My deliriously soft coffee cake has a surprise ripple of cinnamon in the middle and a super simple streusel topping. This recipe takes just 30 minutes to prep and makes enough to feed a crowd (if you’re willing to share!). Recipe includes a how-to video!
The Only Coffee Cake Recipe Worth Making Again
Bold claim up there 👆🏻 I know. But I stand by it 100%. Ever since developing this moist coffee cake recipe almost five years ago, I have yet to find another that measures up.
Maybe it’s that soft, sweet (but not too-sweet) crumb, or the ribbon of cinnamon tucked away in the center. Maybe it’s that buttery blanket of streusel on the top, or the simple drizzle of vanilla glaze. Whatever it is, I’m hooked, and I know you will be too!
Serve this one up at your next special occasion or brunch (scones or French toast casserole are always a hit, too!), and just sit back and watch your guest’s eyes roll to the back of their heads with their first bite. Or just make it for dessert tonight, because Thursday’s are worth celebrating, too!
Why You’ll Love My Recipe:
- Has the softest texture and so much flavor, thanks to my secret ingredient 🤫
- Bakes in a large pan, so it’s perfect for serving to a crowd.
- The streusel topping is incredibly easy to make with NO pastry cutter!
- Takes just half an hour to prep before going in the oven.
What You Need
I’m not going to go over every ingredient on this list, but there are a few important ones worth a mention:
- Cream cheese. This is my secret weapon. I substitute some of the butter for cream cheese, and I believe this is what makes my recipe better than any other out there. The crumb on this cake is so soft, so moist, so melt-in-your-mouth–and the flavor is divine. And in case you’re worried that it makes the cake actually taste like cream cheese, it doesn’t!
- Sugar. While this probably isn’t an unexpected ingredient, using a blend of granulated and light brown sugar certainly isn’t always the norm. I love using brown sugar in many classic recipes where just granulated is typically used (like my chocolate cake!) because it adds depth of flavor and moisture.
- Cornstarch. We’ll add this to encourage a soft, tender, melt-in-your-mouth crumb. Cornstarch is another secret ingredient that I use in many of my recipes (remember my cinnamon rolls or chocolate chip cookies!?).
- Buttermilk. Regular whole milk would work here, but buttermilk adds flavor and moisture to the end-result (which is what makes my buttermilk pancakes so special). If you don’t have buttermilk on hand, feel free to use my buttermilk substitute instead.
SAM’S TIP: This batter will be thicker than what you’re used to, and that’s exactly as it should be. Because of this, when you layer your cinnamon sugar swirl in the center, the top layer can be a bit tricky to spread. You can try to smooth it over the surface like I suggest in the recipe, or you can just use a knife and swirl it into the cinnamon and sugar.
Remember, this is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
How to Make Coffee Cake
- Cream together the cream cheese and butter, then add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.
- Combine the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.
- Alternate adding the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet ingredients.
- Pour half the batter into your greased and floured pan, then add the cinnamon sugar layer.
- Add the remaining batter on top and use a knife to smooth (if it gives you a hard time, don’t stress it and just use a knife to swirl the batter and cinnamon together!).
- Melt your butter, then pour it over the remaining streusel ingredients and toss/claw the ingredients together to combine. You want the mixture to be nice and clumpy, don’t overwork it or it’ll be pasty and difficult to sprinkle!
- Sprinkle streusel over the prepared cake and bake for 40-50 minutes.
SAM’S TIP: While overmixing isn’t as much of a concern with this recipe, overbaking is definitely possible. If your cake turns out dense or dry, it was probably baked for a few minutes too long. Keep a close eye on your cake to make sure this doesn’t happen to you!
Frequently Asked Questions
Coffee cake (at least in America, though I know this is the case in other countries as well) doesn’t get its name because it contains coffee; rather, the name refers to a cake that is often served with coffee. While technically any cake you serve with coffee could fit the bill, coffee cake as I know it should always have a buttery-soft crumb and lots of streusel, just like today’s recipe.
Yes! Readers have reported this cake takes about 55 minutes to bake in a bundt pan. I do also have a classic vanilla bundt cake recipe.
This recipe yields a wonderfully moist, tender crumb that stays soft for days. To keep it tasting fresh, I recommend you store it in an airtight container at room temperature and enjoy within 3 days. While I haven’t frozen this cake, I don’t see any reason why it wouldn’t do well in the freezer (do not refrigerate it though, or it will dry out!).
Not quite! Crumb cake has a much thicker crumb topping with less cinnamon, and it lacks the cinnamon ripple that I add to the middle of my coffee cake. Both are equally delicious and go great with a cup of coffee though!
Serve yourself a slice (with or without coffee!) and admire just how beautiful a simple breakfast cake can really be ❤
Enjoy!
Let’s bake together! I’ll be walking you through all the steps in my written recipe and video below! If you try this recipe, be sure to tag me on Instagram, and you can also find me on YouTube and Facebook
Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened
- 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese softened
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar tightly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (335 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk
Cinnamon Swirl
- ¼ cup (50 g) sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Streusel Topping
- 1 ⅓ cup (175 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp (225 g) brown sugar packed
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 10 Tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter melted
Glaze (optional)
- ½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar
- 2-3 teaspoons milk
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease and flour a 13×9 baking pan.
