Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake is the PERFECT sweet treat for breakfast or brunch! And that cream cheese glaze on top?! It’ll be hard to say no to another piece!
Growing up, my mom always had some kind of coffee cake, monkey bread, or pastry baked and sitting on the kitchen counter. How she (or any of us for that matter…) stayed so fit is beyond me.
I think being constantly surrounded by delicious baked goods has made me the baking queen I am today. Now, I don’t constantly have baked goods on hand as my mom did, but I do have the best coffee cake recipe to share with you.
My Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake has brown sugar and cinnamon to make a crispy crust. Sour cream to keep the cake moist. And a gooey cream cheese glaze that is quite literally the icing on the cake. If you’re not in the mood for baking for yourself, drop the hint to your family!
CINNAMON ROLL COFFEE CAKE
Like this recipe? Pin it to your BREAKFAST pinboard!
Follow Real Housemoms on Pinterest
Have you seen those memes making their way around social media lately? You know, the ones that say things like “I drink a ton of water…filtered water…filtered through coffee beans…I drink a ton of coffee” and “Don’t talk to me until I’ve had my coffee”? Yeah, well I’m pretty sure those memes were developed because of me. I love coffee.
Almost next to my love of coffee comes my love of coffee cakes. Put them together for me and you are almost guaranteed to be my favorite person. This cinnamon coffee cake recipe is my current obsession (I may have made it multiple times in the past month…). It pairs PERFECTLY with a steaming cup of coffee!
Yes, I know you’re here for the coffee CAKE, not to hear me ramble about the nectar of the gods – I mean coffee. One day a few months ago I was prepping to visit one of my friends who just had a new baby. Whenever I go for baby snuggles, I like to bring along something for the new parents to munch on.
I knew this mom was inundated with casseroles so I decided to do something a bit different – give her a sweet treat to indulge in while the baby was sleeping! This cinnamon roll coffee cake was just the ticket, she texted me before I even made it home asking for the recipe!
What is Coffee Cake?
Coffee cake is pure bliss. Ok, ok. I know I’m obsessed. But, despite my personal obsession, there are actually people all around the world who love coffee cakes just as much as I do! Despite the makeup of coffee cakes being different in different parts of the world, they typically have one thing in common: coffee cakes are usually paired with a nice hot beverage whether it be coffee or tea!
In the US, coffee cakes are typically founded upon the great spice: cinnamon. Usually, Americans make our coffee cakes with an actual cake-like texture, which means most coffee cakes are made with baking soda.
Ingredients for Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake
For the coffee cake:
- Butter
- Sugar
- Sour cream (or greek yogurt!)
- Eggs
- Canola (or vegetable) oil
- Vanilla extract
- Cinnamon
- Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt
For the topping:
- Unsalted butter
- Brown sugar
- Cinnamon
For the glaze:
- Cream cheese
- Milk
- Vanilla extract
- Confectioner’s sugar
When I was making this recipe most recently, I realized that I was fresh out of sour cream (I blame Taco Tuesday…), but I had tons of greek yogurt in the fridge. I knew that greek yogurt can be a great, lighter, healthier substitute for sour cream in recipes so I decided to give it a try. I was NOT disappointed! The cinnamon roll cake was just as moist and delicious and we didn’t miss the sour cream at all!
How to Make Coffee Cake
-
My morning routine is always: roll out of bed, turn on the coffee pot, and wait to even speak words until said coffee is done. On days when I’m making this delicious coffee cake recipe, I roll out of bed, turn on the coffee pot, pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees, and THEN wait to even speak words until the coffee is done. I suggest you do the same 🙂
-
Next, you’ll want to spray your 9-inch springform pan (my favorite is linked below!) with baking spray and flour
-
Next, dump in the sugar and butter into your handy dandy stand mixer and cream them together.
-
In a small bowl mix sour cream (or greek yogurt!), eggs, oil, and vanilla. Once that’s all combined, slowly add it to the butter and sugar mixture and beat for 3 minutes.
-
In a small bowl combine the rest of the dry ingredients (flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt) and slowly add that mixture to the butter mixture and beat until smooth.
-
Pour the cake batter into your prepared springform pan and get going on your topping and glaze!
