This is my all-time favorite coffee cake. It’s super soft, buttery, and loaded with a thick cinnamon-sugar layer right through the middle. Perfect for breakfast or brunch with a hot cup of coffee!
Is there anything better than calling cake breakfast and getting away with it? This recipe is exactly what I want next to my coffee—soft, buttery cake, a cinnamon-sugar swirl in the middle, a crumb topping that means business, and a sweet glaze to finish it all off. If you’ve been looking for a go-to coffee cake that feels bakery-level but still comes together with minimal effort, this is it.
Why You’ll Love This Coffee Cake Recipe
- Tender cake that’s packed with flavor. This cake has that buttery, sturdy texture I love. It’s like a fluffier pound cake. It can hold its own under all that cinnamon-sugar goodness and crumb topping.
- The crumb is everything. Thick, sweet, and next-level delicious. If you’re here for the crumb, you’re in the right place.
- That glaze on top? Not optional. I always finish mine with a quick icing drizzle because… well, why wouldn’t you?
- It’s from-scratch and totally doable. No mixes here, but don’t stress! My teenage sons have made this one on their own, and it turned out great.
Heads up on the bake time: This is a thick cake, so depending on your oven, it might need a few extra minutes. If the top starts browning too fast, just tent it with foil and keep going until the center is set. Trust me, it’s worth it.
How To Make Coffee Cake
- Prep your tools. Preheat the oven to 350°F and coat a 9×13 baking dish with nonstick spray. Set aside.
- Make the cinnamon filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon until combined. Set aside.
- Make the crumb topping. In another medium bowl, mix the melted butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour until it resembles coarse crumbs. Use your hands to form some larger pieces. Set aside.
- Make the batter. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or use a hand mixer), beat the butter, granulated sugar, and light brown sugar on medium speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy.
- Add the wet ingredients. Add the eggs, vanilla, sour cream, salt, and baking powder. Mix for 1 minute until smooth, scraping the bowl as needed.
- Finish the batter. Turn the mixer to low and add the flour and milk in alternating portions, beginning and ending with the flour. Mix until just combined, scraping the bowl again if necessary.
- Assemble the cake. Spread half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon filling evenly on top. Gently spread the remaining batter over the filling, then sprinkle the crumb topping evenly across the top.
- Bake. Bake for 40–45 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
- Cool. Remove from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Add the icing. Whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until smooth and drizzle over the cooled cake, or dust with powdered sugar instead.
I LOVE to enjoy this cake while it’s still warm, but it’s also delicious at room temperature!
What Is Coffee Cake? Why Isn’t There Coffee in It?
There are a few defining characteristics of a coffee cake. And nope there is no ACTUAL coffee in this recipe. This cake is meant to be enjoyed WITH coffee.
- 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!
Simple Variation Ideas
- Add chopped nuts to the crumb topping. About ½ cup of chopped pecans or walnuts mixed into the crumb gives it a nice crunch without affecting the bake.
- Swirl in some fruit. A layer of thinly sliced apples or a handful of fresh blueberries over the cinnamon filling works great. Just don’t overdo it—too much moisture can weigh the cake down.
- Switch up the spice. Try adding a little ground nutmeg or cardamom to the cinnamon filling for a subtle twist.
- Use a flavored glaze. Swap the milk in the icing for maple syrup or a splash of orange juice to add something a little extra on top.
- Make it mini. Bake the batter in two 8×8 pans instead of one 9×13 if you want one to keep and one to gift (or freeze). Just start checking for doneness a little earlier.
How to Store
- Room temp: Keep it tightly covered on the counter for up to 3 days. It stays soft and amazing—no need to refrigerate.
- Fridge: If your kitchen runs warm or you just want to stretch it a bit longer, you can refrigerate it for up to 5 days. Just bring it to room temp before serving so it’s not cold and dense.
- Freezer: Yep, it freezes great! Wrap slices individually or the whole (cooled) cake tightly in plastic wrap and foil, then freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw on the counter and warm it up a little if you like it cozy.
