This coffee cake recipe is easy to make and a favorite for breakfast, brunch or any celebration. It’s light and moist with the best cinnamon streusel filling and crumb topping!
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Best Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping
Breakfast cake, sign me up! It’s easy to make, better than Starbucks and never fails to bring a smile whenever I serve it.
This coffee cake is a classic made with a moist buttery cake that has a tender crumb and contains a ribbon of streusel in the middle and plenty more on top. We love it so much I make blueberry coffee cake in the summer and pumpkin coffee cake in the fall!
Why I Love This Recipe
- Taste and texture. If you like butter, cinnamon and sugar, this cinnamon crumb coffee cake is for you. It’s moist, soft, and with brown sugary sweetness.
- Topping. A tender crumb topping contains a ribbon of cinnamon sugar swirled throughout the center and then topped with a sweet and crispy crumble topping.
Ingredients Needed
Find the full printable recipe below.
- All-purpose flour: This recipe is pretty straightforward. It’s all about achieving the perfect textures in each of the layers and knowing how to measure flour is part of that.
- Milk: The higher the fat content the more moisture the cake will retain, so I use whole milk or at least 2%.
- Baking powder: Check to see that yours has not expired. Otherwise, it won’t give it the lift it needs for a light and airy texture.
- Crumb topping: Easily made with flour, sugar, and butter.
- Butter: I prefer to use salted rather than unsalted butter because there is no added salt anywhere else and quite a bit of sugar. If you only have unsalted butter, add a teaspoon of salt to the mixture.
How to Make Easy Coffee Cake Recipe
With only 10 minutes of prep time, you’ll soon understand why this easy coffee cake is a recipe I reach for again and again!
- Prepare batter. Whisk together wet ingredients in a bowl then add in the dry ingredients including flour, baking powder, and salt. Pour half of the cake batter into a prepared 8×8 baking dish lined with parchment paper.
- Make filling. Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle it over the bottom portion of the batter. Drizzle with melted butter and then add remaining batter on top.
- Add crumb topping. In another small bowl, combine flour sugar, and softened butter. Use your hands to crumble it until coarse pea-sized crumbs appear. Sprinkle over top the batter and cover the dish loosely with foil.
- Bake, cool, and slice. Transfer dish to a preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 10 minutes more. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 15 minutes before slicing it into 9 squares.
Recipe Tips and Variations
- Pan size. Instead of an 8-inch pan, you could use a 9-inch round cake pan with no changes needed. You could also use a 9×5 inch loaf pan and increase baking time to around 40 minutes.
- No mixer is required. This easy coffee cake recipe can be made just by mixing by hand. However, if you do prefer to use a hand mixer or stand mixer with the paddle attachment, go right ahead. I prefer just a medium bowl or large bowl, a whisk, and a wooden spoon.
- Double the recipe. To feed a large crowd, double the recipe and use a 9×13″ baking pan. Add an extra 5-10 minutes to the bake time.
- Add-ins. Add 1/4 cup chocolate chips or 1/2 cup blueberries, sliced apples or peaches. Sometimes I add chopped walnuts or pecans to the streusel.
- Top with a glaze. Sometimes I’ll drizzle it with powdered sugar icing or cream cheese glaze for a little something extra.
Storage and Freezing
- Store: Store this easy coffee cake recipe in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. There is no need to refrigerate it and will stay moist as long as it’s covered.
- Freeze: To freeze coffee cake, wrap slices tightly with plastic wrap to avoid freezer burn and store in a freezer-friendly bag for up to 3 months. Enjoy it cold, at room temperature, or even warmed up in the microwave. Heat in 10 second intervals in the microwave or heat in oven but wrap in aluminum foil to retain moisture.
For weekend or holiday breakfast recipes, you can’t go wrong with one hour cinnamon rolls, cinnamon roll casserole or cinnamon roll pancakes, too!
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Easy Coffee Cake Recipe
This coffee cake recipe is easy to make and a favorite for breakfast, brunch or any celebration. It's light and moist with the best cinnamon streusel filling and crumb topping!
Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups (195 grams) all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
Filling
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon salted butter , melted
Topping
- ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 3 Tablespoons salted butter , slightly melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, if desired.
- Wet ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together the 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 milk, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.
- Dry ingredients. Add 1 1/2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to the bowl and mix together with a wooden spoon. Pour half the batter into the baking dish.
Filling
- In a small bowl, combine the 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Sprinkle over the top of the batter. Drizzle 1 Tablespoon melted butter evenly over the top. Pour the remaining batter over the filling.
Topping
- In a small bowl combine 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and 3 Tablespoons butter. Crumble evenly over the batter.
- Cover dish loosely with foil and bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 more minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Remove from the oven and let cool at least 15 minutes before serving. Slice into 9 squares and serve.
Notes
Crumb topping: If you’d prefer more of a crumb mixture on top, feel free to make half a batch of this crumble topping to add to the top. You’ll only need half of the topping listed above for the middle.
Doubling: You can double the recipe for a crowd. Bake in a 9×13-inch baking dish for an additional 5 to 10 minutes.
Storage: Store leftover cake in a covered container for up to 3 days. Freeze up to 3 months.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice | Calories: 411kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 35mg | Sodium: 185mg | Potassium: 173mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 212IU | Vitamin C: 0.004mg | Calcium: 71mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutrition provided is an estimate. It will vary based on specific ingredients used.
Did you make this recipe? Don’t forget to give it a star rating below!
Categorized as: American, Cake + Cupcakes, Desserts, Freezer-Friendly, Nut-Free, Vegetarian
Jamielyn Nye is the founder and recipe creator at I Heart Naptime. She is the author of the I Heart Naptime Cookbook and shares easy family-friendly recipes and desserts for every occasion.
This is the best coffee cake ever it is my go to recipe. Thanks for sharing.
So glad you enjoyed the coffee cake recipe!
Oh man, I just cannot resist a good coffee cake – and this wasn’t just good, it was great! I had to hide a piece from the rest of the family so I’d have it to enjoy with my coffee tomorrow morning!
So glad you enjoyed the coffee cake recipe :)
My family loved this coffee cake! Perfect amount of cinnamon
This is next level delicious. So much flavor! Can’t wait to make this for a holiday party!
this is the best cake, I love a good coffee cake with an ever better topping! thank you for sharing
Yum!! It went delicious with a hot cup of coffee this morning for breakfast! Thinking of making it for a ladies’ brunch coming up too. Thank you!
It would be the perfect brunch dessert! So glad to hear you enjoyed it, Jessica :)
Just like the one my mom used to make. Next time I’ll double it so we have leftovers, it was so good!
So glad you enjoyed the cake :)