Coffee Crumb Cake — This coffee crumb cake recipe couldn’t be easier to make! It’s made with boxed yellow cake mix, which is used in both the batter and the crumble topping.
Easy Coffee Cake Recipe
I have a thing for buttery crumbs or anything with a crumble or streusel topping. The more crumbs there are, the happier I am.
Let’s talk about coffee cake for a minute — I think it’s very underrated. I would prefer a slice of glazed coffee cake with those big crumbs to a fancy layer cake most any day. It’s even better when the cake is extremely easy and fast to make. I had this coffee crumb cake made, cooled, and ready to dig into in under an hour.
It tastes like something you’d get at a bakery but better because it’s not dry in the least, a problem I find with cake in general from bakeries.
The secret is that I doctored up a box of yellow cake mix. Who knew that cake mix combined with brown sugar and melted butter could yield such a scrumptious crumb topping? If you’re cake mix averse, make this scratch base and use this crumb topping minus the cocoa.
This cake mix coffee cake is soft, fluffy, and tender. The crumbs add subtle texture and it wouldn’t be coffee cake without plenty of glaze. It’s a perfect brunch cake or simply a great recipe to keep on hand for when you need a fast, easy coffee crumb cake that everyone will love.
What’s in Coffee Crumb Cake?
For this yellow cake mix recipe, you’ll need:
- Yellow cake mix
- Eggs
- Water
- All-purpose flour
- Canola oil
- Light brown sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Cinnamon
- Powdered sugar
- Corn syrup
How to Make Coffee Crumb Cake
To make the cake mix coffee cake base, simply add all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until combined. Turn the batter out into a greased 9×13-inch pan, then make the crumb topping. The crumb topping is made by mashing the ingredients together with the back of a fork until the texture resembles coarse sand.
Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake batter, then bake until the center is set. Once the coffee crumb cake is out of the oven, let it cool slightly before whisking together the glaze and drizzling it evenly over top. Give the cake a few more minutes to cool before slicing and serving.
Can I Make This Easy Coffee Cake Recipe in Advance?
Yes, you can certainly make this cake mix coffee cake the night before you plan on serving it. The glaze will stay fairly soft, but it won’t soak into the cake, so nothing should get mushy.
Can I Omit the Glaze?
Of course! If you don’t have the ingredients for the glaze or simply don’t want to make it, this coffee crumb cake is delicious without it. But try making it with the glaze at least once to know whether or not you like it!
Tips for Making Crumb Coffee Cake
When making the coffee cake batter, you do NOT make the cake mix according to package instructions. You should measure it out like you would any other dry ingredient and mix it with the ingredients I’ve listed in the recipe card below.
And when making the crumb topping, you don’t want to overwork the mixture. Tossing lightly with a fork is the way to go. If you overwork the crumb topping, it’ll be too fine in texture and will just sink into the raw cake batter.
Unlike a layer cake, you actually want to add the glaze to this coffee crumb cake while it’s still a little warm. The residual heat helps the glaze sink into the crumb topping and makes for the most delicious, gooey bite of coffee cake.
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Buttery Coffee Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- one 15.25-ounce package yellow cake mix; reserve 1 cup
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup water
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup canola oil
Topping
- 1 cup reserved cake mix
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon light-colored corn syrup, helps keep the glaze softer
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Make the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×13-inch metal pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl add the cake mix (reserve one cup and add to a medium bowl), eggs, water, flour, oil, and mix with a handheld electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Mix on high speed for about 2 minutes, or until blended, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula; set aside.
- Make the Topping
- To the medium bowl with the 1 cup reserved cake mix, add the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and mix with a fork until crumbs form. There will be a mixture of sandy crumbs and pebbles.
- Evenly turn crumb mixture out over the cake mix.
- Bake for about 22 to 24 minutes, or until cake is set in the center, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter. Allow cake to cool in pan on a wire rack while you prepare the glaze.
- Make the Glaze
- To a medium bowl, add the confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup (milk or water may be substituted noting glaze will set up harder and crustier), water, and whisk until smooth and combined. Evenly drizzle glaze over cake.
- Allow cake to cool for about 15 minutes in pan or until sufficiently cooled to slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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More Easy Coffee Cake Recipes:
Sweet Cream Vanilla Coffee Cake — You’ll never guess what special ingredient keeps this fast and easy cake so soft and moist!
Blueberry Streusel Coffee Cake – An EASY, no-mixer cake studded with juicy blueberries and topped with big buttery streusel nuggets that are just SO GOOD!
Cinnamon Sugar Swirl Coffee Cake – Between the cinnamon-sugar crust AND the cinnamon-sugar swirled through the center, this EASY coffee cake is IRRESISTIBLE!
Pumpkin Crumb Coffee Cake – A FAST and EASY no-mixer coffee cake with rich pumpkin flavor!! Super soft, tender, and topped with the BEST crumble topping that you’ll fall in love with!
Strawberries and Cream Coffee Cake — Sweet juicy strawberries are found in every bite, and the cream cheese glaze is the perfect tangy complement to the creamy, sweet cake.
Brown Sugar Cinnamon Coffee Cake — The cake is soft, fluffy, light, and very moist, with just enough density to give it some heft and dimension.
