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With a quick prep, this crowd-favorite homemade coffee cake is a delicious go-to for any breakfast, brunch, or celebration!
Along with our One Hour Cinnamon Rolls and Cinnamon Roll Cake, this coffee cake is always on our holiday must-make list. Be sure to try our Coffee Cake Muffins too!
Our Brunch Go-To!
One of my FAVORITE things to make for a breakfast or brunch get-together is coffee cake! It’s quick, buttery, and so cinnamon-y that everyone loves it.
My mom first made it for the family when I was younger and I remember thinking, “I need to have this recipe in my life!” It was so delicious. We think you’ll love it too!
Why we love it:
- Simple. The recipe comes together in no time and uses simple ingredients that most usually have on hand.
- Event Perfection. Whether it’s for an Easter Brunch, Christmas Breakfast, baby shower or bridal shower, this coffee cake recipe is perfect for any occasion.
- Delicious. This moist and sweet cake has the perfect flavors of butter, cinnamon and sugar making it a great breakfast or event dessert.
It’s simple and has become a staple for many holiday morning celebrations, especially Christmas and Easter.
Why is it Called Coffee Cake?
This type of cinnamon coffee cake has been around for centuries with each country having its own variation.
The American versions have a delicious streusel topping and seem to have mainly originated from Germany. No matter the recipe, what they all had in common was being served alongside a warm cup of coffee. Hence the name coffee cake!
Coffee cake vs crumb cake. These breakfast cakes are very similar and are often served in the morning or as a snack alongside a cup of coffee. The batter of both cakes is the same, the difference lies in the cinnamon sugar topping.
This coffee cake recipe is topped with a thin streusel layer. Crumb cake has a much thicker and chunkier crumb topping.
How to Make Coffee Cake
- PREP. Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray or line it with parchment paper.
- WET INGREDIENTS. In a large mixing bowl, combine oil, large eggs, vanilla, and milk together.
- DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugar, flour, baking powder, and salt.
- COMBINE. Combine egg mixture with flour mixture. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan.
- I usually just use a whisk and spoon to whip this up, but you can use a stand mixer (with the paddle attachment, or a hand mixer). Just stay at a low-medium speed and don’t over-mix.
- CRUMB TOPPING. In a medium bowl, prepare streusel by combining brown sugar and cinnamon.
- LAYER. Sprinkle half of the streusel on top of the batter. Top with the remaining half of the batter and then sprinkle the remaining streusel on top.
- BUTTER. Drizzle with melted butter (you can do less and use ¼ cup butter or up to ⅓ cup butter melted).
- BAKE. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes.
Recipe Tips
- Dense batter. The batter may seem thicker than expected. Using a spoon or spatula to mix the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients can help with the density. If you’re really worried, add an extra egg or a little bit more milk to thin it out and make it easier to pour.
- VARIATIONS
- Fruit. Adding fruit can be a delicious variation. Try folding some blueberries, diced peaches, or chopped apples into the batter. Note the liquid from the fruit may cause the cake to have a more moist texture and need to be baked longer.
- Oil. Use applesauce or coconut oil instead of vegetable oil
- Chips + nuts. Fold some mini chocolate chips or cinnamon chips into the batter. Add sliced almonds or chopped pecans or walnuts to the top of the cake to give it a delightful crunch.
- Spices. Add spices like nutmeg, allspice, or Pumpkin Pie Spice to the cinnamon sugar streusel.
- Glaze. Drizzle a glaze over the top: Make a glaze by mixing ½ cup confectioners sugar with 1 tablespoon milk. Mix until smooth and drizzle over the cooled cake.
Storing tips
- STORE this easy coffee cake recipe in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- FREEZE. Wrap leftovers tightly with plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Thaw on the counter.
- To reheat. Warm in microwave for 10-second increments until warm. To heat in the oven, remove any plastic wrap then wrap in aluminum foil. Preheat oven to 350°F and heat for 6-8 minutes or until warm.
Serving Suggestions
This cake is often served with a cup of coffee or tea, but it’s great with other warm drinks as well:
- Double Chocolate Hot Cocoa
- Apple Cider
- Mexican Hot Chocolate
- White Chocolate Peppermint Hot Cocoa
- Caramel Apple Cider
- Wassail
- Hot Chocolate Recipe
You can also serve it with some of our favorite savory breakfast casserole recipes like Cheesy Breakfast Casserole.
For more Recipes:
Coffee Cake Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 large eggs lightly beaten
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1¼ cups milk
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1¼ cups packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ¼-⅓ cup unsalted butter melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-x-13-inch baking dish and set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix eggs, oil, milk, and vanilla together.
- In a medium bowl, blend flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
- Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix well. Pour half the batter into the prepared baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar and cinnamon and mix well.
- Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar on top of the batter in the pan. Carefully pour the remaining batter over the cinnamon sugar layer. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar mixture over the top.
- Drizzle the melted butter over the top, using more or less as desired.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes and serve warm.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Very easy, very delicious!
This recipe was very hard to follow. When the directions said to add all the dry ingredients, I also added the brown sugar as well as the white sugar. I unfortunately used up the last of most the ingredients needed to make this so I had to dump everything in the trash.
Made for Easter brunch. Everyone enjoyed it.
Only difference is I added some frozen blueberries
I saw that this recipe could be multiplied by 3 for a large crowd but the time for baking is the same and so is the size of pan in all three size choices. Please tell me what size of pan and cooking time for the 2x or 3x recipes. Please email me. Thanks!
I’m guessing you should use 2 or 3 9×13 pans for increased recipe.
Love this recipe. It is my go to for family brunch.
Such an amazing recipe! So easy to make and the best, most flavourful and delicious cake ever!!
This coffee cake is delicious and very simple to make. I was a little skeptical about mixing the sugar into the dry ingredients, but the recipe resulted in a tender, moist, and fluffy crumb. Unlike a traditional coffee cake, it does not have a crumb filling and topping, but a filling and topping sort of like a cinnamon roll filling. In my opinion, it had just the right amount of the cinnamon sugar. While I had to substitute some of the oil with melted butter , it was extremely simple to make, only requiring eight ingredient in the batter that are simply whisked together – no having to bring ingredient to room temperature and no creaming process.