Overnight Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake

Name: Overnight Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 50 min
Total time: 60 min
Ingredients: ¾ cup butter* (softened, could sub with dairy-free butter sticks (I like Earth Balance)); 1 cup granulated sugar; 2 large eggs; 2 cups all-purpose flour*; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; ½ teaspoon salt; 1 cup sour cream* (could sub with unsweetened coconut milk); ¾ cup firmly packed brown sugar; ½ cup chopped pecans; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

December 21, 2020 by Savoring Italy

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Overnight Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake -The most perfect cake for Christmas morning. This very easy to make batter is topped with the most delicious cinnamon pecan topping. Prepped the night before, it smells heavenly baking on Christmas morning.

I don’t know what your plans are for New Year’s Eve. I never used to like planning for the biggest night of the year. There sometimes were disappointments. Sometimes there were grand celebrations. Now that I’m a mommy, I have the best excuses to not want to go out on New Year’s Eve. Like, “I don’t have a sitter.” Or, “Little guy gets scared of the fireworks outside.” Actually, my chihuahuas get very scared.

But you! I know you are living the life I used to lead. You are going to a fabulous party and there will be some bubbly. Champagne. Beer. Beer and champagne. You know, those kinds of parties!!

Or maybe you went to bed at 10 PM after snuggling on the couch with your kids watching one of their movies for the 100th time. You can barely keep one eye open another second, let alone wait to see the ball drop. You drop in bed and dream of this luscious cake you will soon bake!

Originally posted December 31, 2010 and updated on December 21, 2020. This is one of our favorite holiday cakes! I found it in a 2009 Southern Living issue. I bake it the week leading up to Christmas and it’s become a Christmas morning tradition. When I originally posted this I titled it the “Hangover Cake” to be silly. It’s so easy to put together.

Mom took a bite of this one the other day and she said, “The secret to it being so moist is that it rests overnight in the fridge before baking.” SO there you have it. This is seriously the softest and most delightful cake. One of my most favorite simple cake recipes. Ever!

The beautiful thing about this cake is when there is madness happening of holiday prepping, you could make the batter, place it in the pan, leave it overnight in the fridge. Christmas morning as soon as you wake up, place it in the oven. Everyone will wake up to the most magical spicy aroma baking away.

Whatever the scenario, make this cake batter tomorrow. Stick it in the fridge. Christmas or New Year’s Day you wake up. Pop it in the oven. Soon you will smell the smells of holiday time: cinnamon, ginger. Pecans intermingling in this dreamy and spicy sensory moment. Your headache will start to fade just a little.

Then it is ready and you take a bite. SMILE! It’s the new year and you have amazing cake! And make sure there’s some really strong coffee to go with it. I made this cake last Christmas day with my neighbor. We both were in LOVE with this recipe. I made it all December last year. This year I had friends requesting the “Christmas Cake”.

The fun part of this cake is you make the batter the night before. It can stay in the refrigerator for up to 18 hours. You can also bake it immediately after making the batter. I have and it is amazing!!If you are saving for next morning to bake, simply wrap the top of your baking pan with plastic wrap and pop the cake in the fridge until the next day morning. When you take it out of the fridge, remove the plastic wrap before baking.

I have made this in a Bundt and I have made it in a 9 inch spring form, as I did on this one in the photos above. I adjusted the recipe by adding more spices! I added ginger and more cinnamon to the batter and more cinnamon to the topping.

What ingredients are needed to make Overnight Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake?

butter *(can use your favorite dairy-free butter replacement…I like Earth Balance)
sugar
eggs
all-purpose flour *(can use your favorite 1-1 gluten-free flour …I like King Arthur’s or Bob’s Red Mill)
baking powder
baking soda
ground nutmeg
ground ginger
ground cinnamon
salt
sour cream* (can use unsweetened coconut or almond milk yogurt to keep dairy-free)
firmly packed brown sugar
pecans
ground cinnamon

Can I make this coffee cake dairy free?

