Coffee Cake
Published on May 12, 2023
Quick Summary
Cake for breakfast is always a good idea and you can’t go wrong with classic coffee cake.
This Coffee Cake recipe is an absolute favorite of anyone who tries it. It has a classic, comforting flavor and fills your home with the smell of buttery vanilla and cinnamon.
The cake is tender, moist (thanks to the butter, sour cream, and eggs), and is layered with LOTS of cinnamon streusel. Coffee cake is all about the streusel! The cake is finished with a sweet vanilla icing that rounds out the vanilla flavor.
I also love making this cake for Easter, baby or bridal showers, Christmas, or just because it’s the weekend. It has an EPIC amount of cinnamon streusel and the sour cream cake is moist, tender, and has the best vanilla flavor.
You are going to go crazy for this cake!
Table of Contents
Where’s the Coffee?
So coffee cake doesn’t actually have coffee in it. I know that is a little confusing because it is called coffee cake, but coffee cake gets it’s name because it is traditionally served with a cup of coffee.
So you don’t need coffee to make this cake. It’s not a typo, I didn’t leave it out of the recipe, it is just the name of the classic breakfast cake:)
This sweet breakfast cake pairs nicely with a cup of coffee or your favorite latte, talk about the perfect pick me up!
Streusel Topping
One of the most memorable parts of this delicious coffee cake is the streusel topping and filling! That’s right, this cake is loaded with streusel!
I make the streusel and divide it in half, half for the middle and half for the top. Some coffee cakes require a different filling recipe, but I think that this streusel works perfectly in the cake and on top. No need to dirty another bowl and fuss with a separate recipe.
My secret to perfect layered crumb coffee cake? Pour half the batter into a prepared pan, then sprinkle half the streusel on, then pour the remaining batter over and finish with more streusel!
The cake has a thick sweet streusel layer in the middle and a crunchy crumb layer on top so you get plenty of streusel in every bite.
How to Make Coffee Cake
Coffee cake is actually so easy to make from scratch! The best part is that you probably have most of these ingredients in your kitchen already.
- Start with the streusel, in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Use your hands to mix to form larger crumb pieces. You want it to be crumbly. Set aside. You can even make this in advance and keep it in an airtight container in the fridge until you are ready to mix up the cake.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
- Make sure your butter, sour cream, and eggs are at room temperature. I recommend using full fat sour cream for the best texture.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth.
- With the mixer on medium speed, add one egg at a time and beat until combined. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla extract.
- Turn off the mixer and add in all of the dry ingredients. Mix on low until just combined. Do not over mix. It is ok if there are still a few streaks of flour.
- Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spread the remaining half of the batter evenly on top with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining streusel over the batter. There is a lot of streusel and that is a very good thing:)
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and comes out clean. Check early because every oven is different. Remove from the oven and let the cake cool.
- While the cake is cooking, whisk up the simple vanilla glaze.
- Drizzle the cooled cake with the glaze, my boys like to help with this step:)
- Cut the cake into squares and enjoy!
Serving Suggestions
Like I mentioned above, coffee cake is usually served with coffee, but you can serve with tea or a glass of cold milk.
If you want to go all out and serve a complete breakfast or brunch spread, go for it. Since this is a sweet dish, I like to serve savory options with it. Here are a few of my favorites.
- Bacon, Potato, and Egg Casserole
- Vegetable Frittata
- Savory Breakfast Bowl
- Egg Muffins
- Crispy Hash browns
- Spinach Mushroom Breakfast Casserole
Oh, and a fruit salad is always a good idea. So fresh and pretty!
How to Store
Keep any leftover slices of coffee cake in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. It usually doesn’t last that long in our house. I know it’s a big cake, but it is REALLY good. It is hard to not sneak a piece every time you walk by, ha!
You can also freeze coffee cake for up to 3 months! I love warming it up for just a few seconds so it tastes fresh out of the oven.
More Sweet Breakfast Recipes
- Classic French Toast
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Strawberry Scones
- Chocolate Chip Pancakes
- Belgian Waffles
- Best Blueberry Muffins
- Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce
Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the streusel topping:
- 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 1 cup unsalted butter, melted
For the cake:
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sour cream, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
For the vanilla glaze:
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons milk or heavy cream
- 1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
- To make the streusel, in a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and melted butter until it resembles coarse crumbs. Use your hands to mix to form larger crumb pieces. You want it to be crumbly. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or using a hand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth, about 2 minutes. You might need to stop the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
- With the mixer on medium speed, add 1 egg at a time and beat until combined. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Scrape down the sides and the bottom of the bowl with a spatula as needed.
- Turn off the mixer and add in all of the dry ingredients. Mix on low until just combined. Do not overmix. It is ok if there are still a few streaks of flour.
- Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spread the remaining half of the batter evenly on top with a spatula. Sprinkle the remaining streusel over the batter.
- Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and comes out clean. Remove from the oven. Let the cake cool completely.
- To make the glaze, in a medium bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth.
- Drizzle the cooled coffee cake with the glaze. Cut the cake into squares and serve.