This Cinnamon Coffee Cake recipe is moist, buttery, and full of cinnamon flavor. It’s perfect as an afternoon snack, a breakfast pastry or an after dinner dessert!
A homemade cinnamon coffee cake recipe doesn’t get much better than this Cinnamon Coffee Cake with Streusel Crumb Topping!
While I am generally happy to share every recipe that I post, there are some that I am REALLY excited to share- and this is one of them. I’m not a huge breakfast eater, but one thing that I can never resist is coffee cake. Take a look at Coffee Works website where you can learn more ideas of how to enjoy even more your daily coffee.
This is also why I rarely ever buy or make it- I can’t stay out of it.
I love the general idea behind a coffee cake recipe. Someone clearly really wanted to eat some sort of spice or fruit laden cake at 7 AM, but could still hear their mother’s voice wheedling at them, “You don’t eat cake for breakfast!”
“Hush Mom, this is COFFEE cake. Its totally different. You eat it in the morning with coffee! It’s breakfast! Its practically health food.”
I’m not going to sit here and lie to anyone and tell you that this moist coffee cake is health food. It is most definitely not. I WILL tell you that this is the best cinnamon coffee cake and came out exactly the way that I had hoped. It has a light, buttery crumb, but yet is still somehow just a little dense.
There is a ribbon of cinnamon filling through the middle and it is piled with a cinnamon streusel on top. It DOES go perfectly with coffee… and ice cream too. Don’t worry- I won’t tell Mom.
What is Coffee Cake, exactly?
Coffee cake is a butter-based cake that, contrary to what the name implies, does NOT contain coffee. Its somewhere between a regular cake and a pound cake in terms of weight and texture. It’s not supposed to be over-the-top sweet, and is meant to be paired with a cup of coffee- hence the name!
What you’ll need for this breakfast coffee cake recipe:
- Hand mixer – Having a hand mixer really comes in handy for making your recipes. Be sure to grab this [easyazon_link identifier=”B001CH0ZLE” locale=”US” tag=”gogogogo03-20″]Hand Mixer[/easyazon_link] to get your recipes made right!
- Mixing bowl – These bowls are perfect for mixing up any recipe and even come in three different sizes. Get your [easyazon_link identifier=”B00LGLHUA0″ locale=”US” tag=”gogogogo03-20″]3-Piece Glass Mixing Bowl Set[/easyazon_link] here.
- Food processor – I recommend using a food processor to make your toppings required in this recipe. This [easyazon_link identifier=”B00755KNCS” locale=”US” tag=”gogogogo03-20″]Food Processor[/easyazon_link] should do the trick and even has dishwasher safe parts!
- Baking pan – This [easyazon_link identifier=”B001PKUXN8″ locale=”US” tag=”gogogogo03-20″]9 by 9 Inch Covered Pan[/easyazon_link] is great for any kind of baking. You’ll get some great use out of it!
If you Like This homemade Cinnamon Coffee Cake recipe, you’ll also like easy dessert recipes:
NOTE: after multiple readers telling me that they find the topping to be too heavy on the flour, I am amending the topping to reduce the flour by 1/4 cup and increasing the butter by one tablespoon.
Update (5/6/2016): Alright. As I keep getting comments that say that the batter is too thick and the cake is too dry and the topping has too much flour and its too sweet (and yet simultaneously not sweet enough!), I decided to remake this and test the recipe for the third time. It came out just like it did the first and second times I made it.
This recipe is based off my Blueberry Buckle with Streusel Topping, which is always a major success and I have never faced any complaints. The only thing that I changed was using softened butter in the topping, rather than cold butter, which I have now amended in the recipe ingredients. I’m sitting here and eating a piece of it and wondering why anyone would want this either more or less sweet.
I don’t think its dry in any way- in fact the cake is quite moist. Its a butter based cake batter, so its not going to be runny like a boxed cake mix would be. As I state in the instructions, using an offset spatula makes spreading the batter over the filling much easier. I also took pictures at each step, so you can see what everything should look like along the way. These are below the instructions.
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Cinnamon Crumb Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- 1 stick butter softened
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 egg
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- pinch salt
- 3/4 cup milk
Filling
- 3 tablespoons butter softened
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
Topping
- 5 tablespoon butter softened
- 3/4 cup flour
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F.
- In the bowl of a mixer, cream together the butter and sugar, scraping down the sides occasionally. Add the vanilla and egg, mix in.
