A classic sour cream coffee cake recipe with cinnamon streusel that is so easy to make and honestly the best coffee cake you’ll ever eat.
Sour cream coffee cake is one of the first recipes I remember making. Every summer in Wisconsin there was a fundraising event called Breakfast on the Farm hosted by a local agriculture organization. Proceeds from the breakfast were used for agriculture scholarships and grants for local kids.
The breakfast was a community effort. All the food was made by volunteers: 1,800 dozen eggs, 1,300 pounds of sausage, 5,000 half-pints of milk, 126 gallons of ice cream mix, 3,500 cartons of orange juice, 200 coffee cakes, 13 lugs of fresh strawberries, 110 pounds of butter, 480 pounds of cheese, and 26 jars of coffee. That’s a lot of food! Every year we made a coffee cake to contribute.
We moved away from the community in the fourth grade, so most of the event details are hazy. One thing that I remember vividly is the coffee cake. This is the best coffee cake recipe – moist, crumbly, cinnamon-y and comforting. I still have a paper copy of the recipe that was handed out and I thought it was about time I shared it with all of you.
Coffee cake is an easy morning treat that never fails to please, especially if you make the batter and the topping ahead of time and assemble them in the morning to bake. Sour cream is an essential coffee cake ingredient, making it especially moist and delicious, without making it greasy. I hope you enjoy this little taste of the farm and of my childhood in Wisconsin.
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Best Sour Cream Coffee Cake Recipe with Cinnamon Streusel
A classic sour cream coffee cake recipe with cinnamon streusel that is so easy to make and honestly the best coffee cake you’ll ever eat.
- Prep Time: 30 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
- Yield: 9 1x
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Oven
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
Coffee Cake Ingredients:
- 1 cup sifted all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon iodized salt
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup regular sour cream
Coffee Cake Topping Ingredients:
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° Fahrenheit and grease a 9×9″ baking pan.
- In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
- Cream the butter and sugar together until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Add the sour cream.
- Turn the mixer down to low speed and mix in the flour gradually. Stir just until combined.
- In a separate small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and nuts for the topping.
- Spread 1/2 of the batter into the baking pan and spread it by hand so that it covers the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle 1/2 of the brown sugar topping over the top, then spread the remaining batter over the sugar layer. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 of the sugar mixture over the top.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until the cake springs back when lightly touched. Serve warm or cooled to room temperature.
- Will keep in a sealed container for 2-3 days.
Notes
This recipe is half of the original recipe. Find the original 9 x 13 inch version here.
Keywords: sour cream coffee cake, best coffee cake recipe, easy coffee cake recipe, homemade sour cream coffee cake, best sour cream coffee cake
P.S. – This post is an update of one of my first recipe posts from wayyy back in 2012! Wondering what my food photography looked like when I was first getting started? Here are a few photos from the original post:
that looks perfect!
Thanks! It was amazing!
My boyfriend and I are on a mission to replicate his mom’s coffee cake, for which we don’t have a recipe. This came pretty close! We were wondering if our batter was too thick – it was a little hard to spread it, especially on top of the first layer of crumble. Any suggestions?
★★★★★
My boyfriend and I are on a mission to replicate his mom’s coffee cake, for which we don’t have a recipe. This came pretty close! We were wondering if our batter was too thick – it was a little hard to spread it, especially on top of the first layer of crumble. We also found it didn’t rise too much. Any suggestions?
★★★★★
I can’t say for sure but the batter is pretty thick and it can be a little difficult to drag across the crumble. Luckily that doesn’t really effect the amazing result! 🙂
★★★★★