Louisiana Crunch Cake is a lovely, moist, buttery pound cake with a sugary coating on the outside. This one is drizzled with a cane syrup glaze and topped with lots of crunchy toasted coconut flakes and pecans—it's the perfect Southern coffee cake!
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With its crunchy topping and sweet glaze, this golden yellow cake is a perfect Southern dessert, but they say its origin is not Louisiana, my dear. Nope, not even Southern. It's from Chicago!
Check out this article, What Exactly Is A Louisiana Crunch Cake? for more backstory about the Burny Brother's Bakery in Chicago and the famous Entenmann’s Louisiana Crunch Cake of New York. This cake is so good we Southerners are happy to claim it.
Here's a King Cake Recipe: A Traditional Version of an original Louisiana cake. It's filled with the flavors of cinnamon sugar swirled in tender bread dough, baked to perfection, and then iced with sprinkles of purple, green, and gold sugar.
And here's an original king cake version from northern France, the Galette Des Rois: Traditional French King Cake Recipe. It's a simple and easy-to-make pâtisserie of golden buttery puff pastry. The filling is creamy frangipane tucked with a hidden prize and full of meaningful symbolism.
All three of these cakes make a stunning appearance. Serve them with this yummy classic Cajun La Bouille Recipe, Old Fashioned Cajun Custard. Now, back to this delicious cake with its Louisiana name by way of Chicago!
Ingredients
This Louisiana Crunch Cake recipe has many ingredients, but don't let that scare you away. Each one is needed to make this moist yellow cake the best cake ever!
- Softened butter - to coat the bundt pan.
- Granulated sugar - sprinkled in the buttered pan to coat the inside, giving the baked cake a caramelized crunch on the outside.
- Toasted unsweetened coconut flakes - the toasting adds flavor and rich color to the sweet coconut flakes.
- Toasted pecans - toasting gives the pecans a boost of nutty flavor and crispiness.
- All-purpose flour - for the batter.
- Baking powder - a leavening ingredient.
- Salt - the flavor enhancer.
- Salted butter - for buttery taste and fat needed for a good cake.
- Granulated sugar - sweetens the cake.
- Sour cream - adds moisture and creaminess.
- Whole eggs - large eggs are best for structure and cake crumb.
- Buttermilk - used for texture, taste, and leavening in the cake.
- Vanilla extract - use the best you can buy for the best taste.
Glaze
You can use a simpler glaze of powdered sugar and milk, but this ingredient adds more Louisiana flavor. It's sweet cane syrup says, "Oh, yeah! Baked by somebody's Cajun Maw-maw."
- Salted butter - more buttery flavor, of course.
- Cane syrup - for a dose of rich molasses and cane syrup smack.
- Vanilla extract - balances the flavors.
- Powdered sugar - to sweeten and give volume to the glaze.
See the recipe card below for specific ingredient amounts and their nutrition facts.
Instructions
First, for better results, measure the cold ingredients and let them sit on the counter for about 20 minutes to bring them to room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 350° F.
- Using a folded piece of wax paper, generously coat a bundt pan, tube pan, or angel food cake pan with softened butter.
3. Then, sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of granulated sugar into the pan, turning the pan to coat the buttered sides well. Dump out the excess sugar. The sugar will stick to the butter and cause a crunchy, caramelized coating on the outside of the baked cake.
4. Add half of the crunchy coconut and half of the pecans evenly into the bottom of the pan.
5. Whisk the dry ingredients—flour, baking powder, and salt—in a medium bowl and set aside.
6. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed in a large separate bowl for 5 minutes; use the paddle attachment to a stand mixer or regular beaters with a hand mixer.
7. Mix in the sour cream.
8. Add eggs one at a time to combine into the batter.
9. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture to the batter alternately with ⅓ of the wet buttermilk ingredient, and mix without overmixing.
10. Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan, spreading evenly.
11. Bake at 350° F for 55 minutes or until a wooden skewer comes out clean.
12. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Place a wire rack on top of the cake, invert the pan onto the rack, and place it on the counter to cool completely.
