Everyday Cinnamon Coffee Cake

I had been mulling turning this blog’s beloved butter cake into a coffee cake for a few months, remembering a partnership I had done for this chocolate coffee cake a couple of years ago. What pushed me to finally do it was skimming this coffee cake breakdown from Bronwen Wyatt; she described the cake part being sour cream based, ideally dense but fluffy…. I thought: that is exactly my everyday butter cake and perhaps that is what makes it ideal to turn into a coffee cake. 

Disclaimer: coffee cakes have no coffee in them! This was very confusing for my family who asked me what it was, why I called it this if it didn’t have coffee?! I explained: it’s simply a cake you have with coffee.

Recipe Origins 

This one starts of course, with my everyday butter cake. I didn’t change a thing – why mess with perfection? Ok, I dropped the powdered sugar because it didn’t affect the moisture level and because we were adding sugar in the middle and on top… and I still wanted this to be something you’d want to eat without it being over the top too sweet (it is still pretty sweet though). 

For the filling and streusel I consulted king arthur’s cinnamon streusel coffee cake. I opted for a mix of granulated and brown sugar for the filling though. For the topping, I had learned from these pumpkin streusel muffins that I preferred the butter softened so I can work it in like I would a pie crust. Then it would melt in the oven to give more of a crisp to it. I also added more flour because I wanted it to really clump together in big pieces. 

This is really the ultimate coffee cake recipe. I can’t think of how I’d make it any different or better right now. Though, we may have a brown butter version coming, sometime in the next few years =)

Recipe Ingredients 

Sugar: fine granulated sugar. 

Brown sugar: light or dark brown sugar works. Don’t use organic or raw. 

Cinnamon: ground cinnamon, smell it to check it’s fresh! 

Butter: we’ll need three sticks total, one for the streusel topping and two for the cake batter. Ideally the butter is unsalted. 

Eggs: three whole large eggs, at room temperature. 

Cake Flour: milled more finely and from a softer wheat cake flour gives EBC its fluffy texture. Pastry flour can be a good substitute. If you must use all purpose, remove 2 tablespoons of the flour and add in 2 tablespoons of cornstarch. 

Sour Cream: full fat sour cream. You can also use full fat yogurt, the cake will be a bit tangier in flavor and the crumb a bit more open. 

Vanilla: pure vanilla extract. 

Salt: fine sea salt. If using table salt, halve the amount. 

How to make Everyday Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Make the filling 

Whisk together the sugars, cinnamon and a pinch of fine sea salt. Set aside. 

Make the topping 

Whisk all the dry ingredients together in a medium sized bowl. 

Slice the softened butter into pats and add it to the bowl then use your fingers to rub the butter into the dry ingredients. 

Keep rubbing to break down the butter and completely coat the dry mixture. Once you can squeeze any part of it and it clumps, it’s done. Set it aside (chill preferably). 

Make the cake 

I always say: make sure your eggs are at room temperature before starting. If not, the batter will split due to the cold temperature of the eggs. 

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 inch square pan then overlay two sheets of parchment paper so all sides of the pan are covered. 

Note: don’t use an 8 inch square pan for this. It’s a lot of cake batter, filling, and topping and an 8″ will either cause the cake to overflow or it will burn on the sides before the center is done cooking. 

Set the butter in a large bowl and cover with a microwave plate. Microwave for 60-90 seconds until the butter has fully melted. 

Add the sugar, salt and vanilla and whisk very well. 

One by one, add the room temperature eggs, whisking vigorously after each addition. 

Sieve the cake flour into the bowl and add the baking powder. 

Add the sour cream then whisk the batter until it’s well mixed and there are no flour bits. 

Pour a little over ⅔ of the batter into the bottom of the pan and smooth it into an even layer. 

Sprinkle the filling (cinnamon sugar) over the cake batter in an even layer. 

Add the remaining cake batter in dollops: four on each side, then spread it over the filling. It’s ok if some of the filling comes up and mixed with the cake batter. 

Sprinkle and pat the streusel topping on top of the cake batter in an even layer. 

Bake until a cake tester comes out clear: there should be no gooey cake batter bits on the tester. This can take up to an hour, but go by what you see (you can always check it around 45 minutes to see how much longer it needs). 

Let the cake cool in the pan before slicing. 

Everyday Cinnamon Coffee Cake Recipe

Everyday Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Fluffy sour cream butter cake with a sweet gooey cinnamon swirl in the center and a thick layer of cinnamon brown sugar crumble on top.

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 1 hour hr

Yields: 1 9 inch cake

5 from 4 votes

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Ingredients

Filling

• 50g or ¼ cup fine granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Streusel

• 170g or 1 ¼ cups all purpose flour
• 50g or ¼ cup dark brown sugar
• 50g or ¼ cup fine granulated sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon ground
• ¼ tsp fine sea salt
• 113g or ½ cup butter unsalted and softened

Cake

• 226g or 1 cup unsalted butter cold is fine
• 200g or 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs at room temperature
• 180g or ¾ cup full fat sour cream greek yogurt will work too
• 250g or 2 cups cake flour sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder

Method

Make the filling

• In a small bowl stir together the sugars, cinnamon and a pinch of salt. Set aside.

Make the topping

• In a medium sized bowl whisk together the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Slice the softened butter and add it to the bowl then use your fingers to work it into the flour mixture, pressing the butter into small bits that coat all the flour. When you can squeeze any part of the mix in your palm and it clumps, it’s done. Set in the fridge to chill while you make the cake batter.

Make the cake

• Note: The eggs should be at room temperature before starting.
• Grease and flour a 9 inch square pan and preheat the oven to 350F. You can also bake it at 325 F so it rises more evenly but it will take longer - always check the cake for doneness.
• Set the butter in a large bowl and cover it with a microwave plate (this protects the butter from sputtering out). Microwave it for 90 seconds, until it has melted.
• Add the sugar to the bowl and whisk well. As you whisk, add the salt and vanilla.
• One by one, add the warm eggs to the bowl, whisking after each egg addition. You should have a creamy mixture once all the eggs are in. Sift the flour over the mixture and add the baking powder and the sour cream. Whisk the batter until there are no unmixed flour or sour cream bits.
• Pour a little over ⅔ of the batter into the prepared cake pan. Sprinkle the sugar over the batter in an even layer, do it slowly so that all of the cake batter is covered. Then dollop the remaining cake batter on top to cover the cinnamon sugar and use an offset spatula to smooth it over. It’s ok if some of the sugar mixes with the batter, do your best!
• Over the second layer of cake batter, sprinkle the streusel topping on top so it covers all of the cake.
• Set the cake in the oven to bake, it’s done when a cake tester comes out clean of cake batter: around 50-60 minutes.
• Let cool in the pan, then slice. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

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