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Sour Cream Coffee Cake

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My favorite sour cream coffee cake recipe is perfectly soft and fluffy, layered with cinnamon sugar, and always so delicious.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake Recipe

I realized the other day that it has been two decades since my college roommate, Natalie, first taught me how to make her family’s famous sour cream coffee cake. No idea how that’s even possible, because it feels like just yesterday that we were baking up a storm together in our tiny college kitchen. But all of these years later — and countless batches of coffee cake later — I have to say that this nostalgic recipe remains one of our family’s all-time favorites. ♡

It features a simple batter made with basic pantry ingredients and reduced-fat sour cream, whose tangy flavor perfectly balances the sweetness here and helps the cake bake up to be incredibly moist. Then in between the layers of cake, we’ll add in a crunchy sprinkling of cinnamon sugar (plus some chopped nuts, if you’d like). And then for one final layer of indulgence, I always love drizzling a quick 2-ingredient glaze on top. This cake is guaranteed to make your home smell absolutely heavenly as it’s baking up in the oven. And once it’s sliced served up nice and warm with a hot cup of coffee on a lazy weekend morning, well, I don’t know if there’s a more delicious way to start the day.

Let’s bake up some coffee cake together, friends!

Layering the batter to make homemade coffee cake

Sour Cream Coffee Cake Ingredients

Here are a few notes about the sour cream coffee cake ingredients that you will need to make this recipe. (Also, for anyone who may be new to coffee cake, there is no actual coffee included in the recipe. It’s a cake intended to be served with a hot cup of coffee. ♡)

  • Butter: This recipe calls for one stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter. But if you only have salted butter on hand, no worries, just reduce the amount of salt to 1/4 teaspoon.
  • Sugar and flour: We will use basic granulated white sugar and all-purpose flour in the cake batter.
  • Baking soda and baking powder: We use both baking soda and baking powder as leavening agents.
  • Eggs: Two eggs serve to help bind the cake batter together.
  • Salt: I wrote this recipe using fine sea salt, which is what I always use in my kitchen. If you only have iodized table salt on hand, note that you will need to reduce the amount of salt by half.
  • Sour cream: I’ve always made this homemade coffee cake recipe using reduced-fat sour cream, but full-fat sour cream would work just fine too.
  • Vanilla extract: We will add in some vanilla extract (either homemade or store-bought) to warm up the flavor of the cake.
  • Brown sugar topping: A simple mix of granulated white sugar, brown sugar and ground cinnamon will serve as our filling and topping for the cake. Feel free to mix in some chopped walnuts or pecans if you’d like too.
  • (Optional) Glaze: Finally, if you feel like drizzling a quick glaze on top of the cake for an extra touch of sweetness, just whisk together some powdered sugar and milk until combined.

Homemade Coffee Cake in Baking Pan

How To Make Coffee Cake

Full instructions for how to make coffee cake are detailed in the recipe below, but here are a few extra tips that may be helpful too:

  • Divide the cinnamon filling. Rather than eyeballing cinnamon sugar mixture to divide it, I always just measure out a quick 1/4 cup of the filling to ensure that there will be equal amounts for the two layers.
  • Add the second layer of batter by spoonfuls. This batter is quite thick and can be a bit unwieldy to spread over the cinnamon sugar filling to form the second layer. So I always recommend spooning it in small clumps over the cinnamon sugar and then gently spreading it into an even layer with a spatula or a knife. This works much better than adding the batter in one big blob. Although no worries if your second layer of batter isn’t perfectly even…it will still be delicious!
  • Enjoy warm. This coffee cake recipe will hold up well for a handful of days, but I just have to say that it is especially heavenly served warm out of the oven with a cup of coffee. Highly recommend cutting yourself a warm slice!

Slice of sour cream coffee cake

More Sweet Breakfast Treats

Looking for more yummy breakfast baked goods to try? Here are a few of my faves:

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Sour Cream Coffee Cake Recipe

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

5 Stars 4 Stars 3 Stars 2 Stars 1 Star 5 from 82 reviews
  • Prep Time: 15 minutes
  • Cook Time: 30 minutes
  • Total Time: 45 minutes
  • Yield: 15 servings 1x

Description

My all-time favorite sour cream coffee cake recipe is perfectly soft and fluffy, layered with cinnamon sugar, and always so delicious.


