Classic Buttermilk Coffee Cake

This classic coffee cake has such a tender, moist texture. It's fluffy, with a layer of cinnamon sugar in the middle, and topped with a crispy cinnamon streusel topping. Does it get much better than that?!

What is coffee cake? 

Ahhh, coffee cake. The perfect balance of fluffy cake and crunchy, sweet streusel topping. If you've never had coffee cake before, you definitely need to! But just to clarify something that you might not know-- coffee cake has no actual coffee in it! It is called coffee cake simply because it's typically enjoyed with a cup of coffee, so it's the perfect little slice of heaven for breakfast!

Ingredients for classic buttermilk coffee cake

Nothing too crazy is needed as far as ingredients go for this recipe. This coffee cake is make in three super easy steps. The first thing you'll need to do is make the make the cake. Here is everything you'll need for it.

• All-purpose flour

• Baking soda

• Salt

• Cinnamon

• Brown sugar + granulated sugar

• Sour cream

• Unsalted butter

• Eggs

• Vanilla extract

• Buttermilk

Making the streusel topping

Let's be honest. What's coffee cake without a streusel topping? It's easily the best part of the whole thing. It adds a delicious crunch and so much cinnamon flavor. To make the topping, you'll need the following ingredients

• All-purpose flour

• Brown sugar

• Melted butter

• Cinnamon

• Salt

All you'll need to do is mix all of your ingredients together in a bowl until you're left with a thick, cinnamon crumb mixture. Once your cake batter is in the pan, sprinkle that all over the top of the batter and you're ready to bake it!

Tips for the best coffee cake

Allow it to cool completely. Have you ever tried to cut warm coffee cake? While it would still be delicious if you did, I don't recommend it. It tends to be very crumbly, and the slices may break apart. Letting it cool completely will make sure the pieces will stay in tact, and make for super easy slicing.

Top it with something! This tip is completely an optional one, but is highly recommended. I love dusting my coffee cake with powdered sugar or drizzling it with a super simple glaze. For a quick glaze, just mix some powdered sugar with a little bit of milk, until you get the perfect glaze consistency and drizzle away!

Microwave leftover slices for 10-15 seconds. This might seem a little silly, since we let the coffee cake cool completely. But that was to make the cake easy to cut into slices. But microwaving individual slices is totally fine, and is super easy tip to take your slice of coffee cake to the next level!

Classic Buttermilk Coffee Cake

Recipe by Chrissy

Servings

9

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

55

minutes

Total time

1

hour 

10

minutes

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour

• ¾ teaspoon baking soda

• ¾ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon cinnamon

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened

• ½ cup light brown sugar, packed

• ½ cup granulated sugar

• ⅓ cup sour cream

• 2 eggs

• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

• ⅔ cup buttermilk

• Cinnamon center

• ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• Streusel Topping

• ¾ cup all-purpose flour

• ½ cup light brown sugar

• ⅓ cup unsalted butter, melted

• 1 tablespoon cinnamon

• Pinch of salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x9 square pan and line with parchment paper, if desired. Set aside.
• In a stand mixer or large bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugars until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add in the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla extract.
• To the bowl, add the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Start mixing. Once almost completely combined, slowly pour in the buttermilk. Continue mixing until everything is smooth and incorporated.
• Make the cinnamon center mixture. In a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon.
• Pour about half of the coffee cake batter into the prepared pan, and spread in an even layer. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture all over. Pour the other half of the coffee cake batter on top, and carefully spread it into an even layer.
• Now, make the streusel topping by combining all streusel ingredients in a separate bowl. It should become a thick, crumbly streusel mixture. Sprinkle evenly on top of the batter.
• Bake for 55-60 minutes. Allow to coo completely before slicing. Enjoy within 4 days.