I made this yesterday using a Devil’s Food cake mix and it was AMAZING!!! I took it to a friend’s and today she said her grandkids licked the crumbs from their dishes!😆
Thank you for a GREAT, easy, delicious recipe!!
I made this yesterday using a Devil’s Food cake mix and it was AMAZING!!! I took it to a friend’s and today she said her grandkids licked the crumbs from their dishes!😆
Thank you for a GREAT, easy, delicious recipe!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this was amazing and your friend and her grandkids loved it!
Delicious! I did not make the glaze and thought it was plenty sweet. Even thought of cutting back the brown sugar a bit also. I did not melt the butter, I cut into chunks and then mixed in. Will definitely make again! Good and easy!
Delicious! I did not make the glaze and thought it was plenty sweet. Even thought of cutting back the brown sugar a bit also. I did not melt the butter, I cut into chunks and then mixed in. Will definitely make again! Good and easy!
Glad you enjoyed the cake and will make it again!
For some reason i was so in the mood for a chunk of this cake yesterday. I dug through the pantry looking for a yellow box mix and all I had was a dark chocolate one. No time to run to the store so the wheels started turning…can I? Should I? I’ve never heard of a chocolate coffee cake but surely I can use a chocolate cake mix. Why yes….yes you can! And it was ridiculously good! I followed the exact instructions posted in your recipe. Yum! Yum! Yum!
For some reason i was so in the mood for a chunk of this cake yesterday. I dug through the pantry looking for a yellow box mix and all I had was a dark chocolate one. No time to run to the store so the wheels started turning…can I? Should I? I’ve never heard of a chocolate coffee cake but surely I can use a chocolate cake mix. Why yes….yes you can! And it was ridiculously good! I followed the exact instructions posted in your recipe. Yum! Yum! Yum!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad this came out great with chocolate cake mix – good to know!
Wonderful easy recipe. The few revisions made we’re;
Serving size of applesauce to replace the oil in the cake mix
Added a dash of vanilla to the batter
Tablespoon of cinnamon to the topping
Results…. fantastic!
Thank you
I was really excited to try out this recipe, but was greatly disappointed early on. I closely followed directions, but once I reached the step to put batter in a 9×13 pan, it started to go downhill. There wasn’t enough batter to cover the bottom of the pan so I spread it out incredibly thin.
Next, I started to make the crumble topping, but it was too wet. I added flour a little at a time and ended up adding 1 extra cup. I tasted it and it wasn’t as good as other toppings I’ve made, so I added more brown sugar and cinnamon. It was better, but still had more moisture than it should, but I used it anyway since I don’t consider this to be a good recipe without adjustments. The glaze was easy to make, but I added a little vanilla, and drizzled it over the cake. It looked great, but the taste was just average, and I was looking for something that the recipe and reviews did not fulfill. I will keep looking for an easy, delicious, coffee cake recipe.
I made this today and it actually looked just like yours! I am not good at baking so I am proud. This was so yummy and EASY. I will make again! Thank you
This was, indeed absolutely delicious!! Easy to follow directions. I usually don’t take cakes out of the 9×13 pan they get baked in so next time I wont line the pan with foil. just wondering if there is a way to get more crumbs for the topping. Another cup of crumbs would not have been too much crumbs for me… But, as is, the recipe is wonderful.
Thanks for the 5 star review and I am glad you loved the cake!
You could make a half batch of the crumbs from this recipe, it makes a lot and they’re delicious https://www.averiecooks.com/blueberry-streusel-coffee-cake/
This is a delicious coffee cake recipe. I have also used a gluten free yellow cake mix and gluten free flour to make the recipe gluten free. All my gf request it! Easy, fast and delicious!
I forgot to say its 5 stars!!!
Thanks for the 5 star review and glad you’ve experimented with GF blends and that it turns out delish!
Omgosh! This Coffee Cake was definitely a GRAND SLAM! So moist & tender.. I decided to skip the glaze & dust it with powdered sugar bc I didn’t have the corn syrup needed for the glaze. Next time…(there will be MANY more next times) I’m going to stir in some sauteed diced apples & make the glaze. Thank you for sharing your Yummalicious recipe with us 😋
Thanks for the five star review and glad this was a grand slam and that you will make it again!
I’m making this coffee cake for the third time this season. Our family has to eat gluten free, and your recipe works beautifully with a gluten free cake mix! This is one we’ll be saving and making often. Thanks so much!!
Thanks for the five star review and I’m glad this works out so well for you with GF cake mix!
I’m making it now! And I love coffee cake! But when I was making the topping it didn’t crumb up? It just basically turned into a sandy cake mix? Is that right? Next time I think I will not reserve the extra cake batter and make crumbs without!
With crumb toppings, you don’t want to overwork the mixture. Tossing lightly with a fork is the way to go. And also you say ‘batter’ but it is cake MIX (raw, natural, not with eggs) that you want to reserve…not the cake batter. Just clarifying that as well.
Delicious and so easy! Couldn’t believe how easy it was to make. I also adapted this using chocolate cake mix (because everything is better with chocolate). For the crumbs, I used the cake mix, white sugar, cocoa, and butter. All the same amounts but used 3/4 stick of butter to help the crumbles stick together). It was delicious,, too!
I love that you adapted it to make a chocolate version too!
Would have liked it much better without the glaze – way too sweet for me. Without it, i think it would be perfect. Yum
Thanks for trying the recipe.