A deliriously soft and super simple Coffee Cake with a ripple of cinnamon in the middle and a heavy streusel crumb topping. This cinnamon breakfast cake recipe makes enough to feed a crowd (if you’re willing to share). Top everything off with my simple vanilla glaze and dig in! 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 three years ago, I’ve been incredibly disappointed anytime I’ve tried any other.
Maybe it’s that buttery soft, sweet but not too-sweet crumb, or the ribbon of cinnamon tucked away in the center. Maybe it’s that slightly crisp, heavy blanket of crumbly streusel on the top, or the simple drizzle of vanilla glaze. Maybe it’s just because it has the word “cake” right in its name and I’m a sucker for cake any time of the day.
Despite some serious competition from my favorite buttermilk pancakes and French toast, this cinnamon coffee cake is my favorite breakfast and I love having a special occasion to make and enjoy it. Or no special occasion, really. Nothing wrong with celebrating Monday, right?
What You Need:
I’m not going to go over every ingredient on this list but there are a few that are worth a mention and that are key to making this truly the best coffee cake recipe.
- Cream cheese. This is my secret weapon. I substitute some of the butter for cream cheese and I believe this is what makes my coffee cake better than literally any other out there. The crumb on this cake is so soft, so moist, so melt-in-your-mouth and the flavor is divine. It also doesn’t make the cake actually taste like cream cheese, in case you’re worried about that!
- Sugar. This probably isn’t an unexpected ingredient, but here we are using a blend of granulated and light brown sugar. I love using brown sugar in many of my classic recipes where just granulated is usually used (like my chocolate cake!), it adds a new depth of flavor and adds moisture to the final product.
- Corn starch. Another secret ingredient that I use in many of my recipes (remember my cinnamon rolls!?), it encourages a soft, tender, melt-in-your-mouth crumb.
- Buttermilk. While regular whole milk would work here, the buttermilk adds flavor and, again, moisture to the end-result (feel free to use my buttermilk substitute if needed).
Then there’s that cinnamon/sugar ripple in the center and that buttery mountain of crumbly streusel on top…
The batter will be thicker than many cakes you’ve probably made in the past, and that’s exactly as it should be. Because of this, though, when you layer your cinnamon sugar swirl in the center, the top layer will be a bit tricky to spread so be sure to dollop it over the surface and then use a knife to nudge it evenly over the cinnamon and sugar.
If you do end up disturbing the cinnamon/sugar layer, don’t stress! It will just make for a more…. interesting swirled top layer! Nothing wrong with getting a little creative.
No Coffee Cake is Complete Without Streusel
The crumb topping on this cinnamon coffee cake is my absolute favorite (I also use it on my coffee cake muffins). It’s buttery and sweet and its crisp texture perfectly complements the soft cake.
My streusel recipe is also incredibly simple to make. Rather than needing a pastry cutter, you’ll melt your butter and then use a fork to work the ingredients together until you have a nice crumbly streusel. Make sure to not over-work the topping or you’ll end up with more of a paste than a crumble. No worries, though, it’ll still taste amazing.
Then all that’s left to do is bake and drizzle everything with a simple, 2-ingredient vanilla glaze.
But Where’s the Coffee?
I’ve gotten a few e-mails and comments from people asking me how I can call this a “coffee cake” recipe when there’s absolutely no coffee in the recipe. Coffee cake (at least in America, though I know this is the case in other countries as well) refers to a cake that is often served with coffee, not a coffee-flavored one. While I guess any cake you serve with coffee could fit the bill, coffee cake as I know it should always have a buttery-soft crumb and a mountain of streusel, just like today’s recipe.
How to Store Coffee Cake
This recipe yields a wonderfully moist, tender crumb that stays soft for days. Be sure to store it in an airtight container at room temperature. I recommend enjoying within 3 days. While I haven’t frozen this coffee cake myself, 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).
Enjoy!
More Great Breakfast Recipes to Try:
Let’s bake together! Head over to my YouTube channel where I’ve already uploaded over 200 recipe videos that you can watch for free!
Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter softened (113g)
- 8 oz cream cheese softened (225g)
- 1 cup light brown sugar tightly packed (200g)
- ½ cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour (335g)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup buttermilk (120ml)
Cinnamon Swirl
- ¼ cup sugar (50g)
- 1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon
Streusel Topping
- 1 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour (175g)
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp brown sugar packed (225g)
- 3 Tablespoons granulated sugar
- 4 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter melted (140g)
Glaze (optional)
- ½ cup powdered sugar (65g)
- 2-3 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease and flour a 13x9 baking pan.
- In stand mixer, or using an electric mixer in large bowl, cream together butter and cream cheese.
- Beat in sugars until light and fluffy.
- Add eggs, one at a time, beating until combined. Scrape down sides and bottom of mixing bowl with rubber spatula.
- Stir in vanilla extract.
- In a separate, medium-sized bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cornstarch and salt.
- Gradually add flour mixture to wet ingredients, alternating with buttermilk, until all of the flour mixture and buttermilk have been combined.
- 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.
- Dollop remaining batter over the cinnamon sugar layer and use a knife to spread evenly overtop. It's OK if you end up disturbing the cinnamon sugar layer a bit, it will be a nice swirl when it bakes. 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.
- Use a fork to whisk together your flour, sugars, cinnamon, and salt. Pour melted butter over mixture and use a fork to stir until combined (mixture should be crumbly).
- Sprinkle streusel evenly over batter.
