Say goodbye to bakery or cafe pastries when you can enjoy this Easy Cinnamon Coffee Cake recipe at home whenever you like. With regular pantry staples, this moist coffee cake features a tender cake and a crunchy cinnamon sugar layer on top.
We have so many great coffee cake recipes at Good Cheap Eats. Be sure to try Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake and Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake.
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Coffee cake is probably one of my favorite breakfast dishes to prepare. I can feed a crowd in one fell swoop by stirring up a sweet batter and baking it in the oven. While I have some favorite flavors and fruity options, one go-to combination is this Cinnamon Coffee Cake.
Cinnamon is not only on the list of healthy spices, but it’s also an affordable pantry staple to keep on hand. It’s basically always in season! This means you can basically serve a bakery quality coffee cake on even the smallest of budgets.
Why Make This
It’s easy. This Cinnamon Coffee Cake is easy to pull together, makes a great make-ahead baking mix, and freezes beautifully.
It’s delicious. Cinnamon and brown sugar form a crunchy topping that sits and settles into a spiced cake, making a perfect accompaniment to your favorite hot beverages. Bake this Cinnamon Coffee Cake for your next breakfast, brunch, or tea!
I make this at least twice a month for my kids’ breakfast—it’s my middle daughter’s favorite! I try to always make two at a time and tuck one away in the freezer. One of my favorite Good Cheap Eats! Thank you, Jessica!
– 5 STAR REVIEW FROM KATE
Ingredients
Here’s what you’ll need to make Cinnamon Coffee Cake:
sugar – You’ll need granulated sugar for the cake layer and light brown sugar for the crunchy topping. Remember you can make brown sugar if you run out.
neutral oil – A neutral baking oil, like avocado, sunflower, or canola is good for the cake batter as it lets more of the spice flavors shine through.
egg – You’ll need one egg for this recipe, but you can also use our flaxseed meal egg substitute if needed. The texture won’t be exactly the same, but it’s a nice alternative when you want to go egg-free.
milk – I use dairy milk, but you can use buttermilk, cream, or a plant-based milk. For a richer coffee cake, mix in a few spoonfuls of sour cream in place of some of the milk. (see variation below)
vanilla extract – This extract adds nice flavor to the cake, but you can also use almond extract if you prefer.
flour – I like to use unbleached, all purpose flour in my baking recipes, but you can also use regular or even whole wheat pastry flour. I’ve not tested this recipe gluten free, but if you do, please let us know in the comments how it goes.
baking powder – This leavening helps the cake be light and fluffy. If you’ve run out, you can substitute ½ teaspoon baking soda and ¾ teaspoon cream of tartar.
spices – I use both ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. You can also substitute pumpkin pie spice if you like.
salt – Salt adds flavor and helps the texture of the cake. Don’t leave it out.
melted butter – This helps the cinnamon crumb topping come together and helps it be nice and crunchy. You can use a plant-based butter or margarine if you prefer.
Variations
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake – substitute half the milk with sour cream when mixing the cake batter.
- Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake – if you’d prefer a swirl in your crumb cake, then fill the pan with half the batter. Sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar topping over the batter. Repeat the layers and bake.
- Nutty Cinnamon Coffee Cake – add chopped nuts to the brown sugar streusel topping
- Cream Cheese Topping – serve the cake with Sweet Cream Cheese
Step-by-Step Instructions
Here’s how to make Cinnamon Coffee Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 °. Grease a 9×13 baking pan or a 9-inch springform pan.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Mix in the egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the milk.
Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Blend just until mixed.
Spoon into the prepared pan.
In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle them over the batter.
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack slightly before serving.
To freeze: The cooled cake can be wrapped in double layers of foil or plastic wrap and stored in the freezer, up to 2 months. Thaw, wrapped, at room temperature before serving.
To make as a mix: Take a small bag and a large ziptop bag or container. Label the larger with the wet ingredients to be added later and the baking instructions. Place the dry topping ingredients into the small bag and the dry ingredients for the cake layer into the larger bag. Seal and store together until ready to use.
FAQs
A cinnamon crumb cake is a type of coffee cake.
Served at breakfast, brunch, or afternoon snack, a coffee cake is a rich sweet baked good with a cake-like texture. Coffee cakes can be made with yeast or baked like a quick bread. They can contain fruits, nuts, and cheese as well as spices. Coffee cake can have a glaze or not, and is often served warm.
This type of cake is great served with coffee.
More Great Quick Breads and Muffins
Tell us what you think!
