Cinnamon-sugar toast with lots of butter is one of my favorite comfort foods. It makes me feel so cozy.
I took those warm and fuzzy flavors, and baked them into this coffee cake.
The cake is soft and fluffy, with a slightly crunchy topping, and the drippy glaze seals the deal.
Between the cinnamon-and-sugar laden cake batter, the buttery brown sugar topping, and the vanilla cream cheese glaze, it’s my idea of the perfect coffee cake. Take that, Entenmann’s.
I made the cake, using my favorite foolproof, one-bowl, easy cake base. It comes together with a whisk, no mixer needed, and is simple enough to be made at a moment’s notice.
I made a Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake along these lines last year, and it’s been very popular with readers, but this one is even easier and more streamlined.
I love to bake because it’s a creative outlet and it helps me relax, but only if the recipe isn’t overly complicated or fussy, and this coffee cake starts with a bowl of dry ingredients and a bowl of wet. Pour the wet over the dry, stir, pour into a pan, top with the brown sugar mixture, and bake. Nice and easy.
Since I loathe dry coffee cake, I used a trifecta of tricks to keep it super soft, moist, and tender: Buttermilk, Greek yogurt, and oil.
Buttermilk helps keep cakes soft, springy, bouncy, tender, with the perfect balance of density and fluffiness. The results are unparalleled. You can make buttermilk by souring your own milk. Add about 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice to 1/2 cup milk, wait for 10 minutes for it to curdle, then use as indicated.
If you don’t routinely keep buttermilk on hand, I highly recommend this Powdered Buttermilk. If you don’t use buttermilk much, but sometimes see a recipe that needs a half cup, but because you think you won’t use the rest of the jug before it goes bad, you opt of trying the recipe, then this powder is your new best friend. Shelf stable, keeps for ages.
To make sure the cake has a nice pop of cinnamon flavor, I used one tablespoon cinnamon in the cake batter, and there’s one teaspoon in the topping.
For a cinnamon fiend like me it’s perfect and I don’t think too intense, but if you’re more sensitive to cinnamon, you may wish to dial it down, possibly even halving it.
After whisking together the easy cake batter and turning it out into the pan, add the buttery brown sugar topping.
When you mix up the topping, it looks like streusel topping, with some pea-sized clumps and some sandy bits. However, while baking, the brown sugar and butter melt, and the topping turns into a caramelized wall of brown sugar. Best tasting wall ever.
The simple vanilla cream cheese glaze is the literal icing on the cake. Sweet and light, with a slight tang, and it’s the perfect contrast to the warming cinnamon and nutmeg flavors. If you don’t have cream cheese on hand, you can use butter instead.
The cake is springy, bouncy, and very moist, with just enough density to give it some heft and dimension, while the contrasting brown sugar top layer is buttery, firm, crispy and flakey.
It’s the perfect cake for a brunch, on Christmas morning, or just because it’s a Wednesday. It’s cake I want to eat on the couch, curled up with a blanket, with a book in one hand, and a mug of hot coffee in the other.
My ultimate (pipe) dream is to be served this cake as a breakfast-in-bed cake, but I’d have to believe in Santa Claus in order for that to be a reality.
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Brown Sugar-Topped Cinnamon-and-Sugar Coffee Cake with Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze
Ingredients
Brown Sugar Topping
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened (half of 1 stick)
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 3 tablespoons Gold Medal All-Purpose Flour
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Cake
- 1 cup Gold Medal all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon, yes tablespoon, not teaspoon
- 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- 1 large egg
- ½ cup buttermilk (or Powdered Buttermilk
- ⅓ cup vanilla Greek yogurt, plain Greek yogurt or sour cream may be substituted
- 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze
- about 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened (light cream cheese is okay; 2 tablespoons butter may be substituted)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- splash cream or milk, as necessary
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil and spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- Brown Sugar Topping – Combine all ingredients for topping in a medium bowl, and mash together and toss with a fork until pea-sized clumps form. There will be some sandy bits and some small clumps; set bowl aside.
- Cake – In a large bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, optional salt; set aside.
- In a large measuring cup or separate small bowl, whisk together the next 5 wet ingredients (through vanilla).
- Add the wet mixture to the dry, mixing lightly with a spoon until just combined. Small lumps will be present and this is okay. Don’t overmix or try to stir them smooth; set aside. Batter will be on the thicker side.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Evenly sprinkle brown sugar topping mixture over cake batter.
- Bake for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Watch your cake, not the clock, and always bake until done, whatever that means in your climate and oven, given the ingredients you used.
- Place pan on a wire rack and allow cake to cool for at least 30 minutes before optionally glazing. While cake cooks, makes the glaze.
