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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!
KHLOÉ KARDASHIAN’: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ “I love making this coffee cake. It’s so easy to make, and it’s a huge crowd-pleaser.”
How to Make Coffee Cake
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 is so delicious! (Even Khloe Kardashian agrees!)
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 make it so tasty.
Why is it Called Coffee Cake?
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.
- PREP TIME: 15 MINS
- COOK TIME: 45 MINS
INgredients
- Eggs
- Vegetable Oil
- Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- White Sugar
- Baking Powder
- Salt
- Light Brown Sugar
- Ground Cinnamon
- Unsalted Butter
STEP by STEP: In PHOTOS
STEP 1: 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.
STEP 2: WET INGREDIENTS. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup vegetable oil, 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon vanilla, and 1 1/4 cups milk together.
STEP 3: DRY INGREDIENTS. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup white sugar, 3 cups flour, 1 tablespoon baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
STEP 4: 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.
STEP 5: CRUMB TOPPING. In a medium bowl, prepare streusel by combining 1 1/4 cups brown sugar and 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon.
STEP 6: 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.
STEP 7: BUTTER. Drizzle with melted butter (you can do less and use ¼ cup butter or up to ⅓ cup butter melted).
STEP 8: BAKE. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes.
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
- Wassail
- Hot Chocolate Recipe
You can also serve it with some of our favorite savory breakfast casserole recipes or with other favorites like: Cinnamon Rolls, Cinnamon Roll Cake, or Breakfast Charcuterie Board.
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.
Recipe FAQ
What if I have a dense batter?
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.
What are the best 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.
- 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.
- 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.
How to Store Coffee Cake?
- 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.
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.
Very easy for a 14 who can back at a high level
I wouldn’t have thrown it all in the garbage. I’m sure you could have baked it with the brown sugar and cinnamon in the batter and not layered.
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.