Cinnamon Coffee Cake Recipe
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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
Equipment
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
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
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this? Leave a comment below!
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!
Delicious! Especially with a fresh pot of coffee!
So glad you enjoyed it, Kat 🥰
Outstanding coffee cake recipe. I brought this in for a retirement party and was rated 12 out of 10 stars by a coworker. The crumb is my favorite part and the cake is dense without being too heavy. I loved it! So delicious with a cup of coffee or tea. The 9 x 13 seemed too big when I tried to divide the batter in half so I used a slightly smaller size. It required a longer cooking time but the result was nothing short of amazing. I also appreciated how the recipe was written, adding the amount of ingredients in the instructions. I also loved the idea from another reviewer of adding apples to the batter and will try that next time.
So good. The cake is very soft and fluffy while being dense. Perfect with a cup of coffee.
Made this last night and I think it’s the best coffee cake I’ve ever had ever!! I added the 50g sugar from the filling to the crumble instead and then put half of it in the middle and half on top instead and I really like how it came out. I also love how the recipe is written with the quantities in the recipe itself, it’s so helpful!
I’ve loved this recipe for a while, and this week had the idea of adding apples to it. Turned out amazing! 4 apples, diced and tossed in sugar, cinnamon, and flour, then placed in the fridge overnight. Drained the excess juice and put them in as the last step in preparing the batter. Had to bake for a tiny bit longer. Tasted amazing; a good fall twist on this classic!
I came to the comments to look for exactly this! how much flour did you use? thank you!
4 apples, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 tbsp flour, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Followed the apple prep section from an apple pie recipe, and increased it by a little bit since I was dicing the apples instead of slicing them.
I have made many of your recipes, and others from all over the internet, and GIRL. I think this may have just achieved my top spot for favorite cake. This was so daggone tasty. I can’t wait to eat some in the morning with my tea or coffee.
I’m trying to figure out what went wrong. I followed the recipe exactly, with no substitutions and it came out very dry and the streusel had hard pieces in it, like little hard balls of brown sugar. What could have caused that? I have used your recipes many times with great results.The flavor was still wonderful.
Hi Dori! It honestly just sounds like it may have been over-baked, is that possible? Unfortunately sometimes ovens run hotter than they let on, which could lead to the coffee cake baking faster, and if that happens it would make the cake dry and could make the streusel too hard and crispy (especially if the cake was baked in a thin or very dark pan). I think if you were to try it again I would recommend checking the cake sooner in the oven, maybe as much as 10 minutes sooner. I really hope that helps but am happy to try and help troubleshoot further!
I experienced the same exact thing even though I chose to take it out at the 30 min mark (said 30-40 mins and I always choose less time cuz I like it moist). I can tell this recipe would’ve been great and I already promised to share with neighbors 🥲
I love that the amount of the ingredients is listed in the directions, that eliminates the need to go back and forth to the ingredient list. Very good recipe!
Can it be made ahead?
How many days will it stay fresh?
Yes! We actually discuss this in the FAQ section of the post 🩷
I added 1 cup of chopped pecans to the topping. It was great with a cup of coffee.
Yum! Sounds tasty, Debra 🥰
Easy and fun to make. Everyone loved it at office and wanted the recipe.❤️
Thanks for using our recipe, Anjanette! We are so happy it was a hit 🩷
is there a recommendation for some sugar substitute? I am afraid we will all end up in sugar coma, lol. 3 plus cups of sugar all in all?
It does look and sound delicious
Hi Juliane! Unfortunately, I have not tried it with a sugar substitute.
Could you use nuts in this cake? If so, where would be the best place to incorporate them? Thanks
Hi Deb! You sure can. You can fold them into the batter, add them to the ripple layer, or toss them in with the streusel–whatever you prefer! 😊
this was so easy to make, and i didnt have buttermilk, so i made it and it was super easy! 11/10 recipe!!
We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Auburn 🩷
Best recipe for a scrumptious coffee cake. Directions are just the best and so easy to follow. Thank you for that. Everyone loves it every time I make this. I did not have buttermilk on hand this time so I used plain 2% low-fat yogurt. Came out amazing and just like I had used the buttermilk. If you follow these directions you will not be disappointed. Thank you. Just the best. And I’ve made alot of coffee cakes. This one “takes the cake” lol.
😁 Thanks for giving it a try, Robin! Enjoy!
tried this with strawberry cream cheese. absolutely amazing. with hints of strawberry
Yum! We’re so happy you enjoyed it, Merle 😊
Thanks for that substitution idea!