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!
Cindy Conklin
This coffee cake is nothing less than AMAZING! The only change I did, was use a pastry bag to assist in layering the thick batter and I used a pastry spreader/chopper dipped in hot water (wipe off before spreading) to spread the layer over the cinnamon layer and it came out perfect! Will definitely be making this again..
Sam
Yay! So glad you enjoyed the coffee cake, Cindy!!! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know how it turned out for you! <3
sheynna
THIS RECIPE WAS FANTASTIC. I followed the ingredients to a T except I halved the streusel and it was plenty to cover the top of my cake, I just sprinkled some cocoa powder before the streusel to give it the illusion of being completely covered in something. I also added a generous layer of plain cocoa for the ribbon, then the cinnamon sugar to be…..slightly healthier? lol but it came out so moist and delicious. I can’t wait to have a huge cup of coffee with it tomorrow 🙂 thank you for your recipe
Sam
So happy to hear you enjoyed it so much! It’s just got the best texture, doesn’t it!? Thanks for commenting, Sheynna! <3
AURORA Gutierrez
For cinnamian swirl is it regular sugar or brown sugar?
Sam
Granulated sugar. ☺️
Brenda Vollmer
Hi. The cake is amazing but I found my struesel to be hard and extra crunchy. Did I do something wrong?
Sam
The most likely culprit here would be the oven temperature being too high or it baking just a little bit too long.
Nav
What if there’s no cream cheese around? Can it be substituted? And I’ve seen recipes without cream cheese so I just wanted to know its purpose in the coffee cake. Thanks.
Sam
I’m sorry but I don’t recommend making this cake without the cream cheese, it won’t come out nearly as soft/ melt-in-your-mouth, which is why I call for it in this recipe.
Nav
I really wanted to make this cake but I don’t have cornstarch or brown sugar. What can I substitute it with? Thank you.
Sam
I don’t have a substitution for the corn starch but you can use white sugar instead of brown sugar, just keep in mind that your coffee cake may be slightly less soft, moist, and flavorful.
Agnes
Hi Sam. Do you cool this in the pan or on a rack? Thanks.
Sam
I leave it in the pan to cool. I hope you love it!
Rick
I love this page. It my favorite! Love the recipes.
Sam
So glad to hear that! Thanks, Rick! 🙂
Aggie
Tried this recipe and it was AMAZING!!!!!! thank you so much for sharing can’t wait to try the blueberry thaanks againg happy fall to you.
Sam
So glad to hear that you enjoyed, Aggie!! 🙂
Michele
Loving this recipe… A good streusel is one of my biggest weaknesses, and this one looks heavenly! 🙂
Sam
Thank you so much, Michele! I’m a little bit in love with it 😉
Gina
I made this as a trial run before Easter and it was good! I’ll make it again Saturday, two days later it is still very fresh but I will need to make another pan to feed my family, thank you for a great recipe!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Gina!!
Mary
I love your coffee cake recipe and can not wait until Easter to try it out. When I read that you suffer from vertigo my heart immediately became overwhelmed with compassion for I have suffered from vertigo for much of my 51 years. About 15-20 years ago,while receiving physical therapy related to a knee surgery, I related to my therapist that I was suffering from vertigo. After quizzing me about my symptoms and the general nature of my ailment he was sure he could help me.The young shinny new physical therapist went to work contacting my family dr. and relaying my symptoms to him and received permission to do a therapy called “The Epley and Semont maneuvers “. It is a series of maneuvers that requires the head be moved in a series of precise movements in a precise order. After these gentle movements where done by the physical therapist I became quite sick to my stomach. I went home,put a cool cloth to my head and went to sleep. I awoke the next morning feeling better than I had in forever. No spinning room, no wobbly legs, no sick stomach and best of all- after seeing the physical therapist and repeating the treatment twice more-my vertigo was gone not to return for 10+ years. When it did return I asked my family dr to refer me to physical therapy for my life changing treatment. He had never heard of it. No only had my doctor never heard of it, neither had the physical therapist.🙁 But after the two talked about my problem and my success with therapy before, the therapist made me an appointment and said he would see what he could find out about it before my first appointment. Sure enough by the time of that first appointment the therapist was well informed and ready to apply his new found knowledge on a real patient. Once again, just as 10 years prior, the precise sequins of movements were preformed but by a novice this time. Once again I returned home and “slept off” the immediate effects of treatment to awake the next day a much happier,healthier person. I have had to have the treatment only once more over the years and thankfully have had the same results. I hope that you do give this therapy a try- it can be live changing. Even if no one on your current medical team has ever heard of it, do your research on google for “The Epley and Semont maneuvers ” become informed. Be prepared to have a print out about it to give both your general practitioner and physical therapist. My husband was in the army and thus we moved often and my new dr.s were not always familiar with the maneuvers.
I hope this helps you and you find some relief. Unless you have suffered it you can not fully understand how debilitating it can be. God Bless, get better, and keep those great recipes coming.
-Mary
Sam
I’m sorry for such a delayed reply, Mary!
I hope you absolutely loved the coffee cake and had a wonderful Easter.
I can’t thank you for enough for all of your advice about vertigo, how terrible that you have suffered for so long, I absolutely can’t even imagine. I am glad that you were able to find such a wonderful therapist in the beginning, and that those maneuvers could be repeated when the vertigo returned.
I am very lucky in that I actually never experienced vertigo before the week that I posted this recipe. It was bad enough that I went to the doctor, and she told me that it will go away on its own and it’s a matter of essentially having a cold — instead of it exhibiting by way of a sore throat or cough, it’s manifested in my inner ear by way of vertigo… very strange and I’ve never had that before!
It has gotten better, much better, actually, but nearly two weeks later I still do keep getting dizzy spells/feeling like I’m on a rocking ship. If it persists I will certainly ask about these maneuvers, thank you so much for letting me know about them.
Thanks again for your kind words and for writing, I hope you have a wonderful day <2
Deborah J
Hi there! I just came across this recipe and decided to read the comments. I’m so sorry about your vertigo. I had it for several years and it finally stopped completely after I found out my Vitamin D level was severely low. Once I got my level to “normal” with Vitamin D3 supplements, I never had another vertigo attack. It’s been five years now. Please consider having your Vitamin D tested. This might be YOUR cure all too! 🙂
Sam
Hi Deborah! So the funny thing is I have been taking a vitamin D supplement for quite a while now, and the vertigo happened when I ran out of it and hadn’t yet replaced it… I hadn’t even thought to make the connection and now I wonder if that was it!! Thank you for the suggestion!!
Sues
I love coffee cake so much and seriously crave it all the time. This one looks absolutely perfect!! I’m going to need a slice with my early morning coffee tomorrow 🙂
Karly
Yeah, I wouldn’t mind eating this for breakfast every day for the rest of my life. Just sayin’. Looks delicious!
Deb
I love coffee cake and yours looks absolutely perfectly delicious! Thanks for sharing the recipe! Take care of yourself and I hope you are feeling better real soon, Sam.