Coffee cake

Austrian German: kaffekuchen—evolved from other sweet dishes from Vienna.^[3] In the 17th century, Northern/Central Europeans are thought to have come up with the idea of eating sweet cakes while drinking coffee.^[4][5] As the region's countries were already known for their sweet yeast breads, the introduction of coffee in Europe led to the understanding that cakes were a great complement to the beverage. Immigrants from countries such as Germany and Scandinavia adjusted their recipes to their own liking and brought them to America. Though the cakes varied, they all contained ingredients such as yeast, flour, dried fruit, and sweet spices. However, over time, the coffee cake recipes have changed as cheese, sugared fruit, yogurt, soured cream, have been used, leading to a denser, more cake-like structure. In the 19th century, American cooks also used coffee as an ingredient to thriftily use up leftovers, reducing waste, and flavor the cake.^[6] The invention of pasteurization in America following World War I^[7] also led to the creation of a new kind of coffee cake, called sour cream coffee cake.^[8] Coffee cake is referenced in literary material as early as 1850^[9] with references to gugelhupf going back to 1763.^[10]

baking soda used as a leavening agent.^[8]

nuts sprinkled over the coffee cake batter before it is baked,^[14][16] is sometimes eaten with coffee and bears resemblance to the German Streuselkuchen