Ingredients

Scale

Coffee Cake Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1 cup granulated white sugar
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) reduced-fat sour cream
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Cinnamon-Sugar Topping Ingredients:

  • 1/4 cup granulated white sugar
  • 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)

Optional Glaze:

  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1 to 2 teaspoons milk

Instructions

  1. Prep the oven and baking dish. Heat oven to 350°F. Mist a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
  2. Mix the dry ingredients. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt until combined. Set aside.
  3. Mix the batter. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together butter and granulated white sugar on medium-high speed for 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs to the mixture, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix on medium-low speed until just combined. Add in half of the sour cream and mix until combined.  Repeat with the remaining half of the dry ingredients mixture, followed by the remaining sour cream, mixing until combined.
  4. Prep the cinnamon-sugar topping. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the granulated white sugar, brown sugar, ground cinnamon and nuts (if using) until combined.
  5. Layer the batter. Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread it in an even layer. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon-sugar topping evenly on top of the batter. Add the remaining batter by spoonfuls evenly on top of the cinnamon-sugar topping (this makes it more easy to spread), then gently spread the batter out into an even layer. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar topping evenly on top of the batter.
  6. Bake. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Transfer the baking dish to a wire rack and let it cool for at least 10-15 minutes before serving.
  7. Make the glaze. Meanwhile, if you would like to use a glaze, whisk the powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon milk together until combined. Add an extra teaspoon of milk if needed to thin the glaze to a drizzle-able consistency. Or if it seems too thin, add extra powdered sugar.
  8. Serve. Drizzle the glaze over the top of the warm coffee cake. Slice, serve and enjoy!

Notes

Recipe source: Recipe from my good friend, Natalie.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Fork

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294 comments on “Sour Cream Coffee Cake”

  1. What a wonderful recipe! I made it for our Mother’s Day gathering and my family wiped it out leaving NOTHING but crumbs behind! They’re already asking when can I make another!! Lol Thanks for sharing!

  2. I made a glaze out of powdered sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and butter, to go on top of this. I didn’t measure anything out but after it came out I poked the cake and drizzled a little butter (separately) and then added the glaze. It was REEEEEEEEEEEEALLY GOOOOOOOD! It’s good without the extra butter and glaze but it was even Better with it. :)

  3. I am going to make this today even though, it is hot and very humid up here in New Hampshire. My oven will make the kitchen really hot, but I have the urge so here I go! I will let you know how great it is!!

  4. Ali, why did you have to give up running?

  5. Don’t bother looking anywhere else. THIS IS THE RECIPE for light and fluffy coffee cake. PERIOD. Got nervous after the batter came out thick and sticky, BUT no matter–it was amazing–and a fluffy end product! I added 1/2 egg white and baked in 325 for 20 minutes and the last 15 minutes at 350. I didn’t do the middle toping because it doesn’t add to much batter for a 9×13 glass pan, which was what I had, so just used topping for the top, which I did also add a little cocoa to. Once it was cooled, I added confectionary powder. LOVED IT

  6. I was wondering if I could use a Bundt pan for this cake ???

  7. I dont see any coffee in the recipe

    • Coffee cakes don’t normally have coffee in them. They call it a coffee cake because it’s something you can have with a cup of coffee. I’m hoping you were just being sarcastic. haha

    • There is no coffee in coffee cake!

  8. I thought the batter was to thick,more like muffin batter then cake. I added a little bit of milk to make it easier to pour and layer the batter with the topping. Taste is great!!!!

  9. I was craving Mom’s excellent Sour Cream Coffee Cake when I came across your excellent recipe.
    I had ALL the ingredients except the Vanilla, but tried it anyway.
    I mixed the liquids on a mixer and the dry ingredients in a stainless steel mixing bowl…So far so good! Boy that batter was “thick”, but I took time to spread it all out. Everything else to the recipe.
    I can wait to taste it!! If the bowel tastes as good, the cake will be better. With a 1/2 gallon of milk to drink with the cake. Yummy !!
    Thanks for sharing at a moment of necessity!! My Mom passed away 3 years ago and she made the best cakes and cheesecakes.
    Thanks for helping me enjoy the best cake in the world!!! John

  10. This is my most favorite coffee cake recipe! I had to share! I’ve linked to your recipe here: : https://happyturtlefamily.blogspot.com/2013/12/happenings.html

  11. Gosh this just looks so yummy. can’t wait to make it and then eat it all. all by myself. because i have no one to share christmas with…

  12. I found this on Pinterest and had to make it it looked so good but I didn’t have sour cream so I substituted plain whole milk yogurt…it was perfect! Thanks for the recipe!

  13. Ali, we just made the cake yesterday. It was so yummy! We had friends over and they kept “straightening” the cake line …
    Thanks!

  14. That looks so moist and yummy! I can’t wait to make it. Thanks for the recipe.

  15. It’s in the oven now…smells so yummy! I had to make another half batch of the batter because I did too much in the first layer…hard to measure half the batter!