- In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add one half of it to the mixer, and when mostly combined, add the milk. Once the milk is mostly incorporated, add the rest of the flour.
- To make filling: in a small bowl, pinch together the softened butter, flour, sugar and cinnamon until soft crumbs form.
- To make topping: add the butter, flour, brown sugar and cinnamon to a food processor and pulse until coarse crumbs form (You can cut in with forks or a pastry cutter, but I am not patient enough for that!).
- Grease a 9x9 baking pan. Pour in ½ of cake batter, and spread to all four corners. Sprinkle the filling over top, then pour in remaining cake batter, and spread carefully across the top, disturbing the filling layer as little as possible (an offset spatula works well for this).
- Sprinkle the topping over the top and press lightly so it adheres.
- Bake in preheated oven for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool to warm on wire rack before serving.
Notes
Gia says
Your recipe is perfectly fine. I think that the problem some might be having is novice “from scratch” bakers not recognizing the difference between muffin doughs and cake batters. After all, coffee cake is really just one big muffin. I would suggest if some have trouble spreading the dough that they use a loaf pan or muffin tin. And as for the sweetness (which I personally think is sweet enough) they can always add a glaze to take the sweet up a notch.
Eliza says
Just made this; I can’t stand to look at comments and people post about how good something looks and they plan on making it. So, I like to post after actually making something, so as to give a real review. Texture of this cake is wonderful. Negative comments; there is too much crumb on the top and besides all of the sugars in the recipe, it really is not very sweet tasting. I think the crumb mixture has too much flour in it that takes away from the sweetness. If I made it again, I would increase the sugar slightly in the batter, and make the filling and topping out of the same proportions, decreasing the flour by 1/3. It helps when spreading the dough in the pan to have an angled spatula sprayed with non stick spray. The dough is very sticky. Hope these comments help.
Mary May says
I think the issue with the recipe that if people are like me they skip down to just the recipe and may not read anything before it. I was irritated with the batter because I thought it was too thick, but had I actually read your entire post, I would have known it was supposed to be that way and there were recommended tools to help with that. Also, I often use my phone to read the recipes while I’m cooking and often times these blogs get cluttered with advertisements so it makes it kind of mess to read. But future note to self will be to read everything! The cake is currently in the oven and it smells amazing!
Eva Marie says
I just made this and it turned out wonderful! I have no idea what the complaints are about. The texture and flavour were consistent with other coffee cake recipes I have tried. Not too dry. Not too buttery. Not too much flour. I don’t think it needs to be sweeter since it is not meant to be a dessert. Definitely adding to my list of things to make again.
Stacey says
Agreed! I’ve made it twice I’m one week (for family and work). It’s delish! And perfect as is.
Tammy says
I just made this today and it was amazing! I did use the less amount of flour for the topping and almond milk instead of regular and it turned out perfect. The cake was moist and had a lot of flavor without being too sweet which I was very happy about. It was also so easy to make! Thank you so much so glad I found your blog!!
Leigh says
I just made this and I think it’s a great place to start. I’ll definitely make it again with adjustments. I found the topping to be too buttery and not sweet enough, and there was an awful lot of it. I wound up holding about 1/3 of it back. The cake itself is delectably moist and fluffy. So much so that I might eliminate the ribbon of filling so I can enjoy it more fully. Thank you for the recipe!
April says
This coffee cake was delicious! It backed up perfectly. This will be my #1 receipe. Thank you for the receipe. I am so happy I found it.
Barb says
I tried this yesterday to make for Thanksgiving breakfast at daughters house! Hope it turns out as great then as it did for me and my husband! I like a lot of topping, so I made a little more, but kept flour same amount as recipe! DELICIOUS! Thanks…Barb
Katalina says
For the people who say this better is too thick- it’s not. Coffee cake batter is supposed to be crazy thick. It’s like a mix between cake batter and bread dough. Sticky. This is a great versatile recipe. Some tips: 1. For the topping and filling, using half melted butter and half softened butter helps incorporate everything very very easily. I found doing that made the amount of flour listed the perfect amount. 2. after putting the filling in the middle, take a spoon and put globs of the batter all over the top of the cake and THEN spread it out. Or, grab a butter knife and swirl it through to incorporate. Looks pretty and maybe is easier. Sometimes (with clean hands) even using a finger to move the topping around (if you dont have an offset spatula) works great! Just push it into the sides of the pan and lightly swirl the batter (don’t pull!) Until it’s covered. (Same technique is what I recommend after globbing, with a spatula. Just works better that way)
Only change I made was that I didn’t have enough milk, so I did 1/2 a cup milk and 3T of sour cream plus 1T water. The only difference I noticed was that it was slightly more moist and the vanilla came through more with the sour cream.
