Coffee cake is a light, cinnamon-flavored sponge cake swirled with a gooey layer of cinnamon & brown sugar and topped with a thick streusel crumb topping. It's easy to make and a perfect way to start your morning!

This is hands-down the best coffee cake recipe! It has such amazing flavor and the perfect combination of textures from the crunchy streusel topping, the gooey layer of cinnamon brown sugar, and the light, incredibly moist, cinnamon-flavored sponge cake. This cake is so easy to make and it stays soft and moist for days, meaning you can easily make it ahead of time and enjoy all week.

Ingredients for the Cake:

Flour: All-purpose flour, measured correctly. Stir the flour around in the bag to fluff it up, spoon it into your measuring cup, and level it off with the flat side of a knife.
Baking powder and baking soda: Leaveners that help the cake rise.
Salt: Crucial for flavor!
Cinnamon: A full teaspoon ensures there's plenty of cinnamon flavor in the cake.
Butter: Unsalted and melted. Unsalted butter is always best for baking, but if all you have is salted butter just reduce the added salt to ½ teaspoon.
Granulated sugar and brown sugar: Using both sugars gives this cake the best flavor and texture. Granulated sugar is sweeter and gives the cake a better texture. Brown sugar adds moisture and also a hint of caramel from the molasses. It's also an acidic ingredient that reacts with the baking soda and helps the cake rise.
Eggs: Room temperature. Room temperature eggs mix more easily and evenly in the batter. Take the eggs out of the fridge at least 30 minutes before using them (no more than 2 hours), or place them in a bowl of lukewarm water for 5-10 minutes to quickly bring them to room temperature.
Vanilla extract: Pure or imitation is fine.
Whole milk: For extra moisture. Whole milk is best but you can also use reduced or low-fat, just don't use non-fat milk.
Sour cream: Sour cream is one of my favorite ingredients because it adds a ton of moisture and richness without making the batter too thin. Use full-fat sour cream, or if you would like to substitute the sour cream you can use plain full-fat Greek yogurt.

Filling: All-purpose flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

Streusel Crumb Topping: All-purpose flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and unsalted butter, softened to room temperature.

How to Make Coffee Cake:

Preheat your oven to 350°. Spray a 9 x 13" cake pan with non-stick cooking spray, then line the pan with parchment paper and spray the top of the parchment paper, too.
Prepare the filling: Whisk the filling ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
Make the cake batter: Whisk the dry ingredients in a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk the wet ingredients in a larger bowl, then add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Pour less than half of the cake batter into the pan, just enough to cover the bottom in an even layer. Sprinkle the filling on top, then pour the rest of the cake batter over the filling.
Make the streusel topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together in a bowl. Add the softened butter and use a fork or a pastry blender to mix until evenly coated and the mixture resembles a coarse crumb. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top of the cake batter.
Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 35 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean.

Make the Glaze:

The vanilla glaze is made with powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Just whisk them together until smooth. You can't really go wrong with making it, because if it's too thick you can add a little more milk, or if it's too thin you can add a little more powdered sugar. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake before slicing and serving.

Coffee cake tastes best warm and fresh out of the oven. Leftovers last, covered tightly, for 10 days in the fridge or for 1 week at room temperature.

More Breakfast Recipes:

📖 RECIPE

Coffee Cake with Streusel Topping and Vanilla Glaze

Coffee cake is a light, cinnamon-flavored sponge cake swirled with a gooey layer of cinnamon & brown sugar and topped with a thick streusel crumb topping. It’s easy to make and a perfect way to start your morning!

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Prep Time: 25

Cook Time: 35

Total Time: 1

Servings: 9 x 13" cake

Equipment

9 x 13" cake pan

Ingredients

2 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted
¾ cup granulated sugar
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
4 large eggs (room temperature)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¾ cup whole milk
¾ cup sour cream

Filling:

¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoon cinnamon

Streusel Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon cinnamon
½ cup unsalted butter (1 stick), softened to room temperature

Vanilla Glaze:

¾ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
⅛ teaspoon salt

Instructions

Spray a 9 x 13" cake pan with non-stick spray, line the bottom with parchment paper, and spray the parchment paper with more non-stick spray. Preheat your oven to 350°F.
Make the cake batter: Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. In a larger bowl, whisk the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, room temperature eggs, vanilla extract, whole milk, and sour cream until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.
Prepare the filling: In a small bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon together until evenly combined.
Pour just enough of the cake batter into the pan to cover the bottom in an even layer. Sprinkle the filling on top, then cover with the rest of the cake batter. Use a spatula to spread it out evenly.
Make the streusel topping: Whisk the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Add the softened butter and use a fork or a pastry blender to mix it in until the mixture is thick and crumbly. Sprinkle the streusel topping all over the top of the cake batter in the pan.
Bake for 35 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center will come out clean.
Make the vanilla glaze: Whisk the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla extract, and salt until smooth. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the cake.

Nutrition