- Vanilla Cream Cheese Glaze – Combine all ingredients for glaze in a small bowl and whisk together until smooth. Depending on desired consistency, you may need to play with the sugar and milk ratios slightly. Alternatively, this buttery vanilla glaze or this browned butter glaze are also great.
- Evenly drizzle the glaze over the cake before slicing and serving. If you only plan to consume a small portion of this cake or plan to keep it around for a few days, you may wish to glaze it in portions and as needed, rather than all at once or in advance. Cake will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 5 days. I’m comfortable storing glazed cakes at room temperature, but if you’re not, glaze only the portion you plan to consume immediately.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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What’s your favorite coffee cake?
What??! There is no Santa Claus?! How could there be a cake that looks and sounds this delicious and be no santa?! :) Buttermilk, oil and yogurt??!! I bet this is so moist and absolutely delicious!
Yum Averie! The frosting on top is calling me! It looks just amazing!
This looks so yummy! Love all the cinnamon in it!
I am in looooove with this. Coffee cake is my dream. :)
I have a weakness for coffee cake. as in, I can eat it at all hours of the day! And frequently do!
ps A wall of brown sugar is the way to my heart :)
That’s awesome that you’re such a big coffee cake fan! :) And I’ve been seeing your ‘Nog Cookies everywhere! They look so good!
Thank you for another delicious-looking coffeecake & one without sticks of butter in it.
Amen to the butter. I mean who doesn’t love it, but I don’t like to workout, that much, to want to run off 2 sticks of butter :) Sometimes I wonder why ppl just keep adding so much when there are other ways (And better I find) to creating a soft, moist, and flavorful cake!
Averie, I’m a fiend for cinnamon too so this is perfect. I love that you use the word “cozy” when describing these flavours because that’s exactly how I feel looking at this cake. I want to be in my pjs, with a big hot mug of tea, watching Christmas movies and eating this pan of cake. Especially when you say magic words like these –> “However, while baking, the brown sugar and butter melt, and the topping turns into a caramelized wall of brown sugar” Wowza!
You know I love cinnamon – wish I had a slice of this cake with my afternoon coffee. Pinned!
I know you love it, yes indeed! And thanks for pinning!
What a pretty cake! Pinning to try soon!
thanks for pinning!
You are making my dream cake here like you I am a total cinnamon fiend, I try to add it into everything. This cake… wow I love using buttermilk in cakes its only recently become widely available here in the UK, which is a good thing as it was always so difficult hunting around speciality shops just to try and buy it, but now all the major supermarket chains carry it; Yeah!!! Can’t wait to try this one :)
What a lovely cake, Averie! The glaze sounds perfect! Pinned!
thanks for pinning, Anna!
How did you know that a cream cheese glaze is my ULTIMATE weakness?!
I love a good moist coffee cake! This one sounds amazing!
Looks really moist and delicious! Now just need to grab a cup of coffee…
So…epic fail. :( I did not take into account the amount of baking powder in this recipe, coupled with the acid in the milk & yogurt. I needed “treats” so made a double recipe & portioned into my “bite size” loaf pans. Only a heaping Tbsp batter per loaf. Added the “crumb” and popped them in the oven. Within 9 minutes, they had completely overflowed every little loaf. The crumb sank away & now I have tins full of rectangular coffee cake mushrooms. Living proof that everything is a learning experience. Back to the drawing board. While I’m sure these will be yummy on this snowy day (& I know what I’m having for lunch), I still need to make something for tomorrow. Your pictures, as always, are beautiful! I’m very visual & had this picture in my head of these perfect little rectangular glazed crumb cakes. So it goes :)
Anytime you start tinkering with a recipe and deviating from how it was written, i.e. doubling it, baking it smaller pan sizes or different pan sizes, there is always room for error and yes this batter rises like a champ and not surprised it overflowed small pans. Like you said, baking is a learning experience. If you make the recipe as written and don’t change a thing (just do what I did) I know it works, and works well – since I adapted this cake base from like 4 other previous cake bases – and it’s a keeper. I just added the streusel-ey bits this time but the overall base is pretty much the same as prior efforts. I know what it’s like to want something that you envision in your head though!
Oh, it works….I agree. I won’t tell you how many of those “little cakes” I had for lunch ;-) ……oh-my-not-so-overly-sweet-brown-sugary-goodness! You’re right, this is a keeper. I’ll save the little pans for something a bit more dense & keep this recipe to a standard pan. You’re right, this one’s a keeper. I can’t wait to share it with others. Keep up the good work. Love your blog.
I baked these as mini loaves, filling each halfway with batter, and had absolutely no problem.
Oh that’s great to hear! Thanks for sharing!
Oh me…the toppings… holy heaven!! And I love that you used all possible things to make it moist… I also can’t do dry cake so give me all the trifectas, fourfectas, fivefectas that you’ve got! ;-)
Dry = not worth the calories! :)