Coffeecake Eschmann

This is a sheet pan coffee cake built for feeding a crowd. A simple vanilla cake batter spread thin in a jelly roll pan, blanketed with a generous cinnamon-butter streusel, and baked until the topping turns golden and crumbly. Cut into rectangles, dusted with powdered sugar, and served warm with coffee. That’s it. No layers, no fuss, no decorating.

The streusel topping is practically its own recipe. Two and a half cups of flour, a full cup of sugar, a teaspoon of cinnamon, and a cup of melted butter blended until it resembles coarse meal. That’s a serious amount of topping for the amount of cake underneath, and that ratio is what makes this coffee cake work. You get more crumbly, buttery streusel than soft cake in every bite.

The cake layer is intentionally thin. Spread across a 15×10 inch pan, the batter bakes into a tender base that supports the streusel without competing with it. This isn’t meant to be a tall, fluffy cake. Think of it as a crumb-topped shortcake.

Kitchen Tips

• Cool the melted butter before working it into the streusel flour mixture. Hot butter makes a paste instead of crumbs.
• Grease the jelly roll pan well. The sugar in the streusel caramelizes and sticks to ungreased edges.
• Smooth the batter evenly across the pan before adding the topping. Thin spots will overbake and thick spots will be underdone.
• Dust with powdered sugar right before serving, not ahead of time. It absorbs moisture and disappears if it sits too long.

Variations

• Add a handful of chopped pecans or walnuts to the streusel for a nutty crunch.
• Fold fresh blueberries into the cake batter before spreading for a fruit-studded version.
• Drizzle a simple glaze (powdered sugar + milk) over the cooled cake instead of dusting with powdered sugar.