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!
Linda
I made this recipe last year during the holidays. My husband and I loved it! Today I took it to a women’s group and they all asked for the recipe. No better compliment. Thank you for this recipe!
JENNIFER JONES
Excellent recipe! the flavor and the texture is outstanding. Recipe is easy to follow.
Kailee
Hey there,
Do you think this cake can be made into a 6” 3 layer cake?
Sam
Hi Kailee! I’m not sure how it would work. You would have the layers of streusel in the middle and I can’t say for sure how they would stay on top of each other. It would be an interesting experiment. Let me know how it goes if you try it. 🙂
D
Really great recipe! I had a weird craving for cinnamon coffee cake and found this recipe. It hit the spot. The cake is very moist and there is a lot of cinnamon. It’s a little too sweet for my taste, so when I make it again i will cut back on the sugar in the swirl layer and the crumble. Otherwise it’s perfect!
JJ
This IS the BEST coffee cake!! So yummy! Everyone preferred it slightly warm. I mixed the topping and the sugar and cinnamon for the middle before I made the cake. That way I could quickly assemble the cake. I didn’t use all the sugar in between. I think this cake recipe would also be delicious with fruit or jam in between with a very slightly cinnamon topping. Thank you for the recipe. I will be making it again for sure!
D. Zemira
If making in a bundt pan beware you only need half (or less) of the streusel. I made the mistake of not following my spidey sense on that one, and it was sugar overkill. I had to scrape as much off as possible after the cake cooled. Although the cake itself is excellent.
Ann
I have made this coffee cake before and everyone loved it.
Thank you for sharing it. It will definitely be a keeper.
Pamela
This is THE BEST COFFEE CAKE! I entered this recipe in my local county fair this month and won FIRST PLACE for the best coffee cake!!! A BLUE RIBBON WINNER this recipe is! I have tried so many other cinnamon streusel coffee cake recipes that were very good. But, this one takes the CAKE! Or, COFFEE CAKE!
Thank you SO much for this recipe and all the other delicious treats on your website!!!
Sam
I’m so glad you enjoyed them so much, Pamela! That’s awesome to hear that it won a blue ribbon! 🙂
Tanina
Hi there ! Could I put some of the streusel in between the layer with the sugar swirl ?
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Tanina! Yes, you sure can 😊
Linda
Its Linda again. Can you use the streusel in the middle as well in place of the cinnamon mixture??
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi again! That will work fine, but just know it will soften instead of being crisp. Enjoy 😊
Angélica
Wow I’m so grateful to you for sharing this and another amazing recipes, I made this cake and I came out amazing and I’m not very good at baking!! Thank you for the detailed recipe and the video!! May God keep on blessing you and everything you do!! 💕
LINDA
We would like to get a response as soon as possible. It seems that we do not get responses from most bakers on the net.
Can we HALVE this . it is much too much for only two people. Pls tell us the measures in HALF. It will be in a 8×8 pan.
Want to make it this weekend for my son’s 19th Birthday on Monday.
Many thanks
Linda
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
Hi Linda! This recipe can be cut in half and would probably fit in an 8 inch square pan. We’re not sure on a bake time though. Happy Birthday to your son! Enjoy 🙂
Pamela
I’m anxious to try this recipe. I can never find one moist enough. I was wondering if this could be made into two loaves.
Sam
Hi Pamela! You could bake it in loaf pans if you choose. I’m not sure on a bake time though.
Nicole Britton
Made this cake for my adult son’s birthday. He loved it!! We all did. I put some pecans in the crumble. Delicious! This recipe is definitely a keeper.
NB.
Emily @ Sugar Spun Run
We love the pecan addition, Nicole! Thanks for letting us know how it went for you ❤️
N.Britton
Hello,
Question:
Can I use a bunt cake pan instead of 13×9 pan?
Thank you.
N.Britton
Sam
Hi Nicole! It will bake in a bundt pan but your bake time will vary, just keep an eye on it. 🙂
Leah Blickensderfer
Have made this a few times. Fantastic, last time I made it I put it in 2 smaller pans, I froze one and when thawed it was still moist and fantastic. My only coffee cake recipe now
jim hynes
Hi Sam/Emily
Can I make this the night before and store in the fridge and bake first thins next morning?
Sam
Hi Jim! I haven’t tried it so I can’t say for sure, but it could work. If you try it let me know how it goes. 🙂