Yes! Since this was a cake I first baked in 2010, we have most of the family dairy-free. So to let you know if you are dairy-free, I now bake this cake with Earth Balance margarine (or whatever your favorite dairy-free butter substitute is)and I use sugar free coconut yogurt (or whatever nut milk yogurt you like or even soy yogurt)in place of sour cream. The cake is still super rich and delicious and you don’t miss the dairy.

Can I make this coffee cake gluten-free?

Yes! I have baked this using my favorite King Arthur’s Flour or Bob’s Red Mill 1-1 gluten-free flour mix and the cake turns out fantastic!

How do you make an overnight cinnamon pecan coffee cake?

1. Prep your 9-inch spring form pan with baking spray (or butter and flour). If you’re using a large Bundt pan, the nuts could be added to the bottom of pan. Beat butter and granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.

2. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients; add to butter mixture alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition. Spread batter into a greased and floured 13- x 9-inch pan.

3. Stir together brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon; sprinkle over batter.

4. Cover pan with plastic wrap, and chill 8 to 18 hours.

5. Preheat oven to 350°. Remove cake from the refrigerator and dispose of the plastic wrap.

6. Place cake in middle rack of oven. Bake coffee cake 35 minutes. Lower the temperature to 325 F and bake about another 20-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

6. Remove from oven. When pan has cooled enough (I usually use a dish towel to hold pan), release the spring form and place on a serving plate.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

These last few weeks there have been lots of cakes, breads, cookies, and pies circulating throughout my kitchen and into our mouths.

My sweet neighbor Catherine brings us this rum cake every Christmas. She’s a doll. She has a dog named Romeo. She used to live in Rome and NYC (she worked in fashion)and is a woman full of incredible stories of her fabulous past. *sad update note and why I wanted to include this in the post…Romeo since 2010 has passed away and due to health issues, Catherine is no longer baking her cake and bringing to all the neighbors).

Yesterday we went by to my mom’s to have some mac and cheese. My daughter took some photos. I’m wearing my gold “pimpadelic” poofy jacket (my friends hubby said I looked pimpadelic wearing it the other day). It was a little chilly! Little guy was probably throwing something over the balcony.

Gorgeous weather in the month of December. Hard to believe it was in the 20’s here two days ago.

Sogni per 2011 : Dreams for 2011

My daughter took all these photos and this was her FAVORITE shot of the sky. It’s also my favorite. As I’ve mentioned in other posts, I adore my children. I’ve been lucky to find my mate and we try to enjoy every moment together as a family. We’ve had some beautiful and simple moments this past year. Walks on the beach. Silly movies and popcorn feasts. Long bike rides with our neighbors. Impromptu dinners outside with our special friends. We enjoyed gorgeous hikes in North Carolina and road trips throughout Italy. Days filled with amazing food and lovely friends. These are a handful of moments I won’t forget.

This past summer, life lead me to this food blogging journey. It was a dream of mine for the past five years. I finally took the dive and I am very happy I did. I have encountered some really talented people. Witty and kind. People all over the world. People I now call my friends. I look forward to a new year of reading all of your adventures in life and in the kitchen.

I hope to have a year filled with good health, family, and wonderful friends. This post title is very silly. I try to not take life too seriously. I hope you sometimes laugh when you read my blog. I hope you sometimes drool over the food. I get really giddy when you tell me on twitter or email me that you made my recipe and it was successful. If it wasn’t successful, I break down in tears!

Whatever you do this New Year’s Eve, I hope it is a wonderful evening. I wish you a New Year filled with hope and peace. Good health and much love. Lots of great cake and fun times. Thank you for visiting me these past few months. It’s been a pleasure getting to know you. I LOVE your comments and visiting your blogs.

Much love and thank you for your friendship!! xo

Some other delicious cake recipes:

recipe from: Southern Living December 2009

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