Sour cream coffee cake is moist and wonderfully flavorful. This coffee cake is topped with a delicious crumb topping and uses simple ingredients. One of the easiest (and most delicious) cake recipes!
It’s perfect for breakfast, brunch or with a cup of coffee. Fold in whatever type of fruit you prefer or leave it out for this moist coffee cake. Makes three (9×5-inch) loaves, ready in 60-minutes and a reader favorite!
I really wish you could smell and taste this delicious coffee cake right now! Oh, it smells amazing!
This recipe makes three loaves of loaf coffee cakes. They’re freezer friendly and absolutely delicious. Soft crumbs, moist and the perfect easy dessert for any occasion.
Why this recipe works
- Made with simple ingredients – This recipe uses ingredients readily available at most grocery stores.
- Prep ahead of time – It’s the type of cake that’s better the second day. Perfect cake recipe for any breakfast, brunch or potluck.
- Ease – Simple steps ensure the perfectly baked cake each and every time. Made in one bowl with either an electric hand mixer or a stand mixer. Fold in whatever type of fruit you prefer. Use wild blueberries or chopped apples when they are in season.
- Flavor – Full-fat sour cream, blueberries and a delicious crumb topping give this cake plenty of incredible flavor!
- Easy dessert – Ready in about 60-minutes, it’s the perfect holiday dessert recipe.
What you’ll need
- Butter – With all of our baking recipes, we always use unsalted butter so you can control the amount of salt in your recipes.
- Sugar – Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy for this cake.
- Eggs – Always let them warm up to room temperature for any baking recipe.
- Flour – Use all-purpose or cake flour for this cake recipe. Sift it to make sure your there are no lumps in your batter. (Use a flour sifter or a metal strainer and tap it against your hand over a bowl.)
Fold in whatever type of fruit you prefer to the batter of this easy coffee cake. Cut up two apples (Macoun, Granny Smith, or Macintosh) into small pieces and toss with a little cinnamon (maybe 1 teaspoon) and add to your cake batter.
You’ll need a few loaf pans. Order them here if you need. (These are my favorite that are made by USA pans)
These paper loaf pan liners are amazing! No need for spraying cooking spray on your pans. Just plop them into your loaf pans and you’ll easily remove the coffee cakes, banana bread, pumpkin bread and any yeast bread you bake.
How to make Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- Cream together butter & sugar- Cream together the sugar and butter. Be sure and scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl occasionally with a rubber spatula.
- Add vanilla, eggs, and sour cream- Add the vanilla, eggs, and sour cream.
- Incorporate the dry ingredients- Add half of the flour and combine. Add the remaining flour and baking powder and mix until combined.
- Divide batter into loaf pans- Divide the batter evenly between three (9×5-inch) lined loaf pans.
- Add crumb topping – Sprinkle crumb topping evenly over unbaked coffee cakes.
- Bake – Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F oven for 55-60 minutes. Use a toothpick when inserted comes out mostly clean, with only a few moist crumbs the cake is done.
- Remove cakes from baking pans – Let the cakes cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Remove from baking pans and let cool on a baking rack.
How to make crumb topping
Simply add the ingredients to a bowl and press together with your fingers to combine. Add the desired amount of cinnamon to your liking.
How to keep Coffee Cake moist
- My secret ingredient to keeping coffee cake moist and super fresh is dough conditioner. Professional bakers, such as my mom add this to all of their baking recipes. Add 1 teaspoon of dough conditioner to 1 cup of flour.
- Don’t over mix the cake batter. Overmixing cake batter can cause cakes to be tough.
- Add room temperature eggs one at a time and only until combined.
- Use full-fat sour cream or buttermilk and fresh ingredients.
- Don’t overbake the coffee cake! Check if your cake is done with a toothpick when inserted comes out mostly clean, with a few moist crumbs.
Recipe FAQs
Coffee cake is a moist cake that is topped with a cinnamon crumb topping and often served for breakfast or brunch along with coffee.
More Baking recipes
- Lemon Pound Cake
- Lemon Loaf Cake
- Banana Bread
- Strawberry Shortcake
- Red Velvet Marble Cake
- Blueberry Muffins
- Banana Muffins
- Chewy Brownies
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Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
- 4 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 ¼ cups full-fat sour cream
- 4 cups all-purpose or cake flour sifted
- 1 tablespoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup fresh blueberries
Crumb topping
- ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter softened
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
Crumb Topping
- In a bowl, combine the ingredients with your fingers. Adjust the cinnamon to your liking.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line three loaf pans with baking papers. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer or use an electric hand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar.
- Add the salt, eggs, vanilla, and sour cream and combine. Occasionally scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Add the half of the flour and combine. Scrape the bowl again with a rubber spatula. Add the remaining flour and baking powder and mix until combined.
- Fold in the blueberries.
- Divide the batter evenly between the three (9×5-inch) loaf pans. Sprinkle the streusel topping evenly on the top of each unbaked coffee cake. (keep any leftover crumb topping in a freezer safe zip-style bag)
- Place the loaf pans on a half sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 60-65 minutes. Cakes are done when a toothpick inserted into the center of the cakes comes out clean.
