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!
I would like to add raspberries to this recipe but unsure how to go about it. Do I purée them and cook it down then add it? I would like to make this as an anniversary gift for my neighbor. Any helpful hints you would be super appreciated!
Hmm I honestly have not tried it so it’s hard to say. I think a raspberry jam layer could work in the center instead of the cinnamon layer but I can’t be very specific since I haven’t tried it myself yet, I’m sorry!
Hi,
Looks like a great recipe and i will be trying it this weekend.
Wondering if i could sub sour cream for some or all of the cream cheese?
Thanks so much – your videos are really helpful and appreciated!
Hi Ann! I have found that sour cream won’t yield as soft of a cake and it will be drier.
Just…O M G!!!! Another of your bestbestbestBEST recipes…..You really are the BEST baker!!!!! Thank you soooo much for giving us these recipes, Im an SSR super fan 4 life!
Thank you so much, Sally! I really appreciate it. 🙂 I am so glad you have enjoyed all of the recipes. This kind of support keeps me going. 🙂
This. This is THE Coffee Cake! This is hands down the best recipe ever! Thank you so much for sharing. Everyone couldn’t stop commenting how good it was!!!
I’m so happy to hear it was such a hit, Tyler!! Thank you so much for commenting and letting me know how it turned out for you, I really appreciate it! 🙂
I made this coffee cake in a vegan style with vegan plant “butter”, vanilla coconut yogurt and Oat-ly oat milk. It came out exactly as your’s is pictured. Amazing!
I am so glad you enjoyed it so much, Erin! 🙂
This comment I coming from Leslie’s husband. I asked her to let me leave a comment as I’d eaten most of the coffee cake. It is absolutely fantastic. Keep putting out those fantastic recipes. Especially the ones with cinnamon. Thanks!
I am so glad that you LOVED it, husband! Thank you so much for taking a moment to comment, I appreciate it! 😉
Since you’re a cinnamon fan you should try one of these recipes next:
(No Yeast) Cinnamon Rolls, Cinnamon Roll Cookies, Palmiers, Monkey Bread, or Snickerdoodle Cookies (my favorite!). 😉
My wife just handed me her phone. We’ll be trying all of those for sure. I love snickerdoodles too.
I am happy that you liked the suggestions. Enjoy! 🙂
I made this coffee cake when I had a MAJOR craving (hadn’t had coffee cake in ages) and was literally SO excited to make it. It turned out perfectly and my Dad said it was the best coffee cake he’s ever had!! My Grandpa even stopped by for a social distanced visit and naturally I had to share the coffee cake with him. He and my Dad said my late Grandma Ann would’ve loved this – coffee cake was her favorite! Thank you so much for sharing this amazing recipe. It’ll be my go-to (and will always remind me of my Grandma!) from now on. 🙂
I am so glad that you enjoyed it and that it reminded you of your grandmother, Morgan! Thank you for trying my recipe! 🙂
My son wanted cinnamon coffee cake for our quarantine baking day item. First time making coffee cake thus first time using this recipe. Several steps with batter, cinnamon filling and streusel topping…but OMG it turned out amazing! My husband said it was dense but very moist. He thought it tasted better than the version from Costco!! So glad we chose this recipe. We will definitely be adding this coffee cake to our list of favorite treats. Thanks for this recipe!
I am so glad that you enjoyed it and now have a new favorite treat, Shann! Thank you for trying my recipe and for commenting. 🙂
Can confirm! Best. Coffee cake. EVER. Not even close.
So happy to hear you enjoyed, Heather! 🙂
Just like your other recipes that I’ve tried, this is amazing! My mom who is a self-proclaimed coffee cake connoisseur said it was the best she’s had and questioned whether I really made it even though I bake all the time. I took it as a compliment :). Thank you for another great recipe!!
I am so glad everyone enjoyed it so much, Indiya! 🙂
I have made other coffee cakes and could never find the perfect recipe, until I found this one. Have made this a couple times so far and it comes out perfect every time. Have one in the oven now. Thank you!
I am so glad you enjoy it so much, Michele! 🙂
Can I use milk instead of buttermilk for this recipe
Yes but the cake will not be as moist or quite as flavorful.
Best coffee cake ever! I have had people ask me to make this coffee cake for them. So, since we are house bound, coffee cake it is today, when it gets cooler. Supposed to be 91 degrees today.
Enjoy the day!
I am so glad that you have enjoyed this recipe, Priscilla. I hope those you share it with will too. Thanks for commenting. Stay cool and enjoy your day. 🙂
What about adding blueberries???
Hi, Donna! Yes, blueberries will work fine in this cake. Enjoy! 🙂
This made a wonderful brunch! The cream cheese added such great texture and moisture. Would definitely make it again.
So happy to hear you enjoyed! Thank you for commenting!
This was the tastiest cake I’ve baked! I finished it over a span of 5 days nearly single handedly 🙈 it stays true to tour claim, that I will never search for another coffee cake recipe again.
I am so glad that you loved it, Samira, and now have a new go-to recipe. Thanks for commenting. 🙂