13. Place the butter, cane syrup, and vanilla into a medium-sized bowl and stir to combine.
14. Stir the powdered sugar into the syrup mixture until there are no lumps; the glaze will be smooth and stiff.
15. Drizzle the sweet glaze over the cooled cake and sprinkle with the remaining coconut and pecans.
Hint: Refrigerate the cake, then slice it for a less crumbly cake and warm the slices in the microwave to serve.
Substitutions
- Use cake flour instead of all-purpose flour for a softer, velvety, tender crumb.
- Are you out of buttermilk? Stir 1 tablespoon of vinegar into 1 cup of whole milk or coconut milk, let it set for a few minutes, and use it in place of buttermilk.
Variations
Use the cake ingredients minus the sugar coating, coconut, pecans, and glaze for a simple and delicious bundt cake.
Equipment
- large and medium bowls
- whisk
- spatula
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
- stand mixer or hand mixer
- bundt pan
Storage
Store this gorgeous cake in a sealed container for up to 3 days or in the refrigerator for a week. It also freezes well for up to a month.
Top tip
Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Then, pass a knife between the pan and the cake on all sides and in the middle of the pan to help the cake slide out when removing it from the pan.
FAQ
Top this bundt cake with a dollop of whipped cream and serve with a cup of coffee for optimum Louisiana Crunch Cake enjoyment.
The Louisiana Crunch cake is a flavorful, buttery, moist bundt cake topped with a sugary glaze chalked with crunchy toasted coconut and pecans.
Louisiana Crunch Cake is a moist, buttery pound cake with a sugary coating on the outside, topped with coconut and pecans. It's drizzled with a powdered sugar glaze and topped with more crunchy toasted coconut flakes and pecans—it's the perfect Southern coffee cake!
Related
Looking for other recipes like this Louisiana Crunch Cake? Try these:
Pairing
These are my favorite dishes to serve with Louisiana Crunch Cake:
Print
Louisiana Crunch Cake, A Coconutty Southern Recipe
A buttery yellow pound cake with a sugary coating and a cane syrup glaze topped with crunchy coconut and pecans.
- Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes
- Yield: 16 large slices 1x
Ingredients
CAKE
- softened butter
- 2-3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 cup toasted unsweetened coconut flakes
- 1 cup toasted pecans, chopped
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup salted butter
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup sour cream
- 4 large whole eggs
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
GLAZE
- 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, melted
- ½ cup cane syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
CAKE
- Preheat oven to 350° f.
- Bring cold ingredients to room temperature, this takes about 20-30 minutes when removed from the refrigerator and left on the counter.
- Coat a bundt pan with softened butter generously using a piece of wax paper, then sprinkle 2-3 tablespoons of granulated sugar into the pan, turning the pan to coat the buttered sides with the sugar. The sugar will stick to the butter and cause a crunchy, caramelized coating on the outside of the baked cake.
- Add half of the coconut and half of the pecans evenly into the bottom of the bundt pan.
- Combine the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, and salt with a whisk into a medium bowl, and set aside.
- Cream butter and sugar together in a large bowl for about 5 minutes using a stand mixer or hand-held mixer.
- Mix in the sour cream.
- Add eggs one at a time into the batter until thoroughly combined.
- Add ⅓ of the flour mixture into the batter alternately with ⅓ of the buttermilk, and mix together without over mixing.
- Pour batter into the pan, distributed evenly.
- Bake at 350° f for 55 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to sit for 10 minutes.
- Place a cooling rack on top of the cake and invert the pan; set the rack on the counter and allow the cake to cool completely.
GLAZE
- Place the butter, cane syrup, and vanilla into a medium-size bowl and stir to combine.
- Stir in the powdered sugar into the syrup mixture until there are no more lumps; glaze will be smooth and stiff.
- Pour glaze over the cooled cake.
- Slice to serve or store in the refrigerator for later.
Equipment
Buy Now → Notes
- Slice the cake after it is refrigerator for a less crumbly cake and warm the slices in the microwave to serve.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to sit for 10 minutes then pass a knife between the pan and the cake on all sides and in the middle of the pan to help the cake slide out when removing from the pan.
- Prep Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: Sweets, Desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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"Again and again, the impossible problem is solved when we see that the problem is only a tough decision watitng to be made."
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