Classic Coffee Cake Recipe With Cinnamon Streusel
Sometimes you just wanna good ol’ classic coffee cake recipe. One that’s velvety soft, with a buttery vanilla flavor and the best cinnamon streusel crumb topping.
Look no further.
This classic coffee cake is darn near perfect. Like seriously.
Coffee Cake For Motivation
I started this website back in 2009 and used coffee cake as a morning treat to motivate me to write & test recipes every day. At that time, I had a baby and a seamstress business. 4-6 am was the only free time I had.
And here we are, all these years later.
I can’t help but smile and think about the early days of food blogging whenever I make a coffee cake. This one is one of my favorites. No bells and whistles, just simple coffee cake perfection.
Why You’ll Love This Easy Coffee Cake Recipe
- Perfect texture. If you like your coffee cakes to have a tighter, moister crumb. Not as dense as pound cake, but somewhere between a regular cake and pound cake, this is the one.
- Perfect sweetness. This coffee cake is sweet but not too sweet! Using salted butter in the streusel topping adds such a nice salted caramel flavor paired with the brown sugar.
- Tastes great for days! When it comes to leftovers, coffee cake is the best! It tastes amazing for days! It will be your coffee companion all the way through the week if you can resist devouring it throughout the day. Ask me how I know.
- Great presentation. This cake cuts like a dream and would be perfect to sell in individual squares or place on a pretty platter for brunch
Watch me make this classic coffee cake recipe from start to finish!
Come into my kitchen and see how to make this coffee cake recipe step-by-step. I’ll show you how to get the perfect streusel texture.
Here’s What You’ll Need
INGREDIENTS
BATTER
- All-purpose flour
- baking soda
- baking powder
- salt
- sugar
- butter-flavor shortening
- vegetable oil
- eggs +egg yolk, room temperature
- vanilla extract
- buttermilk, room temperature
TOPPING
- All-purpose flour
- light brown sugar, packed
- cinnamon
- salted butter
- butter
How To Make Classic Coffee Cake
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 325 F. and move the oven rack to the middle. Grease and flour an 8×8 glass baking dish. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- In another large bowl, mix shortening, oil, and sugar until combined using a hand mixer or stand mixer.
- Mix in eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.
- Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula just until combined.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and spread to an even layer. Set aside.
- To make the topping, in a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until well combined.
- Cut in softened butter until the mixture resembles large crumbs.
- Sprinkle the topping over the top of the batter. (I like to reserve about 1/4 cup of the topping and sprinkle it along the edges halfway during baking to cover any bare spots that may have formed.)
- Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Let cool on a wire rack before serving. Serve warm or room temperature
- If using a glaze, drizzle it on now or when it comes out of the oven. (glaze recipe in info box) Coffee cake is even better the next day!
Mo’s Recipe Tips
Do not melt the butter. Softened butter is what gives you the best streusel crumb. Melted butter can make the topping too sandy.
Reserve about 1/4 cup of streusel. I like to save a little streusel to fill in any bare spots halfway through.
Use room-temperature eggs and buttermilk. This makes the batter easier to mix, resulting in a tender crumb.
Want a glaze? How to make a vanilla cinnamon glaze
A vanilla cinnamon glaze tastes great on top of a classic coffee cake. Here is a simple recipe I like to use.
In a bowl, sift together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Gradually stir in about 5 teaspoons of milk until the mixture is silky and pourable.
When the coffee cake comes out of the oven, drizzle or pour on the glaze, or you can wait until the cake cools before adding the glaze. Allow the glaze to harden and serve!
Common Questions
Can you freeze coffee cake? Absolutely! Before freezing, be sure the coffee cake has cooled completely.
Wrap it tightly in a couple layers of plastic wrap, and then wrap it in aluminum foil. Place it in a air tight freezer container or a large food storage freezer bag. This will prevent freezer burn.
To eat, let the coffee cake thaw at room temperature for several hours.
Does coffee cake have to be refrigerated? No, you can store coffee cake in an airtight container on the counter. However, you can store it in the refrigerator if preferred.
Do I have to use butter-flavored shortening in this coffee cake recipe? You can replace the shortening with butter, but note that the texture will be different.
How do I get a cinnamon swirl layer? Pour half the batter in the pan and then add a layer of equal parts cinnamon and sugar, top with the remaining batter.
Can I add sour cream or Greek yogurt? You can replace the buttermilk with sour cream if you are going for a sour cream coffee cake. Yogurt is also fine. The buttermilk lends a more tender, lighter crumb.
Can I add nuts? Yes, nuts like walnuts, almonds, or pecans can be mixed into the streusel topping for added flavor and crunch.
Ready to make this coffee cake?
Grab the full recipe below and leave a comment if you decide to give it a try! I’d love to hear what you think or if you made any delicious changes.
Get the Recipe:
Classic Coffee Cake Recipe w/ Cinnamon Streusel
Ingredients
BATTER
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 4 tablespoons butter-flavored shortening
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 1 egg yolk room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ¾ cup buttermilk room temperature
TOPPING
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ cup salted butter, softened and cut into pieces (do not melt) ( I use salted sweet cream butter)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 F. and move rack to the middle. Grease and flour an 8×8 glass baking dish. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.1½ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- In another large bowl, cream together shortening, oil, and sugar until combined using a hand mixer or stand mixer.4 tablespoons butter-flavored shortening, 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, ¾ cup granulated sugar
- Mix in eggs, egg yolk, and vanilla extract.2 eggs, 1 egg yolk, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the wet ingredients using a rubber spatula just until combined. Be sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl.¾ cup buttermilk
- Pour batter into prepared pan and spread to an even layer. Set aside.
Make The Topping
- To make the topping, in a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt until well combined.1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup light brown sugar, packed, 1½ teaspoons cinnamon
- Cut in softened butter using a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles large crumbs.½ cup salted butter, softened and cut into pieces (do not melt)
- Sprinkle topping evenly over the top of the batter. (I like to reserve about 1/4 cup of the topping and sprinkle it along the edges halfway during baking to cover up any bare spots that may have formed)
- Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with moist crumbs clinging to it.
- Let cool a bit before slicing. Serve warm or room-temperature
- If using a glaze, drizzle it on now or when it comes out of the oven. (glaze recipe in info box) Coffee cake is even better the next day!
Video
Notes
Mo’s Recipe Tips
Do not melt the butter. Softened butter is what gives you the best streusel crumb. Melted butter can make the topping too sandy. Reserve about 1/4 cup of streusel. I like to save a little streusel to fill in any bare spots halfway through. Use room-temperature eggs and buttermilk. This makes the batter easier to mix, resulting in a tender crumb. Vanilla Cinnamon Glaze Recipe: In a bowl, sift together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and a pinch of salt. Gradually stir in about 5 teaspoons of milk until the mixture is silky and pourable. When the coffee comes out of the oven, drizzle or pour on the glaze, or you can wait until the cake cools before adding the glaze. Allow the glaze to harden and serve!Nutrition
Want more coffee cake?
Very good. Yummiest
This is the best coffee cake I have ever had . It’s most -delicious and super easy to make .
I followed the recipe to the letter . I did leave back some topping and filled in were the topping settles . It took about 10 minutes longer than the recipe .
Such a great coffee cake. The picture reminded me of on we had every day at our high school. It was just as good as I remembered. Mine looked like yours, completely satisfied.