More Coffee Cake Recipes
The Best Coffee Cake Recipe
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 45 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: serves 12 1x
- Category: Cake
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: Breakfast
Description
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
Scale
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
Nutrition
- Serving Size:
- Calories: 660
- Sugar: 55 g
- Sodium: 248.4 mg
- Fat: 24.9 g
- Carbohydrates: 101.1 g
- Protein: 9.6 g
- Cholesterol: 108 mg
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45 minutes was not long enough. I tested the cake after 40 minutes and it was not done. I left it in for 5 more minutes and the toothpick came out clean. It was golden brown on the top. However, when I went to cut it the next morning, it was obviously underbaked. The bottom was a thick, sticky mess. Such a disappointment since I was supposed to take it for Easter brunch.
My baking powder was fresh, the oven was at the correct temperature so I am not sure what went wrong. The entire 9×13 pan went into the trash.
My daughter has recently opened a coffee shop and I had the idea that a good coffee cake would help draw customers !! WELL, was I right !! I have been using your recipe and we can’t keep it in stock !! Our customers absolutely LOVE it !! Thank you for sharing it!
Good luck to your daughter!
This coffee cake looks amazing. Can this cake be frozen to eat at a later date?
absolutely!
Amazing Cake! We love it! Thank you for sharing!! I have made it three times already and it’s been amazing every time.
Love hearing this!! Thank you so much for your review!
I made this and with all the comments on cooking time, I almost over cooked it! Went for 50 min, would’ve been better at 43 or 45 min. It’s good, but INCREDIBLY dense! The top layer rose well, but the bottom not so much. I used a glass pan at 350. Maybe I’m a sweet treat freak, but a lot of comments say it was too sweet… didn’t think so. I didn’t do the glaze, tho. The only “problem” for me is that I didn’t check the pan size and this is A LOT of coffee cake!! If I had paid attention, I would’ve halved the recipe. Decent cake… may do again halved.
Dry coffee cake icing helps
Absolutely delicious!! Great recipe!! My family loves the cinnamon and sweetness of this coffee cake! My 15-yr old son helped me make it and he’s dancing as he eats it.
This coffee cake is very sweet and took really long to cook I poked it all over the cake and it came out clean so I took it out of the oven.but when I was cutting it after it cooled the top layer of the cake was still doughy in some spots.It’s not the best coffee cake ever and it’s not the worse either. It’s not bad enough to throw in the trash that is just a rude comment from someone who is not very nice don’t try recipes if you are going to be rude about it. Every time you use someone else’s recipes there is always that chance you will fail or not like it .Be kind not rude just don’t use the recipe again or say this didn’t just work for me.I will say the bottom layer was sweet enough moist and tasty.
Baking is like a science, there are so many different factors that can cause the cake to fail. I completely agree with you on the rude comments, I think it’s just best to tell the author what your issues are and leave out negativity like it’s not the best it’s not the worst comment. it’s insulting and honestly since you did this in your kitchen who knows exactly what you did that might have causes the issues you had.
Where is the coffee???
My Jamaican Blend coffee is in my cup right next to this delicious coffee cake 🙂
I’m not sure what all the negative reviews are talking about. My guess is they either didn’t follow the recipe as written (any time you make substitutions in a baking recipe you risk a fail) or perhaps their ovens are off (an oven thermometer is useful) I followed this recipe exactly, used an old non stick metal 9×13 baking pan, and it rose just fine and came out perfectly done at 43 minutes.
So definitely does not cook in 45 minutes. Takes over an hour most times. This time I switch from a Lecreuset thick heavy 9×13 casserole dish to a LeCreuset non stick metal pan. I’m hoping it’ll cook quicker this way! Last time I cooked it for an hour in the thicker pan and I didn’t realize it was still much in the center. 20 minutes after having an hour realized it was mush so I covered the sides in tin foil and put it back in for about another 25 minutes. Best cake ever. But…. Last week I forgot the sour cream lol So talk about dense. This week in the metal pan I have all the ingredients correct we’ll see how it turns out!!