  16. Does the cake taste like sour cream or can you not tell? I’m a bit nervous to use so much sour cream, could I replace it with plain Greek or whole fat yogurt? Thanks so much!

  17. It’s freezing and sleeting in Dallas so I decided to try your recipe after finding it on Pinterest. It is delicious – light, fluffy and moist! I halved the recipe and baked it in an 8×8 pan since there are just 2 of us and I had a feeling I’d eat the whole 9×13 if I had it in front of me. Thanks!

  18. I’ve made this at least a dozen times….my little family loves it….doesn’t take long to make either.
    Increase the white/brown sugar to 1/3 cup, double the cinnamon and add a bit of nutmeg. 12oz sour cream = 1.5 cups. Change vanilla to 2 teaspoons. Bake for ~ 40 minutes (3Kft elevation) in an 8″ cast iron skillet coated with butter and flour. Use only real eggs, butter and sour cream or grandma will come down from heaven and hunt you down.

  19. made this cake and it was so wonderful. Could not stop eating it got ate up in a day.that was five days ago,getting ready to make again.it was such a hit in the house.thank u .

  20. I found your recipe a while back and I added it to my favorites. It’s very simple to make and tastes great. I’m getting ready to make another one right now. Thanks for sharing your recipe with all of us.

  21. Can I use gluten free flour?

    • Actually, the cake will not turn out well when baked with GF flour. I’m working on a GF alternative, though! :)

    • Alli, just wonderkng if you have tried King Arthur’s Measure for Measure ( OR) Bobs Red Mill 1 to 1 ratio?
      I was thinking of trying that for a friend who is allergic to wheat.






  22. My cake turned out a bit dense. I made half of the cake recipe and cooked it in a 7×11 inch baking dish for 30 minutes. I used full fat sour cream because I had it on hand, would that have made a difference?

    • Much more likely that you accidently either over mixed the batter once the dry ingredients were added. ( been thete did that) You can beat the heck out of wet ingredients BUT once you add dry ingredients, you should never over mix. That develops too much gluten in the flour, and results in a dense cake ( true of all baked good recipes) Also when measuring the flour, spoon flour into the measuring cups , then level off with BACK of knife. That prevents dry cake. Never dip measuring cup onto flour. It packs the flour down..= dry cake.






  23. The recipe is gone… I can see a couple photos and the story behind the coffee cake but cannot see the recipe. Is there something I should click on or is it removed for a reason?

  24. Delish!! Just made this morning. I didn’t have enough sour cream so I subbed half of it with a container of blueberry greek yogurt.  Perfect hint of blueberry flavor.  Thanks for a great recipe. 

  25. I got this same recipe from my mother-in-law. It is a Christmas morning tradition but we melt a half a stick of butter in one cup of Orange juice, poke holes in cake with a fork then  pour it over cake.

  26. I just made this wonderful sour cream coffee cake that you and a school buddy had made while presumably in college. This is one of the best ,easiest ,moist ones I have made in a long time. I did have a recipe from aunt Jemima but lost it. I did tweak this a little by using vanilla bean Greek yogurt in place of sour cream as I didn’t want to go to the store before making it. I do find a hint of vanilla but used almond extract instead of vanilla to tone down the content. My family will be so happy in the morning when I give them this for their on the go breakfast with some sausage links. I have to make things that they can take with them as they don’t have time to sit and eat. thank you for this recipe and I have added it to my permanent recipe list.

    • Thanks so much, I’m really happy to hear that, what a nice compliment! And I love your idea of using the vanilla bean Greek yogurt, I’ll have to give that a try! Cheers : )

  27. This turned out great. I was looking for a good recipe to use up some, ahem, very expired but unopened sour cream.  I love the texture of the cake – moist, light, and the brown sugar mixture in between layers gave a nice, subtle crunch.  Will definitely make again.

  28. Made this coffee cake yesterday and tweaked it ever so slightly by adding a bit more cinnamon and an extra bit of vanilla extract. It is delicious & my husband loves it.  This will definitely make a “repeat performance” at my house! Yum! Thank you Ali!  

  29. I have made this recipe many times.  It is delicious.  Moist and tender.  I cut down the total sugar by about a 1/4 cup, two tablespoons less in batter and two less in toppings and I add a 1/4 tsp of nutmeg in the topping.    It is a great recipe!

  30. This was by far one of the easiest and delicious cake recipes I have ever made. I am no baker and don’t bake often. My family of 3 ate the cake two days. I have never received sooio many compliments. Thanks for sharing

    • Thank you Franca, that’s so sweet! We’re really happy you and your family enjoyed this!