This recipe is great and one of the easiest coffee cakes I ever made. If you feel it needs more sweetness, a dusting of powdered sugar after it bakes goes a long way.
To Jacqueline: thanks for this keeper! And I’m sorry people were so snarky. It really is a well put together recipe!
Hanan says
Thank you for this recipe! I just took it out of the oven and it is perfect. It def not a sweet-till-you-cringe cake but it’s just right. My batter was also tooooo thick t spread so I add another 1/2 cup of milk and that was all it needed. Thanks again! This recipe is a keeper.
Cathy bradley says
Made this coffee cake today exactly as it is written and it had perfect results! Thanks so much for this easy recipe for a moist complement to coffee at any time of day.
Jill says
I’m seeing a lot of comments about the cake being dry. If you follow the directions, I honestly don’t see HOW it could be dry. As always, if you are using a dark, non-stick pan reduce the oven temp from 350 to 325. Followed directions to a T and it is PERFECT!
Vicki says
What I like best in this recipe ?? EVERYTHING !! Man..the filling is beyond. As mine baked the sides that touch the pan got krispie like something I’ve never accomplished so yes that filling puts it over the top for me. This as is..is the only coffee cake recipe I’ll use. It’s everything it should be..I am not the commenting type but always study a recipe well before using. So this is a first for mebcz come on this gal deserves a trophy !! She’s an expert and so knows her stuff. Baking is my passion 60+ yrs. I know what I’m doing too. She deserves my comment hands down. Not too many coffee cake recipes get this kind of attention..what’s that tell ya. Relax this is the one and be grateful she’s such a doll to share w us. Hv a blessed day and thanks again Miss Jacqueline!
Jennifer says
I’ve made a few different crumb cake recipes and this one did not disappoint! It turned out perfect with. I changed. Thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
Jennifer says
Typo! It turned out perfect with no changes is what I tried to type!
Melissa says
I’ve made this coffee cake several times and absolutely love it. Yes the batter is thick so you do need to be patient. Perfect with a cup of coffee or a nice, cold glass of milk. Yum!!!
Noveen says
Loved it!
How ever mine turned out a little brittle
I couldnt cut the slices properly
And i wanted to know the measurements you have written are standard or you used your own?
Jacqueline says
I’m not sure what you mean about the measurements.
Noveen says
I meant the measurements that you have mentioned for this recipe are the standard measurements from standard measuring cups? For example when you say “ 1 tablespoon of cinnamon powder” the tablespoon used is the standard measuring table spoon or any table spoon that you have in kitchen from your cutlery set?
Because i used the standard measuring cups etc for this recipe although it tasted great but the quantity was wayyy more than it was shown in video and it turned out a bit hard not sure why🤔 thats why i was asking you which measuring instruments did you use 😊
MYR says
Hey Jacqueline! Thanks so much for sharing this recipe, I made this for a family gathering and the WHOLE family loved it – it was all gone in an hour! Possibly one of the best cakes I’ve ever made. I added a 1/4 c of salted chopped pecans to the topping mix, it was great. Also, spraying some cooking spray on the batter lager and on the back of spoon while spreading the second layer on top of the filling made the process a breeze. One last thing is, what gram measures do you use? I plan on converting the cups to grams for accuracy, and there are many different quantities per cup.
Christi says
This coffee cake was amazing! Very moist and flavorful!
Dana says
I can’t wait to try this recipe. It looks like my mother-in-law’s New York Style Crumb Coffee Cake.
I found them in the bakery case at Foster’s Market in Durham, NC. Like my mother-in/law’s, they are not a moist cake. It’s all about the awesome, thick crumb topping.
True confession, M-I-Law used Jiffy baking mix for the cake portion. I suspect the dry issue is an “expectation” issue.
jaime says
Have made this using the exact recipe and Instructions and came out perfect. Husband loves this coffee cake recipe. Thank you for sharing. It is a must have now. 😊
Candice says
Just eating my first piece hot from the oven. It is DELICIOUS! Followed recipe exactly and came out perfect. I live in Canada so not sure about humidity issue some people are having. Thank you for a great recipe! My family and I will be enjoying it again soon!