Breakfast / Muffins & quick breads
Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel
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Cinnamon streusel hides in the middle of this sour cream cake and piles up on top. Lift it out on its parchment sling, set it on the table, and watch the family politely fight over the corner piece.
The short version
Mix a streusel of flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and cold butter. Cream butter and sugar, beat in eggs, alternate the flour and sour cream, then layer batter and streusel twice in a 9-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes.
What makes ours better
why ours wins the argument at dinner
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Add sour cream. It makes the crumb moist and tender and adds a tang that keeps the cake from tasting flat or too sweet. It's what makes the cake keep well for days.
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Layer streusel through the middle. A ribbon of cinnamon crumb in the center means every slice has streusel, not just the top.
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Chill the streusel. Cold butter keeps the crumbs chunky and lets them bake into crisp clusters instead of melting flat into the cake.
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Line the pan with a parchment sling. You can lift the whole cake out and slice it cleanly, with the streusel still on top.
What you need
the stars of the show
- All-purpose flour1½ cups
- Packed light brown sugar¾ cup
- Ground cinnamon1 teaspoon
- Unsalted butter10 tablespoons
- Granulated sugar1 cup
- Eggs2 large
- Vanilla extract1½ teaspoons
- Sour cream1 cup
Streusel
Cake
Optional glaze
yes, all of the butter
Steps
apron on. phone down. mostly.
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Heat the oven, line the pan
Set a rack in the middle of the oven and heat it to 350°F. Butter a 9×9-inch baking pan and line it with a strip of parchment that hangs over two opposite sides.
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Make the streusel
In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Add the cold butter and pinch it in with your fingertips until the mix forms clumps from pea-sized to small marble-sized. Refrigerate while you make the batter.
Pinch, don't rub. Rubbing warms the butter and gives you sand.
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Cream the butter and sugar
Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed for 3 minutes, until pale and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the vanilla, scraping the bowl once.
About 3 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Whisk the dry ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
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Alternate flour and sour cream
With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the sour cream in 2 parts, beginning and ending with flour. Mix just until you don't see dry flour. The batter will be thick.
Stop as soon as the flour disappears. Overmixing makes a tough cake.
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Layer batter and streusel
Spread half the batter in the pan, using a small offset spatula to smooth it. Sprinkle with about one third of the streusel. Dollop on the remaining batter and spread gently to the edges. Cover with all the remaining streusel in a thick layer.
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Bake
Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until the streusel is deep golden and a toothpick in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs. If the top browns too fast, tent it loosely with foil for the last 15 minutes.
About 50 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
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Cool and glaze
Cool in the pan on a rack for at least 30 minutes, then lift out by the parchment. For the glaze, whisk the powdered sugar with the milk and drizzle it over. Cut into squares. It slices best when it's warm, not hot.
About 30 min. Cook mode has a timer for this step.
Good to know
things I learned the hard way, so you can skip that part
- Room-temperature butter, eggs and sour cream mix into a smooth batter. Cold sour cream makes the butter seize and look curdled, and the cake bakes up denser.
- Add 1 cup of chopped pecans or walnuts to the streusel, or fold 1 cup of blueberries into the batter.
- Use full-fat yogurt in place of sour cream if you need to. Skip low-fat versions, which make the cake gummy.
- Storage. Covered at room temperature, 3 days. Wrap squares and freeze for 3 months; thaw at room temperature and warm in a 300°F oven for 10 minutes.
Questions, answered
asked and answered at the kitchen counter
Why did my streusel sink into the cake?
The batter was too thin or the streusel was warm. Chill the streusel, and spread the second layer of batter gently so you don't push the crumbs down.
Can I make coffee cake ahead of time?
Yes. Bake it the day before and keep it covered at room temperature. It keeps well and tastes better the next day. Warm a square in the oven or microwave before serving.
Can I use Greek yogurt instead of sour cream?
Yes. Use full-fat plain Greek yogurt in the same amount. The cake will be slightly less tangy and a little less rich.
Why is my coffee cake dry?
Overbaking is the usual cause, followed by measuring the flour too heavily. Spoon the flour into the cup and level it, and pull the cake when a toothpick has a few moist crumbs.
Can I bake it in a different pan?
A 9×13-inch pan works if you scale the recipe 1½ times and bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Go by the toothpick, not the clock.
From the table
Made it? Tell me how it went, and who went back for seconds when they thought nobody was looking.
Made it?
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Published October 28, 2026.