Recipe Details
Community Pick Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Photograph by A Marsteller
Recipe Basics
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| --- | --- |
| Total Active + Bake Time | 50 minutes (plus optional chill time) |
| Total Ingredients | 13 |
| Serves | 12 |
Ingredients
Cake Batter
⅔ cup oleo (margarine, or swap for butter per reader recommendations)
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs, beaten
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup buttermilk
Cinnamon Nut Topping
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ cup chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts work best)
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Step-by-Step Directions
Cream together the oleo, ½ cup brown sugar, and 1 cup granulated sugar until light and fluffy
Add the beaten eggs and mix until fully combined
Sift all dry cake ingredients together in a separate bowl
Alternate adding the sifted dry mix and buttermilk to your creamed sugar mixture, mixing gently after each addition
Pour the finished batter into a greased, floured 9 x 13-inch baking pan
Sprinkle the cinnamon nut topping evenly over the raw batter
Cover tightly with foil and chill in the refrigerator overnight
Remove foil before baking, and cook at 350°F (175°C) for 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean
Common Reader Questions & Answers
- Can I substitute real butter for oleo?
Nearly all testers swap butter for oleo with excellent results, per reviews and tweaks below.
- I want to gift this to my kids for fresh baked Christmas morning—can I freeze it unbaked to bake later?
Yes! You can prep the full unbaked cake (topping included), wrap it tightly for freezing, and have your kids thaw it overnight in the fridge before baking as directed for hot, fresh coffee cake on Christmas morning. You can also bake it first then freeze, but unbaked prep for fresh baking works perfectly.
- This recipe turned into a pan of melted goop when I followed the instructions—what went wrong?
This was caused by a common typo in early versions of the recipe that listed 15 minutes of bake time instead of 35. Following the 35 minute bake time (adjusted for your oven) gives a fully cooked, set cake.
- The photo shows icing on the cake, but there’s no icing in the ingredient list!
Many bakers add a simple powdered sugar glaze to this recipe. A fan-favorite glaze recipe is included in the tweaks section below.
- Do I have to chill this overnight? Can I bake it after just a few hours in the fridge?
Overnight chilling is not required! Many bakers prep this the same day, with a short 1-2 hour chill or even 30 minutes in the freezer to firm the batter, and it turns out great.
[View 2 additional questions]
Reader Reviews
Can I give this 10 stars?? This is an excellent, delicious coffee cake. It was very easy to throw together the night before, and I love that it’s “make tonight, bake tomorrow” — perfect for serving overnight guests. The taste is incredible, it bakes up to a rich golden brown top, and has a moist, tender crumb inside. This is truly a wonderful coffee cake. The only change I made was using real butter instead of oleo. Thank you for sharing this family gem!
This coffee cake was so good, and the amazing aroma while it baked had my whole mouth watering. Please keep posting your family favorites — this is one I’ll make over and over again. Thank you!
SO light and fluffy, and so very, very good. I made this for my boyfriend’s birthday, and he loves coffee cake. This was my first time making coffee cake, and I couldn’t have been happier with how it turned out. I’m a novice baker, and this is the best result I’ve gotten with any baked good so far. Like many other reviewers, I made three easy swaps: I used unsalted butter instead of oleo, I made my own buttermilk with 1 tablespoon vinegar in a cup of milk (left to sit 10 minutes), and I made it the morning of instead of the night before, popping it in the freezer for a few minutes to stiffen the batter. I also left out nuts because I don’t like them. I don’t own a sifter, so I shook flour slowly through my small handheld strainer, which worked perfectly to aerate the flour and made it extra fluffy. If you don’t have a handheld mixer, just know your arm will get tired creaming the butter and sugar! Mine was killing me, so I’m planning to buy one now.
Every home cook should have this recipe in their collection. The only objection anyone might have is nuts, and since you make it in a 9x13 pan, you can just put nuts on half if you want. It works great made the night before or cooked right away, and I already had all the ingredients on hand — most home cooks will. It’s easy to tweak and make it your own: double the topping, swirl it through the cake, add apples or blueberries. This is the perfect recipe to make when you want to show someone you care — whip it up for a family in crisis, or enjoy it with a friend over coffee, whether you’re laughing or crying. It’s just a great, classic family recipe.
This coffee cake is excellent — good moisture and great flavor, very cinnamon-y. I used milk because I didn’t have buttermilk on hand, and it still turned out great.
[View 96 additional reviews]
Popular Reader Tweaks
I used butter, not margarine: Butter tastes so much better. This is an old family recipe, so it makes sense that margarine was commonly used when it was created, even my mom used margarine back in the day!
If your cake doesn’t release from the pan easily, try more thorough pan prep. Most bakers add a simple glaze: 3 cups powdered sugar, 5 tablespoons milk, ½ teaspoon vanilla. It’s perfect.
Fantastic!!! This coffee cake is very light and very tasty — chances are, if your family is like mine, there will be no leftovers. It’s so easy to make right before bed and throw in the oven while you get ready in the morning, perfect for busy on-the-go breakfasts. I also swapped buttermilk for 1 cup milk + 1 tablespoon vinegar, and we love it with pecans on top.
Personally I would have given this a 4 or 4.5, but my family and coworkers couldn’t stop raving about it. I too used butter instead of oleo, and I used a tablespoon of lemon juice mixed with fat-free half and half instead of buttermilk. I used pecans and added a pinch extra cinnamon. Pro tip: Spread the topping evenly, or it will sink straight to the bottom. It was very moist, and everyone went back for seconds — my boss went back for thirds! I baked it for 40 minutes in my electric oven with no over-browning, and I’ll make it again soon.
Fantastic! I used butter instead of margarine and omitted the pecans. I used a pan that’s 9x13 at the top and 8x12 at the bottom, so it took 45 minutes to cook. I can’t wait to make this for company — I love that you can prep it ahead and just pop it in the fridge until you’re ready to bake. Yum, yum, yum!
[View 13 additional tweaks]
About The Recipe Submitter
I’ve lived in Northeastern Ohio my entire life, and I’m retired now. I grew up right at my grandmother’s side, with an apron and a wooden spoon as my little baker’s uniform! We spent so many happy hours baking and cooking, making memories in her kitchen. My love of cooking and baking has never faded — I still cook and bake like I’m feeding everyone at Grandma’s boarding house! My neighbors are definitely happy with all the goodies I keep sending their way, though I really should learn to cook for just two people now. My kitchen is in my Cape Cod style home, decorated in French Country style with French blue, pale yellow, and white accents.