Coffee Cake With Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Streusel Topping

By
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Diana Rattray
Southern-cuisine expert and cookbook author Diana Rattray has created more than 5,000 recipes and articles in her 20 years as a food writer.
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Updated on 12/16/21
Coffee Cake With Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Streusel Topping

The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Prep: 15 mins
Cook: 30 mins
Total: 45 mins
Servings: 8 to 10 servings
Yield: 1 cake

Bake this easy cinnamon and brown sugar streusel-topped coffee cake in a square or round layer cake pan. Every bite of this moist coffee cake includes a generous amount of lightly spiced brown sugar streusel topping. Serve the cake slightly warm or at room temperature. It makes a light dessert with a scoop of ice cream or an easy breakfast or brunch treat.

This coffee cake tastes delicious without embellishment, but feel free to add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts to the streusel topping mixture. Or sprinkle some fresh blueberries on the batter before you add the streusel layer.

You can prepare the streusel topping a few hours in advance or even the day before and refrigerate it in an airtight container until you're ready to bake the cake. Store the coffee cake in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to one week or freeze it in heavy-duty freezer wrap for up to three months.

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Ingredients

For the Topping:

  • 1/2 cup brown sugar

  • 1/4 cup sifted all-purpose flour

  • 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) salted butter, at room temperature

  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Cake:

  • 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

  • 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

  • 1 large egg, beaten

  • 3/4 cup granulated sugar

  • 1/3 cup (5 1/3 tablespoons) butter, unsalted or salted, melted

  • 1/2 cup milk

  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Steps to Make It

  1. Gather the ingredients.

    Coffee Cake With Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Streusel Topping ingredients

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  2. Heat the oven to 325 F. Butter and flour an 8-inch or 9-inch square or round layer cake pan.

    Butter and flour a round layer cake pan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  3. In a small mixing bowl, combine 1/2 cup of brown sugar with 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour and the cinnamon.

    In a small mixing bowl, combine brown sugar with all-purpose flour and the cinnamon.

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  4. Stir to blend, then work in the 1/4 cup of softened butter with a fork or your fingers until the mixture feels crumbly. Set the streusel aside.

    add butter to the cinnamon mixture

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  5. In a medium bowl, combine the 1 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour with the baking powder and salt; blend thoroughly with a whisk or spoon, then set it aside.

    In a medium bowl, combine the all-purpose flour with the baking powder and salt

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  6. In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg lightly and then beat in the sugar and the 1/3 cup of melted butter. Add the milk and vanilla and blend well. Stir in the flour and mix the batter on low speed until well-blended.

    In a mixing bowl with an electric mixer, beat the egg lightly and then beat in the sugar and melted butter

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  7. Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan.

    Spread the batter in the prepared baking pan

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  8. Sprinkle the brown sugar streusel topping evenly over the batter.

    Sprinkle the brown sugar streusel topping evenly over the batter

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

  9. Bake the cake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Partially cool it in the pan on a wire rack.

    Coffee Cake With Brown Sugar and Cinnamon Streusel Topping on a cooling rack

    The Spruce / Julia Hartbeck

Recipe Variations

  • Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts to the crumb streusel topping.
  • Sprinkle about 1 cup of fresh blueberries, raspberries, or chopped fresh pitted cherries onto the batter before you add the streusel topping.
  • Swirl 1/2 cup to 1 cup of jam into the batter before you top it with the streusel mixture.
  • Add a handful of chocolate chips to the batter.
Nutrition Facts (per serving)
316 Calories
12g Fat
49g Carbs
4g Protein
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Nutrition Facts
Servings: 8 to 10
Amount per serving
Calories 316
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 12g 15%
Saturated Fat 7g 35%
Cholesterol 48mg 16%
Sodium 328mg 14%
Total Carbohydrate 49g 18%
Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
Total Sugars 25g
Protein 4g
Vitamin C 0mg 0%
Calcium 104mg 8%
Iron 2mg 10%
Potassium 76mg 2%
*The % Daily Value (DV) tells you how much a nutrient in a food serving contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)