This is the best, moist coffee cake recipe requiring very little work! Enjoy this breakfast cake or dessert in just 30 minutes!
- There’s really nothing that compares to coffee cake fresh out of the oven in the morning.
- This recipe is super moist and very easy — takes about 30 minutes to make!
- Skip the brown sugar and cinnamon layer for a lighter version of this super moist coffee cake.
If you’re in a hurry and are in need of a quick breakfast or brunch dish, try your hand at this super moist and easy coffee cake with cinnamon streusel.
What’s great about this version is that it’s a one-pan dish, so all of the layers go right in the same 8 x 8 baking pan.
Add in vanilla extract to the glaze for an extra yummy flavor!
You can add in a 1/2 to 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract to the glaze, and it really adds to the flavor in the best way!
For a lighter version of this coffee cake, you can skip the brown sugar cinnamon layer.
There is quite a bit of sugar in this recipe. If you want to cut it down, feel free to omit the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture mentioned in Step 4 (in recipe below).
You’ll just pour the entire amount of batter into the pan and sprinkle the streusel on top (essentially skipping Step 8 below).
Pair Coffee Like You Would Wine
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Seriously, wait for the coffee cake to cool before drizzling on the glaze.
The drizzle dresses this coffee cake up, but there’s a trick to it. If you don’t wait for your coffee cake to fully cool, the drizzle will melt into the cake and you won’t be able to see it.
Once it’s cool to the touch, you can grab a tablespoon and drizzle the glaze diagonally across the cake. I removed mine entirely from the pan and placed it on parchment paper to catch the drizzle mess. If you want a more even and clean drizzle, you can use a ziplock bag.
Pair it with a dark roast coffee to bring out the natural sweetness of the cinnamon.
For the perfect coffee pairing, try a dark roast coffee. It will help to bring out the natural sweetness of the cinnamon, which is the predominate flavor of this coffee cake.
My specific coffee pick to go along with this cinnamon dessert would be Blue Bottle’s Giant Steps. It’s a darker blend with tasting notes of cocoa, marshmallows, and graham cracker. Think s’mores.
Best Easy & Moist Coffee Cake Recipe
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 8x8 square inch pan.
Note: You should make the streusel topping first to allow the butter time to cool. Melt the butter in the microwave, and let it fully cool. While it cools, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Then, pour the cooled butter on top. Should form clumps.
In a small bowl mix the oil, egg, vanilla, and milk until thoroughly mixed.
In another small bowl, combine the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, and stir until combined.
Spread half of the cake batter mixture onto the bottom of your prepared pan. The batter will be very thick, but still spreadable. Spread it out as evenly as possible with a spoon so that it nearly covers the bottom of the pan. It's okay that it's a very thin layer of batter or if it doesn't cover the bottom totally, as it will get filled in later with the rest of the batter.
Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture (that you prepared in Step 4) over the layer of batter in the pan. Note: You can skip this step for a lighter version of this recipe.
Pour the rest of the batter on top of the brown sugar layer, and spread it out evenly.
Sprinkle the streusel layer evenly on top of the batter layer.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.
Once the cake is cool, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and the milk until a thick glaze forms. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled coffee cake and serve.
Ingredients
Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 8x8 square inch pan.
Note: You should make the streusel topping first to allow the butter time to cool. Melt the butter in the microwave, and let it fully cool. While it cools, combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a separate bowl. Then, pour the cooled butter on top. Should form clumps.
In a small bowl mix the oil, egg, vanilla, and milk until thoroughly mixed.
In another small bowl, combine the brown sugar and the cinnamon. Set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture, and stir until combined.
Spread half of the cake batter mixture onto the bottom of your prepared pan. The batter will be very thick, but still spreadable. Spread it out as evenly as possible with a spoon so that it nearly covers the bottom of the pan. It's okay that it's a very thin layer of batter or if it doesn't cover the bottom totally, as it will get filled in later with the rest of the batter.
Sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture (that you prepared in Step 4) over the layer of batter in the pan. Note: You can skip this step for a lighter version of this recipe.
Pour the rest of the batter on top of the brown sugar layer, and spread it out evenly.
Sprinkle the streusel layer evenly on top of the batter layer.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool.
Once the cake is cool, combine the powdered sugar, vanilla, and the milk until a thick glaze forms. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled coffee cake and serve.
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So I made this today and it turned dry and crumbly. The recipe says I could pour it. It mine wasn’t pourable. What could’ve happened.
hi Jess, thanks for your comment! One common problem could be if you didn’t make the three separate layers in separate bowls: cake batter, cinnamon sugar layer, and streusel topping should all be made separately and then layered into the pan. I will say that the cake batter will be really thick, but it shouldn’t be crumbly. I actually just made it again today and it ended up very moist!
If you did that, try adding more oil next time – about 3/4 cup and that should help add more liquid.