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This is the best Coffee Cake Recipe I’ve ever had! With a cinnamon filling, delicious streusel crumb topping, it has the softest and most tender crumb and is the perfect breakfast or brunch with coffee – it reminds me of childhood!

One piece of streusel coffee cake on a plate


This is a version of my mom’s crumb cake recipeit has a fluffy tender moist cake filled with cinnamon swirl and topped with cinnamon streusel. We can never stop eating this coffee cake every time I make it – I usually make it for holidays but often just on a random day because…who doesn’t love it?

This coffee cake recipe is really easy and has three parts: the a delicious cinnamon filling, a moist vanilla cake, and the favorite crumble topping. It’s soft and moist with a little crunch from that streusel – I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

A collection of baking ingredients for a perfect coffee cake on a white surface, featuring bowls of brown sugar, flour, and sugar, a measuring cup of milk, eggs, small bowls of salt, vanilla, and cinnamon, melted butter, and water. Each item is meticulously labeled.

Best Coffee Cake Recipe Ingredients

  • Sugar: Granulated Sugar is needed in the cake and brown sugar in the streusel
  • All-purpose Flour: Be sure to measure it correctly
  • Ground Cinnamon: Necessary!!
  • Butter: I use unsalted butter and I start with it melted to keep the cake moist
  • Baking Powder: For that fluffy cake texture
  • Salt: Reduce to 1/2 teaspoon if using salted butter
  • Large Eggs: The fat from the yolk keeps the cake moist and the whites add structure
  • Vanilla Extract: For flavor
  • Milk: You can use nonfat, 2%, whole or nondairy

How to Make Coffee Cake

  1. Whisk cinnamon filling ingredients in a small bowl. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside. Set aside. Place streusel ingredients in a medium bowl and stir with a fork until it looks like wet sand.
  2. Mix melted butter and sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer at medium speed. You can also use a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or stir by hand. Mix in egg and vanilla. Stir in milk, then stir in dry ingredients until just moistened.
  3. Spread half of cake batter in a prepared 9×13-inch baking dish. Sprinkle with cinnamon filling. Top with remaining cake batter. Sprinkle with streusel topping.
  4. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean. I don’t add a drizzle to this but you could make a simple powdered sugar icing with milk if you want to!
Side view of streusel coffee cake in a clear baking dish
One piece of streusel coffee cake on a plate with corner piece missing

Storage & Freezing

Store leftover cake covered with plastic wrap at room temperature (or you can put in the fridge). If the cake is wrapped well enough you can freeze it for a few months, or freeze slices in sandwich bags. You can make this cake ahead up to 1 day and it will keep it’s freshness.

Overhead shot of streusel coffee cake in baking pan with corner piece missing

Expert Tips

  • For the best crumb, it’s important to measure the flour accurately. Ideally, you should measure it with a kitchen scale, but I have also included the cup measurements.
  • I also recommend using room-temperature eggs because cold eggs are harder to mix into the batter.
  • You can also make this with nonfat, 2% or nondairy milk. I recommend whole milk.
  • Don’t over bake the cake – it’s done when a toothpick comes out clean.
  • If you like nuts you can add 1/2 cup chopped pecans, walnuts, or almonds to the streusel or filling.

FAQs

How do you keep coffee cake moist? 

The best way to make a moist coffee cake is to accurately measure the flour, use butter in the batter, use regular milk instead of nonfat, and not overbake the cake.

Why is there no coffee in this cake?

The type of coffee cake popular in the US (like what I’m sharing today) is not made with coffee. Instead, the name refers to the fact that a slice of this sweet cake goes perfectly with a cup of coffee.

Close up shot of one piece of streusel coffee cake on a white plate

Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe

4.96 from 21 votes
This Streusel Coffee Cake is the best coffee cake recipe with a cinnamon filling, delicious streusel topping, and the cake has the softest and most tender crumb.

Recipe Video

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes
Yield 16 servings
Serving Size 1 serving

Ingredients
 

Cinnamon Filling:

  • cup (134g) packed brown sugar
  • ¼ cup (31g) all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Streusel Topping:

  • ¼ cup (57g) unsalted butter, melted
  • ¼ cup (31g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Cake:

  • 3 cups (372g) all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 ½ cups (300g) granulated sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 cup (237ml) milk
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Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray a 9×13 pan with nonstick cooking.
  • Whisk cinnamon filling ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Place streusel ingredients in a medium bowl and stir with a fork until combined (will look like wet sand). Set aside.
  • Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl. Set aside.
  • Mix melted butter and sugar in a large bowl with a hand mixer at medium speed. Mixture will be grainy. Mix in egg and vanilla. Stir in milk, then stir in flour mixture until just mixed.
  • Spread half of cake batter in prepared pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon filling. Top with remaining cake batter. Sprinkle with streusel topping.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. It cuts best when completely cooled, but you can serve it warm. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Cooled cake can be sliced and placed in an airtight container and frozen for up to 1 month.

Recipe Notes

  • You can substitute vegetable oil for the butter in the cake batter but I do not recommend it in the topping.
  • You can also mix the cake by hand with a whisk.
  • I recommend using room temperature eggs if you remember to take them out of the refrigerator.
  • You can also make this with nonfat, 2% or nondairy milk. I recommend whole milk. If you’re using nondairy milk use a higher fat one. More fat in the milk makes a more moist cake.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 355kcal | Carbohydrates: 64g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 45mg | Sodium: 169mg | Potassium: 169mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 42g | Vitamin A: 322IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2mg
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American

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Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

4.96 from 21 votes (12 ratings without comment)

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18 Comments

  1. I have just bitten into the most delicious, moist, flavorful coffee cake to have ever passed over my taste buds! I canโ€™t wait to bake another to share at church! (And I say that as a proper casserole sharing Lutheran๐Ÿคฃ!) The crumb of this cake is amazingly perfect and the mix of flavors leaves you enjoying bite after bite! Thank you, Ms. Kern, youโ€™ve developed and shared a great recipe!๐Ÿ‘

  2. I just made the coffee cake and it is delicious! The only thing I had some difficulty was preparing the streusel topping. I think if Iโ€™d used cold butter cut in little pieces and mixed with a fork in the flour and sugar until grainy, I would have a better result and would have been easier to spread that on the top of the cake.

  3. Absolutely delicious and so easy to make! it was better than expected. it was a fan favorite for my family and friends. looking forward to baking it again!