- In stand mixer, or using an electric mixer in large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese.½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter, 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese
- Beat in sugars until light and fluffy.1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar tightly packed, ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Scrape down sides and bottom of mixing bowl with rubber spatula.2 large eggs
- Stir in vanilla extract.1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cornstarch and salt.2 ½ cups (335 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ½ teaspoon salt
- Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, until all of the flour mixture and buttermilk have been combined.½ cup (120 ml) buttermilk
- Spread about half of the batter into prepared pan (batter will be thick).
- Quickly whisk together sugar and cinnamon for cinnamon ripple layer in a small bowl and sprinkle it evenly over the batter.¼ cup (50 g) sugar, 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Dollop remaining batter over the cinnamon sugar layer and use a knife to spread evenly overtop. If it gives you a tough time/doesn't want to spread, just try your best but don't stress! If it's easier, just swirl the cinnamon/sugar in with a knife. Set aside and prepare your streusel topping.
Streusel
- Melt butter in a medium-sized bowl on 10 second increments (stirring between) until just melted (you don’t want it to be too hot, if it does get too hot allow to cool.10 Tablespoons (140 g) unsalted butter
- Use a fork to stir together your flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Pour melted butter over mixture and use a fork to toss/claw together the ingredients until combined (mixture should be crumbly).1 ⅓ cup (175 g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup + 2 Tbsp (225 g) brown sugar, 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar, 4 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Sprinkle streusel evenly over batter.
- Bake on 350F for 40-50 minutes (check doneness with a toothpick inserted in center, it should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs).
- Allow to cool before cutting and serving.
Glaze (optional)
- If desired, make glaze by whisking together powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle over cooled coffee cake.2-3 teaspoons milk, ½ cup (65 g) powdered sugar
Notes
Storing
Store leftover coffee cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
Related Recipes
Originally published April 10th, 2017. Post updated to include more details and information and a video February 2020. Recipe remains the same, it was perfect as-is!
Tam
How long did it take you to bake this exactly? 40 min, 45, 50?
I’m wondering when to check it.I have a light coloured metal pan.
I’m asking because 40 to 50 min is a wide range. If I open the oven to check the cake 10 minutes early it might sink a bit in the middle ( from previous experience with cakes). If I bake ut 10 minutes too long to be safe though, it may dry out.
Sam
Hi Tam, the exact time varies even in my own kitchen, but always falls within that range. Without being familiar with the specifics of your oven, I always recommend checking at the lower end of the threshold and recommend that you check at 40 minutes. The cake should not sink at that point even if it isn’t finished baking. I hope that is helpful!
Tam
Okay, thank you. That is helpful. I’ll try this recipe and check at 40 minutes. 😊
Kayleigh
I haven’t made this yet, but I was wondering if i could bake these in mini loaf pans!?
Sam
Hi Kayleigh! I haven’t tried making it in a mini loaf pan, but I think it could work. I’m not sure on a bake time though. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Elaine
My husband requested a coffee cake saying I hadn’t made one in years. Instead of using the recipe I typically do from a Betty Crocker cookbook from the 1970’s I pulled this one up and decided to give it a go. Am I glad I did – we both said it was the best coffee cake we ever had. I didn’t put the glaze on it but next time I will. Just delicious. Thank you so much for another great recipe.
Margo Donnelly
Absolutely delicious….made this today in a pan….my company will love it….thank you for the recipe….
Courtney
I love the flavor and richness. pressdown the topping a little before putting into oven, so it adheres better. I think 2/3 cup buttermilk or an extra egg would help make it more spreadable.
In 9×13 glass pan, it took about 10 minutes more time to bake than recipe suggested, which did dry out the edges. Next time I’ll make in a bundt pan to see if that bakes more evenly.
Lauren
What happens if the streusel part is not crumbly how can I fix it ? Mine turned into a paste
Sam
Hi Lauren! The key is to not mix it too much and make sure your butter isn’t too hot. If you don’t want to start again you can try adding more flour. 🙂
Jon
I’ve made this cake before and loved it!
Question: can it be prepared a day beforehand and put into the oven the next day? Any tips or things to watch out for?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Jon! We haven’t tried storing the batter that long, so we can’t say for sure if it will work. We think it will though. If you do try it we would love to know how it goes! 🙂
Cadence
So good!!!!! I reduced the sugar in the batter due to my own reasons ( not because of original recipe ) and it was still delicious ! I can only imagine if I used the full amount , it would tastes just like the one at the bakeries.
Will definitely make again! Thinking of possibly incorporating some nuts in the crumb for a variation !
Thanks for the great recipe !
Katie T
I’ve never found a site that I’ve actually liked every recipe I’ve made. Kudos for all the delicious recipes you share! This cake is amazing and the house smells pretty good too lol.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We are so pleased to hear that you’ve enjoyed everything Katie! Enjoy the cake 🥰
Danielle M Varela
It’s in the oven as I type, going on an hour…..only to realize that me putting it into an 8×8 is the issue. Hehehehe. Whoops.
Sam
Oh no! I hope it still turns out and you enjoy it. 🙂
Stephanie Tuggle
I have made many coffee cakes over the years, but this one was the absolute best and very easy to make. I even prepped each step the day before and it came together in no time. It was so good, my husband made me give the rest away so he would stop eating it. I can’t wait to try your other recipes.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We really appreciate you coming back to leave a review, Stephanie! So happy this one was such a hit for you ❤️
Stephanie
I just had to come back AGAIN and say how insanely good this coffee cake is, Just this morning 4 full days after I made it, my brother and sister-in-law text me to say “this coffeecake is arguably the best I have ever had!!” and that is after 4 days. MAKE THIS COFFEE CAKE!!