A delicious and flavorful bakery style coffee cake, made with a generous cinnamon swirl, a maple pecan crumb topping and vanilla glaze drizzle.
This post is sponsored by Lifeway Kefir. All opinions are my own.

This Maple Pecan Coffee Cake recipe is inspired by the fall/winter season flavors that we all love – maple, pecan and cinnamon! Nothing like waking up on a cold morning, or winding down after a busy day, to a cup of coffee and a slice of this bakery-style maple pecan coffee cake! It’s hygge at it’s finest.
It’s made using Kefir, my favorite ingredient to make cafes extra moist and delicious. It features a nice and thick swirl layer made with brown sugar and cinnamon, and a generous crumble topping made with pecan, maple and butter! Comfort food, elevated.

how to use kefir in baked goods
There’s a few reasons why I love about Lifeway Kefir Organic Plain Whole Milk. First, it’s a product we consume at home every day – wether it’s in our morning smoothie or our overnight oats. Kefir adds a creamier consistency to cakes, quick breads and muffins, which is perfect for testing and developing recipes.

Lifeway Kefir Cultured Lowfat Milk is made with lowfat milk that’s up to 99% lactose-free, gluten-free and made with non-GMO ingredients and no added sugar. Plus it’s packed with protein (10g per cup!), calcium and 12 live and active probiotic cultures.
Due to it’s high acidity, Kefir acts similarly to buttermilk resulting in a light and airy, and moist texture. To use kefir as a buttermilk substitute, use a 1-to-1 ratio.
best recipes using kefir:
- S’mores Meringue Pie
- Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cake
- Dulce de Leche Churro Donuts
- Blueberry Streusel Quick Bread

How to make a Maple Pecan Coffee Cake:
This recipe consists of 4 easy layers; the cake base, cinnamon swirl, maple pecan crumb topping and vanilla glaze.
To make the cake, you’re going to need: flour, butter (room temp, always!), baking soda and baking powder (must haves), a mix of sugar and light brown sugar (that molasses taste!), pure maple syrup, eggs, sour cream (you can sub for full fat greek yogurt) and Kefir! Follow the instructions in the recipe card for a fool-proof coffee cake! First, the dry ingredients get mixed on a large bowl. In a stand mixer, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add 1 egg at a time, followed by maple syrup. Alternating between the sour cream, milk and dry ingredients, until fully incorporated. Pour half of the batter into a prepared 13×9 pan.
To make the cinnamon swirl, you’ll need cinnamon, maple, flour and brown sugar. Layer on top of the batter and cover with remaining half.
For the Maple Pecan crumb topping; combine melted butter, flour, maple syrup, chopped pecans and cinnamon. Mix until it resembles wet sand. Top the cake with the crumb topping and bake for 60 minutes. This is a big cake!
For the vanilla glaze, combine sifted powdered sugar, vanilla and a few tablespoons of kefir. Mix until desired consistency. Drizzle on top of cooled cake and enjoy!

If you make this recipe, make sure to hashtag it using #yogaofcooking or send me a DM so I can see your creations! It always makes my day!
Happy Baking! xo
Print
Maple Pecan Coffee Cake
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 servings
Description
A delicious and flavorful bakery style coffee cake, made with a generous cinnamon swirl, a maple pecan crumb topping and vanilla glaze drizzle.
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 4 cups all purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup salted butter, room temp
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 4 eggs
- 1 1/2 cup sour cream
- 1/2 cup Lifeway Kefir Plain Unsweetened
For the Cinnamon Swirl
- 2 tbsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 cup light brown sugar
For the Maple Pecan Crumb Topping
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 cup pure maple syrup
- 6 tbsp salted butter, melted and cooled
- 2 cups chopped pecans
For the Vanilla Glaze
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- Splash of vanilla extract
- 3–4 tbsp Kefir, as needed
Instructions
To Make the Cake:
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease and line a 13×9-inch baking pan.
- In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients; flour, baking soda and baking powder. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar and brown sugar until soft and creamy, on medium speed. Add one egg at a time, and continue beating.
- Reduce to low, pour the maple syrup and milk, beat until just combined.
- Alternate the dry ingredients with the sour cream. Transfer half of the batter onto the prepared baking pan.
- Add the cinnamon swirl evenly across the top and spread the remaining batter over the swirl.
- Top with the crumble topping.
- Bake for 55-60 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cover with foil about half way through, to prevent the crumb topping from burning.
- Allow to cool for 15 minutes before drizzling the vanilla glaze. Serve and enjoy!
For the Cinnamon Swirl:
- Whisk together the cinnamon, flour, brown sugar and maple until combined. Set aside.
For the Maple Pecan Crumb Topping:
- Mix together the flour, maple, cinnamon and melted butter, until it resembles wet sand. Fold in the chopped pecans and set aside.
For the Vanilla glaze:
- In a medium bowl, combine the sifted powdered sugar, vanilla and add 1 tablespoon of Kefir at a time until desired consistency. Set aside.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
- Category: dessert, snack, breakfast
- Cuisine: american
Keywords: coffee cake, bakery-style
* This post is brought to you by Lifeway Kefir. All content, including recipe, photos, and words are my own. Thank you for supporting the brans that keep Yoga of Cooking, mindful.
Overall, the flavors were excellent. The cake was super moist and fluffy. We really enjoyed it.
My husband, who loves coffee cake, gave it his seal of approval!
★★★★
The cake looks scrumptious. But I couldn’t find coffee in the ingredients. Did I miss it?
You didn’t miss it! Coffee cakes aren’t meant to contain coffee, they are called ‘coffee cake’ cause the go well with coffee (I’m not making it up!) 🙂