How to Make Cinnamon Topping
-
Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl – be careful not to let it go too long… I’ve made that mistake many times and it just makes a mess all over my microwave.
-
Add your brown sugar and cinnamon to the bowl and stir until combined
-
Spread the topping over top of the cake mixture similar to frosting a cake. It doesn’t have to be pretty, the baking process will even it all out!
-
Next, use a knife to drag back and forth and up and down to make sure that the topping is moved into the cake and marbled.
-
Place the pan on a baking sheet and place into the oven and bake for 40-45 minutes. Resist the urge to check on your coffee cake every few minutes. Just let the smell waft through your house and know that very soon you’ll be basking in the gooey cinnamon glory.
-
Remove your coffee cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the pan.
-
Once it’s cooled to room temperature, remove the coffee cake from your springform pan and plate it on your favorite serving plate.
How to Make Cinnamon Roll Icing
Now comes the finishing touch – the cream cheese drizzle!
-
In a bowl combine cream cheese, milk, vanilla and whisk until smooth
-
Slowly add the confectioners’ sugar and stir until smooth
-
If you are an “I need icing in every single bite I take” kind of person, you can spread the icing over the cooled coffee cake like you were frosting a cake. If you’re more of an “I like a little hint of icing on my coffee cake” kind of person, gently drizzle the icing over the top of the cake. Either way, you choose, it’s sure to be absolutely delicious.
Love coffee cakes and other pastries? Try these Real Housemoms favorites!
- Blueberry Buttermilk Coffee Cake
- French Toast Bake with Fruit
- Cinnamon Pumpkin Coffee Cake
- Banana Nut Bread
- Brown Sugar Cinnamon Monkey Bread
- More BREAKFAST recipes…
Tools used to make Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake
Springform Pan: this is not my most utilized kitchen utensil. However, it is super useful when it comes time for it! Whether you’re making a cheesecake or this cinnamon coffee cake, a springform pan is a must-have!
Stand Mixer: this IS one of my most utilized kitchen items. I know it comes with a hefty price tag, but believe me when I say it’s worth every penny.
*This post was originally posted on 01/03/2013.
Ingredients
Coffee Cake
- ¼ cup butter softened
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup sour cream I used Greek yogurt
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Cinnamon Topping
- ½ cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup brown sugar lightly packed
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese softened
- 2 tablespoons milk
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
Coffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
- Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of your stand mixer. Beat together until creamy.
- In a small bowl, mix sour cream, eggs, oil, and vanilla. Slowly add the sour cream mixture to the butter mixture and beat for 3 minutes.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in 2 additions. Beat until just combined after each addition.
- Pour cake batter into your prepared springform pan. Set aside.
Cinnamon Topping
- Melt butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Add brown sugar and cinnamon to butter and stir until evenly moistened.
- Spread the topping over top of the cake mixture - similar to frosting a cake. Drag a butter knife back and forth and up and down. This will make sure that the topping is swirled into the batter and the cake is marbled after baking.
- Place pan on a baking sheet and bake for 40-45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool in the pan. Once the coffee cake is cooled, transfer to a serving plate.
Cream Cheese Glaze
- In a bowl combine cream cheese, milk, and vanilla and whisk until smooth. Slowly add the confectioner's sugar and stir until smooth.
- Either drizzle glaze over the top of the cake or spread over the coffee cake like frosting. (Glaze will drip down the sides.) Cut into 8 slices and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Mark says
Cinnamon AND coffee … two of my favorite things!
Thanks for this Tara, I’m going to ask the wife to try and make this, I’ll let you know how it tastes!
Dave Shaw says
The cake looks good, but it’ll be even better if there’s a full shot of the final product! I run a coffee blog and might create a coffee cake roundup in the near future 🙂
Tara N says
Sorry that was it for pictures Dave.
Irene says
I must have done something wrong. All of the topping went to the bottom. I might have pressed too much but there was none on top. Did not look like the picture. Tasted good though. Will try again.
Tara N says
I am sorry that happened Irene. Maybe your batter was a bit too thin also for some reason. I adjusted the recipe to say press lightly. I hope you do try it again.