- Let the cakes cool for 20 minutes before slicing.
Video
Recipe Notes
You do not need to add fruit if you do not wish. Fold in whatever type of fruit you prefer or leave it out. Add a bit more cinnamon to the recipe to make a darker crumb topping.
Nutrition
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Nicole says
Can this recipe be cut in half?
Jessica Robinson says
Nicole,
Of course, you’re welcome to cut the recipe in half. Or make both cakes and wrap one and freeze it!
Nicole says
Can I use salted butter.
Jessica Robinson says
Nicole,
Of course you can use salted butter. I always use unsalted only for the reason that you don’t know how much salt each brand adds to their butter. But salted butter is just fine!
Janie Keller says
Do you know if this can be made ahead, frozen, then baked another time? Thinking of giving for Christmas gifts so people have something to bake on Christmas morning.
Jessica Robinson says
Janie,
This cake can absolutely be made a few days ahead of time and will be super moist still. You can also make the streusel topping ahead of time and refrigerate for a few days, or plop in the freezer for a few weeks.
Janie Keller says
Just wondering about freezing the assembled but pre-baked product. Thinking so the recipients could do the baking so it is super fresh? Didn’t know if it would mess with the consistency or density.
Jessica Robinson says
Janie,
We used to do this when I worked in a bakery. I have not tested it with this particular cake. But, what we used to do was freeze the cakes, unbaked. Then add streusel topping right before we baked them. But, again I have not tried that method with this particular cake. (cinnamon rolls- yes)
Charlenes68 says
Super easy recipe! Mine are cooling right now! I followed the recipe but my streusel topping is super light. I’m guessing I should have added more cinnamon.
Jessica Robinson says
Thanks for trying out my recipe! I tend to like a bit more cinnamon, so you can certainly add a bit more too! That will make it look darker and give it more flavor.
Vanessa says
Thanks for sharing! How far ahead of time can I make it?
Jessica Robinson says
Vanessa,
You can make this a few days ahead of time. I usually put each cake in a twist tie baggie and leave on the counter. (as long as it’s too hot in your kitchen)
Suzanne says
This looks so good! What a perfect dish to make for brunch!
Kathy says
I doubled the recipe and put it in an 11 x 18 “ pan. Sprinkled streusel over top and baked for 70 minutes. Turned out absolutely beautiful.
Jessica Robinson says
Kathy,
So nice to hear that you loved the recipe! Making it in a larger pan and cutting into squares sounds perfect for a crowd!
Rena says
This cake is Awesome! Did you ever make it in one baking pan as one cake?
That streusel is addictive lol.
I too use spatulas for everything. They are great!
Jessica Robinson says
You certainly could make it as one big cake. Maybe in a 9×13-inch pan. Glad you enjoyed!
Julie says
Can this bread be frozen….?
Jessica Robinson says
Julie,
Absolutely! This cake can be frozen and thawed to enjoy!
Judy G says
Could I leave out the peaches ? Wondering if it will still be a moist ?
Jessica Robinson says
Judy,
Absolutely! Either use another fruit, or just do blueberries. You can even just do no fruit. Whatever you prefer. This cake is so darn delicious and moist!
Sarah Beth says
I followed the recipe as written and my batter was SUPER thick. Yours looks pretty runny. Also, how is your streusel so dark if you don’t call for brown sugar? Mine was light and I used brown sugar…
Jessica Robinson says
Sarah,
Glad you tried out my coffee cake recipe. Yes, the batter is super thick, it is NOT runny! Also, I tend to go heavier on the ground cinnamon, which is why my streusel looks darker. Just a preference in our household.
Gabrielle says
Mine was also SO thick – too thick it was like cookie dough and I had to scrape off my fingers. I added a cup of milk and turned out beautiful!
Jessica Robinson says
Gabrielle,
Glad to hear that it turned out great. It is a thicker cake batter. But, possible that you didn’t measure ingredients correctly or you forgot to add one? Also, depending on what brand of sour cream, or if you used full-fat vs. a low fat one- they tend to have different consistencies. But, glad to hear you enjoyed it!
Andrea says
I think you need to fix the streusel ingredients from granulated sugar to brown sugar.
Jessica Robinson says
Hello Andrea,
Not for this recipe. This recipe has granulated sugar for the streusel ingredients, NOT brown sugar. Adjust the cinnamon based on your taste.
Judy G says
Could I leave out the fruit and make just a coffee cake with this recipe ?
Jessica Robinson says
Judy,
Thanks for stopping by! SURE! You can leave the fruit out. Just swirl some of the streusel topping in or leave it on the top.
Donna says
What size loaf pans are you using?
Jessica Robinson says
Normal size loaf pans are a 9 x 5 inches.
Donna says
Have you ever doubled the topping and put half of it in the middle instead of the fruit? I’m not crazy about the fruit snd think it might just be pretty good!!
Jessica Robinson says
You can certainly do that!
Casey says
Wow, love this coffee cake! I’m sure this is going to be amazing, will def. give this a try over this weekend! Thx