Kleina Kaffee Kuchen (Small Coffe Cakes)

These small German coffee cakes are baked in muffin tins, giving you individual portions of rich, butter-and-egg yeast bread that’s somewhere between a brioche and a sweet roll. The dough is loaded with whole eggs, extra yolks, butter, and cream, which makes it incredibly tender and rich.

Cream the butter, sugar, and salt first, then beat in the eggs and yolks one at a time. This builds structure and incorporates air into a dough that’s too rich to rely on yeast alone for lift. The yeast gets a head start mixed with a few tablespoons of flour before it joins the butter mixture, which activates it before it has to compete with all that fat.

Adding the remaining flour and cream alternately keeps the dough smooth and prevents the flour from clumping into dry pockets. Fill the greased and floured muffin tins two-thirds full and let the dough rise in a warm spot until it reaches the top of the pans.

Chef Tips

• Make sure the milk for dissolving the yeast is truly lukewarm, around 110°F (43°C). Too hot kills the yeast. Too cold and it won’t activate.
• Don’t overfill the tins. Two-thirds is the max. The dough rises significantly and will overflow if you’re generous.
• These are done when the tops are golden and a toothpick comes out clean. The rich dough can look underdone even when it’s perfectly baked.

Variations

• Sprinkle streusel topping (equal parts butter, sugar, and flour rubbed together) over the dough before baking for a classic German crumb finish.
• Add a teaspoon of vanilla extract or lemon zest to the batter for extra fragrance.
• Fold in a tablespoon of cinnamon sugar for a cinnamon swirl through each cake.