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Coffee Cake
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Tender and moist, homemade coffee cake is full of cinnamon flavor with a crumbly streusel topping. More than just a sweet treat with a cup of coffee, you’ll want to enjoy this cake for breakfast and dessert.
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Coffee Cake
Melt-in-your-mouth coffee cake has a scrumptious layer of cinnamon sugar running through the middle, a crunchy streusel topping, and finally a drizzle of sweet icing. This recipe for the best coffee cake looks as tempting as it tastes.
Pour yourself a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy a slice of delectable coffee cake for breakfast. Serve it with other breakfast pastries like danishes or an easy pull-apart bread.
You’ll also want to enjoy a slice for dessert or maybe an afternoon treat. This easy coffee cake is so delightful that you’ll want to serve it at birthdays, showers, and holiday get-togethers.
Coffee Cake Ingredients
- Butter - unsalted butter
- Cream cheese - softened
- Sugar - light brown sugar
- Sugar - granulated sugar
- Eggs - large eggs
- Vanilla extract
- Flour - all-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Baking powder
- Cornstarch
- Salt
- Buttermilk
- Cinnamon
- Sugar - powdered sugar
- Milk
Although the recipe name contains the word coffee, generally coffee cakes don’t contain coffee in them, instead, they are meant to be served with coffee. An ingredient that you can add to your coffee cake is blueberries. To make a blueberry coffee cake simply add two cups of fresh or frozen blueberries into the batter.
To make your coffee cake extra moist you can substitute the cream cheese for sour cream, making a sour cream coffee cake. The sour cream adds richness and moisture to the cake.
If you don’t have buttermilk on hand you can make your own using milk and lemon juice. Also, if you don’t have both light brown and granulated sugar you can substitute one for the other without changing the flavor of the cake too much.
How to Make Coffee Cake
FIRST STEP: Preheat oven to 350F.
SECOND STEP: Grease a glass 9” x 13” baking dish. Set aside.
Cake
THIRD STEP: In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until creamy (about 2-3 minutes).
FOURTH STEP: Add in brown sugar and white sugar. Beat until fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
FIFTH STEP: Beat in both eggs until combined.
SIXTH STEP: Beat in vanilla extract until combined.
SEVENTH STEP: In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt.
EIGHTH STEP: Slowly beat in a third of the dry mixture into the wet then add in half the buttermilk. Then beat in another third of the dry mixture and the rest of the buttermilk. Then beat in the remaining dry mix into the wet. Beat just until combined – do not over mix.
NINTH STEP: Pour half the batter into the prepared baking dish. The batter will be thick.
Swirl
TENTH STEP: Stir together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the first layer of batter in the baking dish. Then carefully top evenly with the rest of the cake batter.

Topping
ELEVENTH STEP: Whisk together flour, brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon until well combined. Stir in melted butter with a fork until it is a crumbly mixture and there is no more visible white flour. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
TWELFTH STEP: Bake cake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool before adding glaze.
Glaze
THIRTEENTH STEP: Stir together powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle over top of completely cooled cake.
Does coffee cake contain coffee?
While some might expect a coffee cake to contain coffee, they rarely do. Instead, this cake gets its name from often being served with coffee.
Can I freeze coffee cake?
Yes, coffee cake can be wrapped tightly with aluminum foil, placed into a heavy-duty freezer bag, and frozen for two to three months.
What can I add to my coffee cake?
Either blueberries or chocolate chips would be a delicious addition to your coffee cake. Simply add 2 cups of either fresh or frozen blueberries or any type of chocolate chips into the batter.
How do you make buttermilk?
The easiest way to make buttermilk is to combine 1 tablespoon of lemon juice plus enough milk to measure 1 cup.
How to Store Coffee Cake
IN THE FRIDGE: Store leftover cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 4 to 6 days.
IN THE FREEZER: To freeze leftover coffee cake, wrap it tightly wither either aluminum foil or plastic wrap and place it into a heavy-duty freezer bag. Coffee cake can be stored in the freezer for 2 to 3 months.
Coffee Cake
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Ingredients
Cake
- unsalted butter, (softened) ½ cup
- container cream cheese, (softened) 1 (250g)
- packed light brown sugar 1 cup
- granulated sugar ½ cup
- large eggs 2
- vanilla extract 1 tablespoon
- all-purpose flour 2½ cups
- baking soda ½ teaspoon
- baking powder 2 teaspoon
- cornstarch 1 teaspoon
- salt ½ teaspoon
- buttermilk ½ cup
Swirl
- granulated sugar ⅓ cup
- cinnamon 2 teaspoons
Crumble Topping
- all-purpose flour 1½ cups
- packed light brown sugar 1 cup
- granulated sugar ½ cup
- cinnamon 1½ tablespoons
- unsalted butter, (melted but not hot) 1 cup
Glaze
- powdered sugar 1 cup
- milk 1½ tablespoons
DIRECTIONS
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and cream cheese until creamy (about 2-3 minutes).
Cake
- Add in brown sugar and white sugar. Beat until fluffy (about 2-3 minutes).
- Beat in both eggs until combined.
- Beat in vanilla extract until combined.
- In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, baking powder, cornstarch, and salt.
- Slowly beat in a third of the dry mixture into the wet then add in half the buttermilk. Then beat in another third of the dry mixture and the rest of the buttermilk. Then beat in the remaining dry mix into the wet. Beat just until combined – do not over mix.
- Pour half the batter into the prepared baking dish. The batter will be thick.
Swirl
- Stir together sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the first layer of batter in the baking dish. Then carefully top evenly with the rest of the cake batter.
Topping
- Whisk together flour, brown sugar, sugar, and cinnamon until well combined. Stir in melted butter with a fork until it is a crumbly mixture and there is no more visible white flour. Sprinkle over the top of the cake.
- Bake cake for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cake cool before adding glaze.
Glaze
- Stir together powdered sugar and milk. Drizzle over top of completely cooled cake.
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