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Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Equipment
- large mixing bowl
- small mixing bowl
- wire whisk
- rubber spatula
- fork
- 8-inch baking dish
- wire rack
Ingredients
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup neutral oil
- 1 egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ cup milk
- 1 ½ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon salt
Topping:
- ½ cup brown sugar packed
- 2 tablespoon unbleached, all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoon butter , melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 °. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar and oil. Mix in the egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the milk.¾ cup granulated sugar, ¾ cup neutral oil, 1 egg, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, ½ cup milk
- In another mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add this to the wet ingredients and fold just until mixed. Spoon into the prepared pan.1 ½ cup unbleached, all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon baking powder, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt
- In a small bowl, combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle them over the batter.½ cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoon unbleached, all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 tablespoon butter
- Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack slightly before serving.
Notes
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake – substitute half the milk with sour cream when mixing the cake batter.
- Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake – if you’d prefer a swirl in your crumb cake, then fill the pan with half the batter. Sprinkle half the cinnamon sugar topping over the batter. Repeat the layers and bake.
- Nutty Cinnamon Coffee Cake – add chopped nuts to the brown sugar streusel topping
- Cream Cheese Topping – serve the cake with Sweet Cream Cheese
Nutrition
This post was originally published on January 18, 2012. It has been updated for content and clarity.
P.S. The comments from January 2012 do reflect typos that have since been rectified. What a nightmare posting day! However, all was not lost! The resulting second recipe turned out to be delicious, albeit not the coffeecake everyone was expecting. You can find our happy accident Snickerdoodle Bars here.
sona
Looks really good! I would love to see a healthy version of this with all the emphasis on lower carb/sugar these days. Thank you for all your great recipes.
Kate
I make this at least twice a month for my kids’ breakfast—it’s my middle daughter’s favorite! I try to always make two at a time and tuck one away in the freezer. One of my favorite Good Cheap Eats! Thank you, Jessica!
Jessica Fisher
Yay! So glad to hear it’s in the regular rotation!
Jacob
I don’t understand I mixed the topping but it didn’t come out as something you sprinkle it was more liquid like
Jessica Fisher
Hey Jake. It should be like wet sand. Is it possible your measurements weren’t exactly spot on?
Irish Stevens
I was lookingfor a quit and easy cofffee cake and this one is great made it and love it thanks
Jessica Fisher
Great! So glad to hear that you liked it. I might go make that for my people this morning. thanks for the nudge.
Becky
I forgot the milk! Did anyone else miss that one? Hopefully it turns out!
Jessica
Did you read the comments? There’s a huge story behind that. It will probably be more cookie than cake like.
Shonda
Mine turned out great. I used half cup applesauce and 1/4 cup sugar.
Danielle
Just made this on a whim after a sweet craving! Delicious!
Jessica
Yeah! Glad you liked it!
Emily
My 22-month-old and I made this last night for today’s breakfast. Not only is it delicious, but quick, too! Even with his “help,” it was in the oven in about ten minutes.
Carlene Courtney
Thank you SO much. I will try the new recipe. Guess what? It was good as a cookie!
Jessica
@Carlene Courtney, ha, ha! Yes, it is. You’ll have to read my tale here: https://goodcheapeats.com/2012/02/those-snickerdoodle-bars/
Amanda Cathleen
Made 2 batches today! First made a batch to go into my kids lunchboxes for tomorrow, and for them to have for a special breakfast with yogurt. But I ended up letting them have some after dinner for dessert (a rare occasion here, they just don’t think about it, and I don’t remind them!) so I *needed* to make another batch for tomorrow’s breakfast. Delicious! I did use half whole white wheat flour and it turned out beautifully!
A friend of mine saw that I posted making this on facebook and she made a batch today too, she also said it was super good, easy to make, especially since its all pantry staples!
Jessica
So glad you liked it! Especially after all the faux pas at the beginning.
Jaime
This sounds so good! I’m planning to make it for my book club tomorrow.
Moe
YUM!! Made this today and plan on linking to your blog with this.
I made a few changes in using things up in my pantry: we are having a pantry challenge over at my blog http://AdoptiveMomHomeschoolingAnOnlyChild.blogspot.com/
I had some cranberries and golden raisins that needed used up. I also wanted to limit the oil so I used 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce and 1/4 cup oil, also we are working on adding more fiber to our diet so I sprinkled in 3 tsp Ener-G Pure Rice Bran (can’t even tell it’s in there). YUM!! My guys like it and so did I.
Stop by my blog to see a picture.
Thanks for the great recipe idea on a cold morning!
Moe
Elizabeth
Read through all the comments yesterday morning before making it….but apparently the milk hadn’t found its way into the posted recipe yet, because mine was just like a big cookie. Not really what I was going for. 🙁 Maybe if the dough had risen better, the cake wouldn’t have been so dense, but as-is, there was too much crumble for the amount of cake I ended up with. It was also a little sweet for my taste.