Coffee Cake Recipe

This classic Coffee Cake is super easy to whip up and makes a great companion to your morning routine. It will soon become your favorite sweet brunch dish to serve for any celebrations you’re hosting or just any time the mood strikes.

If you love coffee cake everything, you will for sure love these Coffee Cake Muffins, or these Coffee Cake Scones, or this Skinny Blueberry Coffee Cake.

Coffee Cake Recipe

When I first discovered coffee cake, I was surprised to find out it doesn’t actually have any coffee in it. But instead it’s a soft, moist and delicious cake laced with cinnamon streusel in the middle and on top. The sweet cinnamon compliments breakfast wonderfully and gives an extra sweet treat in the morning!

Making the Streusel:

Mix Together: The cinnamon streusel is made with a mixture of flour, sugar, just a tiny pinch of salt, lots of cinnamon and butter. You can use a pastry blender to cut the cold butter into the flour mixture, or simply use your fingers if you don’t have a pastry blender. Butter Tip: You want to work the butter into the mixture such that it becomes crumbly like wet sand, but work quickly so you don’t melt the butter. Keep the streusel in the freezer until you are ready to use it. If you don’t have space in the freezer, keep it in the refrigerator. Keep it Cold: Keeping the streusel cold is important so it becomes crumbles once baked instead of melting into the cake completely.

Making the Cake Batter:

Beat Wet Ingredients: This cake batter is very simple, just beat together the wet ingredients which include sour cream, melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. I use sour cream in this recipe, but you can replace it with yogurt or buttermilk if you wish. Sift Together: You’ll need a separate mixing bowl to sift together the dry ingredients, then fold the flour mixture into the wet ingredients until just combined. Don’t overmix the batter to avoid drying out the cake.

Assemble for Baking:

To get the classic layer of cinnamon streusel in the middle of your cake, you’ll need to do a little bit of assembling before baking.

Get your cake pan ready before assembling the cake. I’m using an 8” cake pan here. Brush it with melted butter and line with parchment paper as shown. Add half the cake batter to the prepared pan, spread it into a flat layer. Add half the streusel on top, you may need to break up some of the larger clumps to spread it evenly over the cake batter. Dollop the remaining cake batter on top of the streusel layer. Use your fingers to nudge it into an even layer. Sprinkle the rest of the streusel on top.

Now your cake is ready for the oven. This recipe bakes in 45 minutes at 350°F using an 8” round cake pan.

You can use whatever size pan you have but if your pan is larger, your cake will bake faster, so check the doneness using a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake. If the toothpick comes out clean, your cake is done.

Storing Leftover Cake:

This coffee cake can be kept at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 3 days. You can also keep it refrigerated for up to a week.

More Amazing Breakfast Cake Recipes: