Does Coffee Cake Contain Actual Coffee?

What's in a name? When Juliet asked Romeo this question, she probably wasn't thinking about the etymology of food descriptors — also, she's fictional. That doesn't change the fact, however, that a lot of food names are contradictory or downright nonsensical. Black pudding, for instance, is neither black nor the kind of pudding you eat for dessert. Frog eye salad's offbeat name belies the fact that it contains no actual amphibians. That brings us to coffee cake.

You may not have many deep thoughts about coffee cake. It's usually just there, sitting on a hotel's continental breakfast spread alongside the pastries and Froot Loops, waiting for you to sink your teeth into the moist, crumbly loaf and savor the flavors of cinnamon and streusel. But, when you think about it, the question presents itself: Is there actual coffee in this cake? It turns out that the answer is no. Traditionally, there's no coffee in coffee cake; it comes by its name simply because it tastes delicious with your morning cup of joe.

The origins of coffee cake are a bit murky, owing largely to how surprisingly old it is. German and Danish coffee lovers discovered in the 1600s that a baked sweet treat paired nicely with their coffee. Over in the Scandinavian nations, cultural diffusion led to yeast cakes stuffed with fruit and nuts — as well as the birth of the "coffee break" with dedicated time to savor it. The 1900s saw European immigrants bringing their traditional cake recipes to America, where New World bakers put their own spins on the old formulas. Then, in the 1950s, the invention of the bundt cake pan gave us the ring-shaped cakes we know and love today. 

Nowadays, coffee cakes can be layered with sweet fruit like apples, sugared nuts, or even custard. It's worth noting that, overseas, "coffee cake" may well refer to a cake flavored with actual coffee! You can also find recipes for coffee cake that incorporate caffeine in one form or another, though it's not exactly standard.

For intrepid home cooks, whipping up your own American-style coffee cake is a delightfully simple process that will yield a breakfast treat made to your exact specifications. You might be surprised to discover that Bisquick baking mix is the secret ingredient in a quick coffee cake that will wow your loved ones.