- Bake on 350F for 40-50 minutes (check doneness with a toothpick inserted in center).
- 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.
Notes
Nutrition
Treat yourself to a FREE E-BOOK!
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!
Kim
My house smells like cinnamon goodness and the cake tasted awwwwwwe-some! Definitely not something you whip up at the last minute but it was so worth the effort. I used a glass baking dish and have a stupid oven that runs (?) hot so thankfully I checked on the cake at 30 minutes and it was perfect. This recipe is a keeper!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Kim! 🙂
crystal bowie
Can I use a bundt pan for this recipe
Sam
Hi Crystal! Yes, that will work. Some readers, have reported it takes about 55 minutes to bake in a bundt pan.
Marcy
This recipe looks amazing! Is there a way to increase the thickness of the cinnamon swirl inside the cake?
Sam
Hi Marcy! You could double it, but it will be more difficult to spread the top layer of batter over it, just keep that in mind. Enjoy! 🙂
Bruce
My pecan variation worked out great. The cream cheese and buttermilk made the cake a little tangy, perfectly complementing the sweetness. The texture is amazing.
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Bruce! I’ll have to try it with pecans some time. 🙂
Bruce
I wanted a pecan coffeecake, so I started with this. I made the streusel without cinnamon, but I did use the swirl. I sprinkled on half of the streusel, then stirred 1 1/2 cups of pecan pieces into the remaining streusel and sprinkled it on. It’s in the oven now, and I know it will be amazing. I didn’t toast the pecans, since they are on the top.
Sam
That sounds awesome! I’m glad it turned out. 🙂
Susan
Love this cake…but…My daughter made this cake yesterday but instead of a soft fluffy cake we got a dense flat cake…what did she do wrong?
Sam
Hi Susan! Coffee cake is a more dense cake, I would compare it to a pound cake. It’s moist, dense, and soft. It doesn’t rise much but the pan you place it in should give it the height it needs. I hope this helps. 🙂
Bruce
It could be that the baking powder had expired.
lyn
please disregard previous post, sorry. five, no: seven stars! It is lovely…………..lyn
kd
Can I use a bundt cake pan for this recipe? If so, how should I adjust the recipe measurements?
Sam
Hi! It will need to bake on 350F (175C) for about 55 minutes in a bundt pan.
Melissa
What size pan and should I grease and flour the baking dish?
Sam
Hi Melissa! All of the instructions can be found below the ingredients list. 🙂
Miriam K
If I don’t have cream cheese, what I can substitute it with?
Sam
Hi Miriam! Unfortunately I don’t have a good substitute here. 🙁
Daniel Figueira Raposo da Câmara
I can assure you that, you can easily make some cream cheese, getting nonsugared greek yogurt and put inside some cheese cloth for about 3-4 days, inside your fridge, if you can hang it would be better! The thing is, basically you wanna get most of the water out of the greek yogurt, I did it once by accident, trying to make my morning yogurt a little denser, and forgot about it, it tasted like cream cheese, I salted a little bit and what do you know? some “homemade” creamcheese! Also works for regular yogurt to turn it to greek! be in mind that all that water makes your yield a little low so… (hope it helped, sorry for this text, English is not my first language)
Olga
I just made this cake and it came out delicious. I didn’t have cream cheese either, so I used 8oz of plain, full fat yogurt, and omitted the buttermilk. The sponge turned out moist and fluffy. (I also added a tsp of cinnamon to the cake itself as I decided not to do the swirl layer).
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Olga! 🙂
JILL MELOY
Can I make this a day ahead and bake it in the oven the next morning???
Sam
Hi Jill! I’ve never tried it, but if you do I’d love to know how it goes. The cake does keep well overnight in an air tight container. 🙂
Olga
I mixed my wet ingredients in advance and kept them in the fridge ready to mix with the dry ingredients right before baking. The cake turned out great. I wouldn’t mix wet and dry and then store, as the chemical reaction of activating the baking powder would probably interfere with the rising of the cake later.
Marti
Thanks for adding your super-awesome trick! I’ve always made & baked same day, but need a little leeway for an incoming family visit. I didn’t want to have to get up early to make! Such a simple tip which is going to “serve” us well.
Pamela Pesante
I love this recipe!! I altered it slightly to be gluten and dairy free. I substituted the eggs for an egg substitute, the flour was a gluten-free variety and I added extra cornstarch to the crumble. The pain I used was too shallow and the cake baked out 🙂 what was left was absolutely scrumptious. I have to play with it again but it was an excellent crumble!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much, Pamela! 🙂
Cheryl
I have tried a few coffee cake recipes and this one is now our favorite. The cake was soft and moist, the streusel topping was wonderful (not too sweet but perfect). It was delicious! I did not have buttermilk on hand, so I used the substitute (milk and lemon juice) and it worked fine.
Thank you for your recipes, Sam. I have made several and have been very pleased with every one. I appreciate your simple directions and helpful notes.
Keep them coming!😊
Sam
Thank you so much, Cheryl! I’m so glad you enjoyed it so much. 🙂
Minerva
What did you use to sub the cream cheese & buttermilk to make dairy free ?(:
Pamela Pesante
THere is a vegan cream cheese and I used almond milk with 1/2 tbls vinegar
Kathy
Oh so good delicious kath
Emily
YES!!! This IS 105% the best coffee cake recipe EVER!!! (I would rate it 10 stars if I could)
Sam
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Emily! 🙂
Leigh Ann
Wonderful!