  31. Thanks SO MUCH for sharing this recipe! Simple, delicious and elegant?. I just wanted to tell everyone I’ve made this recipe about six time and have always followed it to the letter and have always been pleased with the results. I was trying to do too many things at once while making it today and neglected to cream the butter and sugar first (I mistakenly mixed ALL the dry ingredient together – duh). Well I decided to just dump the rest of the ingredients into the bowl (minus the topping) and see what happened. The batter seemed to be stickier than usual so I threw in 1/2 cup of heavy cream to loosen it up. I popped it in the oven an VOILA…perfect coffee cake. So not only is it good, its idiot proof!? Thanks again for sharing!

    • You’re very welcome, we’re so happy you enjoyed this! And oh no, we’ve totally made that same mistake before! We’re glad you were able to fix it, and that it still turned out so well! Good to know. :)

  32. So yummy! Subbed coconut oil for the butter (mostly motivated by not wanting to wait for the butter to come to room temp) and, because my family doesn’t usually do overly sweet, omitted the topping. Came out really good — lightly sweet and not too dense. I imagine in this way it would be great with some whipped cream and/or a compote. Perfect for a sweet snack on its own and so easy to whip together! Thank you!

  33. Delicious. Thank you!!

  34. Can this be made the night before by preparing the wet and dry ingredients separately, storing and then combining in the morning? Thanks!

    • Hi Sarah, you can definitely prepare the dry ingredients in advance, but we wouldn’t recommend prepping the wet ingredients in advance. We hope you enjoy this!

  35. I’m excited  to bring this to tomorrow’s Sunday’ church service. My house smells like Christmas. 

  36. Can this cake be frozen?

  37. Hi I would like to make this cake but I got confused why it’s called sour cream coffee cake ? Do we have to add coffee to the ingredients? Thanks

    • Hi there, we’re sorry for the confusion! This cake doesn’t have coffee in it, but is called a “coffee cake” because of the style of cake it is (excellent for enjoying alongside a nice cup of coffee). :) Here’s a little backstory on the origin of the “coffee cake”

  38. Made this cake 2 days ago. SOOOOO good, it’s more then half gone. Gave some to my neighbor too! A recipe keeper for sure!! 

  39. I used to make this coffee cake for my boyfriend in high school and that was 50 years ago!  Same recipe, I was so thrilled to find it.  Cake is in the oven ask we speak.  Good recipes never die, sometimes they just fade away.  But always return.  P.S.  I married him 42 years ago.  Must have been the cake!

  40. I made this to use up leftover sour cream and added chocolate chips to increase the decadence! Absolutely delicious and very easy. I will definitely make this again

    • Thanks for sharing Kelly — we’re so glad you enjoyed it! And extra chocolate chips are never a bad thing. :D

  41. This is the coffee cake recipe I have been looking for! Light, moist, SO delicious.  Only thing I did differently was add a tiny bit of cardomom to the topping mixture the second time, which we all decided was a keeper. Thanks for this! 

    • Thanks, we’re so happy you loved this! We think that addition of cardamom sounds lovely too. :)

  42. You didnt mention coffee in the whole recipe .when n how much to add?

    • Hi there! Coffee cakes typically don’t have coffee in them (despite their name). They’re just historically called “coffee cakes” because they are usually enjoyed with a cup of coffee. :)

  43. Thanks for a great recipe! Made it for my family and it turned out perfect. Best of all, they loved it! This will be made again. Cheers

    • You’re welcome Lindsay — we’re happy you and your family enjoyed it!

  44. Thank u so much for the recipe . I made it and it’s so good and moist. My kids loved it 

    • You’re welcome Huda — we’re so glad you and your kiddos enjoyed it!

  45. This was SO good!!!! I used fresh ground soft white wheat for the win!

  46. Hi, there is no coffee in the ingredients so how does the coffee flavour come through please. Thnx Tina

    • Hi Tina — coffee cakes generally don’t have coffee in them (we know, the name is misleading) but historically they’re called coffee cakes because they go so well with coffee. :)

  47. My whole family loved this and I’m going to make it whenever I need a go to dessert! It was so light and fluffy and not too sweet. My mom even said it was the best coffee cake she ever had and that’s high praise from a very critical lady! Thank u for sharing this!

  48. Made this today for my family.   So easy, moist and delicious!!!  Thank you for sharing.  Will be making this again!

  49. Oh. My. God. I NEED TO MAKE THIS! Thank you so much!

    Charmaine Ng

  50. This looks like just the thing for Christmas morning!
    Kari