The VERY Best Coffee Cake Recipe ever is moist and buttery, with a cinnamon sugar layer in the middle topped with crumb topping and a sweet glaze icing. Perfect for breakfast or brunch with a hot cup of coffee!
Is there anything better than cake for breakfast? Of course it’s not an indulgence I afford myself on the regular, but the day after my birthday is the best because I know there is leftover cake waiting for me to have with my cup of coffee…which leads me to today’s long overdue post…
The VERY Best Coffee Cake Recipe Ever EVER!
I’m not sure of the genius who coined the term coffee cake, but I would like to extend a firm handshake. Well done, sir or ma’am. Well. done.
I feel like I have crammed all the things that you would ever want in a coffee cake into my recipe. What you have is a dense, but moist, buttery cake with a layer of sweet cinnamon filling baked in the middle. The whole cake is topped with a buttery, cinnamon crumb topping and then drizzled with a sweet icing glaze. No cake mix is involved in this recipe, it is a from-scratch-baked-with-love kinda vibe, and you are going to LOVE it.
Looking for more Coffee-Cake Recipes? Try These:
What Makes This Coffee Cake The BEST?
Well, I am sure this could be up for debate. I know after almost 11 years here on the internet that it’s impossible to make all y’all happy. I’ve tried. But I will say, that I have eaten my fair share of cake since the inception of this website (and for years before that), so I think I can call myself an expert in cake eating.
And this coffee cake is the best I’ve ever had. Hands down.
The cake itself is a dense, yet still fluffy texture with a buttery, vanilla flavor. The whole cake has a thick layer of cinnamon sugar filling baked in the middle, which, with the addition of flour, stays thick and doesn’t melt into the cake, which is amazing.
And of course I ALWAYS prefer a crumb topping on my coffee cake, and this one has the perfect amount, without being too much!
How Do You Make Coffee Cake?
There are a few defining characteristics of a coffee cake:
- No Frosting – OR a light drizzle of an icing glaze. A lot of the time coffee cake is just dusted with powdered sugar, which you could absolutely do on this recipe!
- Cinnamon. Coffee Cakes are generally spiced with cinnamon. I don’t make the rules.
- Crumb Topping – This is not a must, but it’s very common. A lot of coffee cakes include nuts in the crumb topping as well, which you could do here if you like that! I’ll hit on that in a minute.
- Vanilla Cake – It’s very typical for a coffee cake base to be a vanilla cake as opposed to chocolate.
- A Single Layer Cake – Whether it be a 9×13, or a round cake, coffee cake is generally a single layer cake!
Are the Steps Easy?
Yes! You most likely have all the ingredients to make this cake in your kitchen now! There are a few steps, but they all come together with minimal effort.
- The cake is a butter/sour cream cake. The addition of sour cream makes it extra moist and the batter comes together very quickly and easily.
- The filling is simply a mixture of cinnamon, sugar, and flour that you spread over half of the batter. Spread the remaining cake batter carefully overtop!
- The crumb topping is quick to prepare, using melted butter, which makes it very easy to mix!
I LOVE to enjoy this cake while its still warm, but it’s also delicious at room temperature!
PRO TIP: Make sure that once this cake is cut you cover it AIRTIGHT immediately, as it can dry out quickly. I like to use Press and Seal plastic wrap, and press it down directly over the cake, and then covering the entire pan again with foil!
STILL looking for more Coffee Cake Recipes? Here You Go!
- Banana Bread Crumb Cake
- Pumpkin Crumb Cake Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cup Chocolate Coffee Cake
- Pumpkin Crumb Cake
The Best Coffee Cake Recipe Ever
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Prep Time: 20 minutes -
Cook Time: 45 minutes
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Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
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Yield: serves 12 1x
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Category: Cake
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Method: Oven
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Cuisine: Breakfast
Prep Time:
Yield:
Category:
Method:
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PinDescription:
Grab a cup of coffee and get ready for the best coffee cake ever! Soft vanilla cake with a sweet cinnamon layer inside, topped with buttery crumb topping!
Ingredients:
Cinnamon Filling
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Crumb Topping
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup all purpose flour
Cake
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup light brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/4 cup milk
- 3 2/3 cup all purpose flour
Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2–3 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl prepare the cinnamon filling by whisking together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon until combined. Set aside.
- To prepare the crumb topping, mix together the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a medium bowl until it resembles coarse crumbs. Use your hands to mix to form larger crumb pieces. Set aside.
- For the cake, mix the butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on medium speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla, sour cream, salt, and baking powder and mix for 1 minute until combined and smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn the mixer to low and add in the flour and milk in alternating portions, beginning and ending with flour. Mix until just combined and smooth, again, scraping the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Spread half of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon filling evenly on top of the batter. Carefully spread the remaining cake batter on top of the cinnamon layer.
- Evenly sprinkle the crumb topping on top.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until the cake is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove cake from oven and place pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth and drizzle on top of the cooled cake. Or alternately sprinkle with powdered sugar instead of making the icing.
