My cinnamon coffee cake recipe has a velvety soft, melt-in-your mouth crumb, thanks to an unexpected ingredient. It’s an easy coffee cake recipe with a ribbon of cinnamon sugar in the middle and a buttery, no-fuss streusel topping. Just 30 minutes to prep and makes enough to feed a crowd (if you’re willing to share!). Recipe includes a how-to video tutorial!
I’ve been making this cinnamon coffee cake recipe for nearly a decade now and it remains one of my go-to staples. It has a pillowy-soft crumb, a depth of flavor that keeps you going back for more (without being too sweet) a crumbly, buttery blanket of streusel, and a crowning drizzle of vanilla glaze.
4 Things to Know About This Recipe:
- Uses an unexpected ingredient. I swap some of the butter with a brick of full-fat cream cheese. Thanks to the makeup of cream cheese (fat, protein, and slight acidity) the batter does a better job holding on to moisture and bakes up softer and a tad more dense (in a very good way). The end result is a plush, velvety crumb that stays soft.
- Buttermilk without baking soda (on purpose). While you’ll often see the two ingredients paired together for extra lift, for this specific cinnamon coffee cake I wanted the flavor and thickness of buttermilk without the airiness often added by baking soda. By omitting it, we have a slightly more dense, moist crumb that melts in your mouth but doesn’t fall apart (a technique you’ll also find used in my chocolate chip muffins).
- Bakes in a large pan (13×9), so it’s perfect for serving to a crowd (or freezing some for later).
- No pastry cutter needed. The streusel is fuss-free thanks to melted butter. No extra tools required, you only need a fork!
This cinnamon coffee cake deserves a place alongside other indulgent breakfast staples like scones, French toast casserole, or my easy French toast recipe.
Ingredients
Let’s talk about a few of the key ingredients before we jump into the recipe, including one se.
- Cream cheese. I firmly believe this key ingredient 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! Stick with a brick of cream cheese for this recipe, as the tub-style cream cheese contains added water and stabilizers that are best left out of this recipe. And if you perhaps live in a country where this (brick-style) cream cheese isn’t available, I recommend you try my sour cream coffee cake, instead.
- Sugar. While granulated sugar is a common cinnamon coffee cake go-to, using a blend introduces added moisture and flavor (thanks to the molasses in the brown sugar) without making things too sweet. I love using brown sugar in classic recipes where just granulated is typically used (like my chocolate cake recipe!) because of this.
- 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, from my cinnamon rolls to my chocolate chip cookie recipe.
- 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, you can use my buttermilk substitute instead, but this particular cake is best with real, full-fat buttermilk.
SAM’S TIP: This batter will be thicker than what you’re used to, and that’s intentional. 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.
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 Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Make the Batter & Cinnamon Ripple
- 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 sprinkle the cinnamon sugar layer over the batter.
- 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!).
Make the Streusel & Bake
- 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 cinnamon coffee cake 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, cinnamon coffee cake as I know it should always have a buttery-soft crumb and lots of streusel, and no coffee in the batter, just like today’s recipe.
While I have not personally baked in a bundt pan, readers have reported this cake takes about 55 minutes to bake in a bundt pan. I do also have a classic bundt cake recipe.
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. I also find that’s it’s often a bit more dense (though still soft!). Both are equally delicious and go great with a cup of coffee though!
More Coffee Cake Varieties to Try:
Serve yourself a slice (with or without a cup of coffee on the side!) and let me know what you think!
Enjoy!
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Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113 g) unsalted butter softened
- 8 oz (225 g) cream cheese softened
- 1 cup (200 g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
- ½ cup (100 g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups (315 g) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon table 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,, 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 (315 g) all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon cornstarch, ¾ teaspoon table 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.
I originally published my cinnamon coffee cake recipe on April 10th, 2017. The post has been updated to include more details and information and a video. Recipe remains the same, it was perfect as-is!
Harriet Svatora
Excellent! Family loved it! Would cupcakes turn out good?
Sam Merritt
Thank you so much for trying my recipe, Harriet! I haven’t personally tried this in a muffin tin, but I think it should work. I wouldn’t expect them to bake up particularly domed though. 🙂
Cris
Can I bake this in 2 – 8″X 8″ square pans? If so, how many minutes?
Sam Merritt
Hi Cris! It would make 2 thinner layers in an 8 x 8. I’m not sure on a bake time. You’d have to keep an eye on it as it bakes. Let me know how it goes. 🙂
Cris
Ok thx! I’m actually going to try it in 2 – 9X5 loaf pans. I’ll let you know how it comes out. Do you have any suggestions because I’ll be starting at 9am california time
Kansas
I made this for my husbands 30th birthday. Coffee cake is his favorite and I couldn’t find a place in town that would make him one, so I took it upon myself. This is the first cake I have ever made from scratch, I do not consider myself a baker at all. My husband said this was his favorite coffee cake he has ever had!! I am so proud and impressed. Thank you for this great recipie!
Nancy
Love the how simple the recipe is.
Plus the texture and flavor is wonderful.
Laurie Launer
Santa brought me a Kitchenaid and this recipe was the second recipe I made! It turned out fantastic!! Delish! Since my husband and I are just 2 people–empty nesters — I may cut the recipe in half next time and use a standard loaf pan. Wondering if the temp and time for baking is the same… THANK YOU!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Lucky you!! We are so happy you enjoyed the recipe, Laurie. This will work in a loaf pan, but we aren’t sure about a bake time.
cris
I’ve got the same question. Please let me know if anyone replies. Thx
Louise A Hammersmith
Can this be frozen?
Sam Merritt
Sure thing! 🙂
Kate Chesbro
I forgot to buy cream cheese can I make it without it?
Sam Merritt
I would not recommend omitting it. 🙁
Annette
Hi. Sam can I substitute this recipe with cake flour?
Thanks 😊
Sam Merritt
Hi Annette! As long as you substitute it properly it could work. 🙂
Kay
Can I use salted butter for both the topping and cake?
Sam Merritt
Hi Kay! Salted butter will work. I would probably just omit the salt in the topping and use just a 1/4 teaspoon in the cake. 🙂
Nicole
I tried this recipe recently for our family brunch and it was amazing! The cake was very moist. I love nuts so I took the liberty of adding crushed walnuts and pecans. Everyone loved it! This was my first time making coffee cake and like many of your other recipes I’ve tried, this one is definitely going into the rotation.
Rita
Hello! I can’t wait to try this. New to baking. Can I use a glass pan instead (9 x 13)? If so, will the baking time be the same? And should I line the pan with parchment paper to make it easier to remove?
Finally, do you take the coffee cake out of the pan and put it on a cooking rack? Or do you let it cool (and continue baking) in the pan while it cools down?
Thanks for the help!!
Sam Merritt
Hi Rita! As long as your glass pie dish is a 9 x 13 this will work, otherwise you will need some alterations to make it fit your pan. I do not remove it from the pan. I actually typically serve it from the pan. It would be difficult to invert with the streusel topping. 🙂
Trina J
Oh my goodness Sam, you’ve done it again!! This is one of the few cakes on your site that I had not yet made. Mostly because it had the word coffee in it and myself; a simpleton, did not know that coffee cake does not have coffee.
Anyways, I made it and it was absolutely amazing and it fed our family and in-laws, a Sunday dinner party of 10, and everyone loved it!
I made it with gluten-free flour as I have celiacs. I sifted the measured flour into the dry ingredients and did the rest of the recipe as called for. And it turned out great! So anyone reading this can know that it also works with gluten-free flour. Also, when I took it out, because we are running late for church, after 48 minutes, it was still pretty gooey and goobies sticking to the fork but I left it out with a towel on top just because I didn’t have any other options.
Anyways, when we returned home it was absolutely perfect. Like not dry and not gooey and just so amazing! Not sure if it’s because we’re at higher elevation or because of the gf flour, but being gooey and cooling worked wonders.
Thank you for this beautiful recipe and your helpful video, and for making it easy for us of the less gifted populus to bake complicated things. I refer people to your site at least every other week. 🙂
Did I need to include all of this extra detail? Absolutely not. Do I love nearly every recipe that you’ve ever posted on here? ABSOLUTELY YES! Thank you!!
Sam Merritt
Thank you so much for the wonderful comment, Trina! I am so glad everything has been such a hit! I really appreciate hearing that things have been such a success. 🙂
Connie
Best coffee cake recipe EVER!! It was a huge hit!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Connie! 🙂
Jay
i wound up over mixing the streusel topping, but I made it first, so I rolled into a log in plastic wrap, popped in the freezer to firm up and then used a box grater to grate it like spaetzel onto the top of the cake. the texture of the topping is amazing!
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Great solution, Jay! We’re so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
Andel
Incredible recipe thank you Sam! Just got a call from a friend to please place an order hahahah 😀
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
🤣 So glad it’s a hit!
Robin Edens
This is a terrific recipe, and I especially appreciate how you add the ingredients list after each of the directions….super helpful! Don’t know if everyone is like me, but when I google ideas for something in particular, I tend to enjoy/gravitate to the same 3-4 cooking blogs and yours is one I can always count on to be easy AND delicious. This is a great treat to take when someone has been sick or just needs a little pick me up. Thanks!
Joye H
Made this for company. It was the best coffee cake I’ve ever made. Moist and delicious. My husband thought I bought it. He’s already waiting for me to make it again.