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!
Make sure to try my Sour Cream Pecan Coffee Cake too!
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:
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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.
Prepare Cinnamon Filling: In a medium bowl prepare the cinnamon filling by whisking together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon until combined. Set aside.
Prepare Crumb Topping: 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.
Prepare Cake Batter: 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.
Assemble and bake: 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.
Add icing to cake: 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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Best Coffee Cake Recipie Ever
Hi! I was wondering if you’ve ever tried separating the egg whites, beating them, and folding them in at the end?
NO, but you could do that if you would like.
I have been waiting to write my review for this as it’s my first time ever making coffee cake.
The cake was so huge it almost went over the sides of the pan. I followed the directions exactly and it was rather dry and took a while to finish. The crumb topping was an epic failure , I’ve never heard of melted butter to make the crumble topping? Shouldn’t it be cold? Sorry, not a fan of this and the cake that came out of the pan was an awful mess!
Can I use self raising flour?
★★★★★
I have never tried that in this recipe, but I would suggest if you do make sure to omit the salt and the baking powder.
Can we substitute flour for cake flour ?
Sure 🙂
Hi, I made your banana crumb cake and as per suggestions cut a lot of the ingredients in half. Can you tell me what ingredients and amounts in this recipe I could reduce to make it not so calorie heavy.
Is it possible to swap the milk out for almond milk?
That should work!
I love this recipe. Would you be able to make it all and put it together thw night before and then bake it in the morning?
Thanks!
I, too, would like to know if you can mix together the night before & then pop in the oven in the morning?
I never recommend making cake batter ahead, as the chemical reaction of the baking powder happens immediately and your cake won’t rise.
Does bleached or unbleached all-purpose flour matter? I only have unbleached bit can get bleached if necessary.
Unbleached is fine!!
This may be a dumb question – salted or unsalted butter?
not dumb at all! I always use salted, but it’s a personal preference. If you are sensitive to salt go ahead and use unsalted!
The cake seems to be really good but there is absolutely no reason to call it “coffee” cake. People drink coffee with all kinds of cakes, don’t they???
Odd comment.
Coffee cake is cake designed to eat WITH coffee. It is not coffee flavored. Just one of those things.
Very good. I would add walnuts to the crumb topping next time, and maybe some dices apples in the cinnamon filling. But great as it!
★★★★★
Is it alright to add blueberries or does the recipe need to be adjusted? Thanks!
That would work with no adjustments needed!
This coffee cake is amazing!!
★★★★★
Why is this cake called coffee when there is not a bean of coffee in the recipe…???..cheers A.
★★★★
lmao because you usually eat it in the morning with a cup of coffee