Notes:
Store airtight for up to 3 days
Keywords:: cookies and cups, coffee cake, crumb cake, cake recipe
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Hi! I’m Shelly and I’m an addict. Of the buttercream sort. I started this site a few years ago as a way to justify my sugary, buttery obsession with desserts. It has worked out well for me so far, because as it turns out you guys all love sugary, buttery desserts too! It feels good to know you're not alone, doesn’t it?
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Thank you for this lovely recipe. Perfect with my dark roast “Get Me Up” Coffee 😉
★★★★★
Hi! I really enjoyed making this cake! I do have a question, when you poured in the melted butter in the crumb topping was it still hot or do you wait for it to cool down? I made it twice and the first time it became into what looked like batter, the second time I added the butter a little at a time and looked like yours in the Video , however I poured in the full amount and it did the same thing so I added more flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon and looked like a crumb topping. can… Read more »
If you pour it in hot it will be fine, bc as the mixture cools it will be able to form crumbs, if that makes sense. If you let the butter cool a bit before you make the topping the crumb mixture will form crumbs a little quicker. Either way it should be fine, it’s just a matter of the butter cooling int he mixture or before.
I like this recipe! I do what I can with what I got. So I substituted Greek vanilla yogurt for sour cream. Added walnuts to the topping. Did a little swirl before adding the topping with a butter knife in the cake batter. Super yummy. Thanks!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for uploading the picture!! Looks fantastic!
This coffee cake is AMAZING! I ran 3 tbs of chopped walnuts in my magic bullet and added it to the cinnamon filling to add a little nutty crunch and it blended well with the rest of the recipe. I also used buttermilk which I had on-hand instead of regular milk, which made the cake a little too dense (lol!). Still good but I’ll definitely stick to regular milk next time for a more fluffy cake layer. Overall this coffee cake is outstanding, can’t wait to share it with friends!
★★★★★
Thank you so much for the review!
Made this last night and it is the best coffee cake I’ve ever had. It is moist and yummy. I kept the cinnamon filling light though by not sprinkling the entire mix. The hubs and his coworkers love it. Will definitely make it again.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it and thanks so much for the review!
I made this for a breakfast benefit for St. Jude. It is delicious! Lots of comments and others asking for the recipe, so I passed this link on to them.
★★★★★
Thank you so so much!!
Yummy and moist cake! I personally thought that this had a perfect level of sweetness. The only things that I felt like changing were using softened butter instead of melted butter to make the crumble (easier to work with IMO), and making the filling layer a teensy bit thicker 🙂
★★★★
This was way too sweet! I love sweets. It is odd for me to say this. Normally everyone around me tells me the dessert is too sweet. So, this really was sweet! After two pieces I felt sick. I think I’d cut out some of the sugar in the cake part next time. It’s like 4.5 cups of sugar?!?! I for sure would not serve this to guests as is.
This was so easy! I would say quick but I ran out of brown sugar midway through and had to go back to the store…talk about a rookie mistake! Haha! Other than my own error this recipe was very quick! My husband and bonus kids went crazy over it! I’ve already shared this recipe with my family and my mom jumped on board, made it the next day and says this is the best coffee cake recipe she has ever made. I chose to opt out of the frosting topper and it was still incredible! Best served hot with a… Read more »
This makes me so happy!! So glad you enjoyed!
I used a 9 x 13 pan and I felt like there was WAY too much batter and topping for that size pan. It took an hour and a half to bake. I will make it again but divide into 2 or even 3 round cake pans and keep an eye on the bake time.
★★★★
I made this today! It turned out fantabulous. Both my mom and I loved it. I didn’t add any icing or powdered sugar as my mom wanted it as is. I will be making this again. Thank you Shelly.
★★★★★
So glad you liked it!!
I made this today. DO NOT USE A BUNDT PAN as it takes way too long to bake to get the middle done. The cinnamon crunch top I put in the bottom of the pan since it needed flipped out and it got very crunchy but it tastes wonderful!
My husband loved it. I substituted 1/4 of buttermilk for a 1/4 cup of the milk. I made a little extra crumb topping because it is the best part. Can’t have it without the glaze. I recommend it. I read reviews that it took some over an hour to bake. I put an extra 5 minutes on the timer, it was perfect. Wish I could post a picture.
★★★★★
You can!! In the comment box there is a photo option 🙂 I’d love to see it!
Hi! I´ve tried several coffeecake recipes trying to find my favorite one. This one is #1 on my list. I loved it! It was a big hit! I wish it came in smaller portions (maybe an 8-in round pan). Other than that, I LOVED IT!
★★★★★
So glad you loved it as much as I do!!
Earns the title as best coffee cake ever! It came together and baked exactly as written. I used a 2.5” diameter x 2” high biscuit cutter to make 12 individual round cakes for ease of serving They looked fantastic and were a big hit at a socially-distanced brunch. For those who couldn’t get the cooking time right, I suggest an oven thermometer. For those in the UK, Americans will tell you there is no pudding in what you call pudding. All good.
Bakers got to bake!
★★★★★
SO so glad you liked it!!