequently used with white sugar, eggs, cinnamon, brown sugar and salt.

brown sugar

Brown sugar is another common ingredient in coffee cake dishes. In fact, over 70% of coffee cake recipes contain brown sugar.

Coffee cake dishes often call for brown sugar to be packed.

Brown sugar is often included in coffee cake dishes in amounts of half a cup or a third of a cup.

In coffee cake recipes that contain brown sugar, it is on average, 12% by weight.

In recipes for coffee cake, brown sugar is often used with cinnamon, white sugar, flour, eggs and butter.

eggs

Another popular ingredient in coffee cake is eggs. From the recipes we've sampled for coffee cake, over 70% have eggs.

Common quantities for eggs in coffee cake dishes include 1 eggs or 2 eggs.

In coffee cake recipes that contain eggs, it is on average, 8% by weight.

White sugar, cinnamon, flour, butter and salt are commonly used together with eggs in coffee cake dishes.

salt

Salt is another common ingredient in coffee cake dishes. In fact, over 55% of coffee cake recipes contain salt.

Salt is often included in coffee cake dishes in amounts of half a teaspoon.

In coffee cake recipes that contain salt, it is on average, 0.3% by weight.

For coffee cake recipes, salt is frequently used with white sugar, eggs, flour, cinnamon and baking powder.

vanilla

Another popular ingredient in coffee cake is vanilla. From the recipes we've sampled for coffee cake, over 55% have vanilla.

Variations of vanilla include:

• vanilla extract: 18% of recipes
• vanilla ice cream: 9% of recipes
• vanilla yogurt: 9% of recipes

In recipes for coffee cake, vanilla is often used with white sugar, flour, butter, eggs and strawberries. On the other hand, vanilla is almost never used with walnuts, butter, blueberries and vanilla extract.

pecans

Pecans is another common ingredient in coffee cake dishes. In fact, over 35% of coffee cake recipes contain pecans.

Chopped is a frequent preparation for pecans in coffee cake dishes.

Common quantities for pecans in coffee cake dishes include half a cup.

In coffee cake recipes that contain pecans, it is on average, 5% by weight.

Butter, white sugar, brown sugar, salt and baking powder are commonly used together with pecans in coffee cake dishes.

Potential substitutions for pecans in coffee cake:

• walnuts

Also, pecans is not often used with baking soda, butter and margarine.

baking powder

Another popular ingredient in coffee cake is baking powder. From the recipes we've sampled for coffee cake, over 35% have baking powder.

Baking powder is often included in coffee cake dishes in amounts of 2 teaspoons.

In coffee cake recipes that contain baking powder, it is on average, 0.9% by weight.

For coffee cake recipes, baking powder is frequently used with white sugar, eggs, salt, butter and flour. However, baking soda, walnuts, butter and margarine are almost never used together with baking powder in coffee cake dishes.

sour cream

Sour cream is another common ingredient in coffee cake dishes. In fact, over 35% of coffee cake recipes contain sour cream.

Sour cream is often included in coffee cake dishes in amounts of 1 cup.

In coffee cake recipes that contain sour cream, it is on average, 19% by weight.

In recipes for coffee cake, sour cream is often used with cinnamon, brown sugar, flour, white sugar and eggs.

Potential substitutions for sour cream in coffee cake:

• milk

milk

Another popular ingredient in coffee cake is milk. From the recipes we've sampled for coffee cake, over 25% have milk.

Common quantities for milk in coffee cake dishes include half a cup.

In coffee cake recipes that contain milk, it is on average, 9% by weight.

White sugar, eggs, flour, butter, baking powder and salt are commonly used together with milk in coffee cake dishes.

Potential substitutions for milk in coffee cake:

• sour cream

Also, milk is not often used with baking soda, walnuts, butter, margarine and vanilla extract.

baking soda

Baking soda is another common ingredient in coffee cake dishes. In fact, over 25% of coffee cake recipes contain baking soda.

Baking soda is often included in coffee cake dishes in amounts of 1 teaspoon.

In coffee cake recipes that contain baking soda, it is on average, 0.5% by weight.

For coffee cake recipes, baking soda is frequently used with eggs, white sugar, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. However, pecans, baking powder, milk and blueberries are almost never used together with baking soda in coffee cake dishes.

blueberries

Blueberries is another common ingredient in coffee cake dishes. In fact, over 15% of coffee cake recipes contain blueberries.

In coffee cake recipes that contain blueberries, it is on average, 23% by weight.

White sugar, butter, flour, eggs, brown sugar, pecans, baking powder, cinnamon and salt are commonly used together with blueberries in coffee cake dishes. Conversely, blueberries is not often used with baking soda, walnuts, butter and margarine.

Other coffee cake Ingredients

Other significant ingredients used in coffee cake recipes include:

• margarine - 15%
• walnuts - 15%

---

Select Recipes for coffee cake (Ingredients Only)