Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

902 Ratings
  • 5 156
  • 4 220
  • 3 328
  • 2 154
  • 1 44

Everyone needs a delicious coffee cake recipe in their repertoire, and this cinnamon streusel coffee cake recipe is the perfect option. Meaning "something strewn" in Old German, streusel is easy to throw together -- and then to throw on top of this sour-cream coffee cake. The sweet glaze in the recipe is the perfect coffee cake topping.

Martha Stewart Living, March 2011

Gallery

Read the full recipe after the video.

Recipe Summary

prep:
25 mins
total:
1 hr 55 mins
Servings:
12
Yield:
Makes one 9-inch cake
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Ingredients

FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING AND CENTER
FOR THE CAKE
FOR THE GLAZE

Directions

  • Make the streusel topping: Mix together flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cut in butter using a pastry cutter or rub in with your fingers until small to medium clumps form. Mix in 1/2 cup pecans. Refrigerate until ready to use.

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  • Make the streusel center: Mix together remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon, and 1 cup pecans.

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Make the cake: Butter a 9-inch tube pan with a removable bottom. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon salt into a bowl.

  • Beat butter and granulated sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla. Beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour. Continue to beat until well combined.

  • Spoon half the batter into pan. Sprinkle streusel center mixture evenly over batter. Top with remaining batter, and spread evenly using an offset spatula. Sprinkle streusel topping mixture evenly over batter.

  • Bake until cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack, and let cool completely. Remove cake from pan, and transfer to parchment.

  • Make the glaze: Mix together confectioners' sugar and milk. Drizzle over cake, and let drip down sides. Let set for 5 minutes before serving.

Cook's Notes

For the banana-coconut variation, substitute walnuts for pecans. Add 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (about 3) and 3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut to batter at the end of step 4.

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Reviews (27)

902 Ratings
  • 5 156
  • 4 220
  • 3 328
  • 2 154
  • 1 44
Martha Stewart Member
05/26/2021
I am so disappointed! My cake was stuck to my baking pan! I’ve made this cake in the past and this is the first time that’s happened. What did I do wrong? Should I have taken it out of the pan before it cooled completely? I used butter to grease the pan. Should I have used shortening and flour? Please help me. I love this cake and want to make it again. Thanks!
Martha Stewart Member
02/15/2020
This is one of the tastiest cakes I've ever made! I made it exactly as described & it turned out wonderfully. That being said, I think the recipe as printed on the web page can use a little tweaking - the ingredients for the streusel topping & the cinnamon/nut/sugar swirl layer should be written out separately, it's too easy to add everything into the streusel by mistake. Also, a little editorial to assure bakers that the relatively low volume of cake mixture compared to the HUGE amount of topping is not only ok but expected. I was concerned when I made it - I barely had enough cake mix to split & cover the swirl - and then the topping layer was so deep I was sure I had made a mistake somewhere. But it baked up beautifully - plenty of cake & the right amount of topping - some sort of culinary magic :)
Martha Stewart Member
12/23/2018
Had to make gluten free for my family, so used Nameste flour and follow recipe exactly. Delicious but very rich. Can not figure out how to remove center portion of form pan without losing streusel so just left that portioning and served to my family.
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Martha Stewart Member
11/25/2018
I have a similar recipe that is my go-to coffee cake for taking anywhere. It is from the Culinary Institute of NY in Hyde Park, NY. However, mine adds chocolate chips (I use the mini sized ones) and I prefer walnuts to pecans. I also double the streusel. Enjoy it a lot!
Martha Stewart Member
11/15/2018
The best ever, highly recommend it. It’s delicious.
Martha Stewart Member
10/20/2018
I have never met a basic coffee cake recipe that wasn't dry and this one was no exception. Dry and crumbly. Sorry.
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Martha Stewart Member
06/04/2018
SOoooooo, I tried this recipe and somehow misjudged some of the measurents. When it called for a stick of butter, I have a 2Lb block...., there are no ‘cup’ conversions for a stick to my measuring cups. So unsure how much a ‘stick’ is worth in my only measurements that I knew. I think I used WAY too much. The other issue is the salt. I know at least its a ‘pinch’ regardless of the recipe showing an entire container which is for purchase. So that I’d gotten right since it was at least confirmed waaaay down into the recipe. I like many others like to prepare all ingredients ahead of time, so having to scour a recipe for exact measurements isn’t what I’d like to be doing. I don’t think the recipe is at fault, rather whoever uploaded and reviewed it missed a couple of key conversions. Not everyone is going to run out and buy a ‘stick of butter’ for an extorbitant price over a 2 cup block for half that price. I’m not giving up on this recipe, however, I still don’t know what a stick of butter converts to in cups.
Martha Stewart Member
03/29/2018
This was delicious and a big hit. Great breakfast bread for the family.
Martha Stewart Member
06/05/2017
I made this yesterday and I was very pleased with the cake, it was so moist and just perfect for a cold afternoon coffee break. I just tweak some stuffs in the recipe to suit my personal taste and preference. So I reduced the amount of flour in the streusel toppings to 11/2 c. because I think its just too many. And I add a tsp.of espresso powder on the batter to flavor it. I also add 1/3 c. of w[filtered] milk in the recipe to make the batter a little lose to help it spread faster, I also use walnuts instead of pecans coz' its the only nuts available in my pantry that time. I put it in a Bundt pan that's why it takes sometime to bake and done in 50 min.My husband is not a fan of cinnamon but this is the first time he likes it. it was ohh so yummy..
Martha Stewart Member
05/15/2017
I've made this four times as written and it is by far the best coffee cake I've ever eaten. For those who think there are too many crumbs, just put them on anyway! They bake into the cake to make the most delicious crumbly, crunchy top layer you've ever had. The only bad thing about this cake is that you need serious self control to not eat too much of it. Also, my cake was done after 41 minutes in the oven.
Martha Stewart Member
01/05/2017
Absolutely amazing. Beautiful and delicious.
Martha Stewart Member
04/06/2016
I give this a solid B. It wasn't really sweet enough and a good thing to remember is to press the streusel into the top a little so everything doesn't fall off when you slice it!! The crumbles are the best part so long as they stay with the cake. Mine was actually a bit dry but I think I overcooked just a bit.
Martha Stewart Member
03/21/2015
Baked this cake today for the first time ever. Have to say it could use a bit more sweetness. Mine came out well except that it isn't as sweet as what would be expected of a cinnamon coffee cake. Anyways, for the next try I will be trying a bit more sugar and see if it helps! And oh, if you are using a regular pan instead of a bundt pan, you may want to reduce the baking time to about 30 mins.
Martha Stewart Member
02/06/2015
Hi guys, I made this coffee cake for my boyfriend's birthday. I am not an experienced baker and I was a bit unsure during the baking process how it would turn out. It was unnecessary to stress it came out beautifully and my boyfriend LOVED it! Defs will be making this again some time soon and hopefully adding a few twists and hopefully make it a bit healthier.
Martha Stewart Member
12/30/2014
I read many other reviews as mine baked. I just removed mine from the oven & based on what I had read, I wasn't sure what I was about to reveal. Well, yummy, cinnamon, sweet pecan perfection is what I got. I saw this made by Martha on a cooking show last night and jotted the recipe down as she made it. Not for anyone who is scared to cook, as it is a very "involved" recipe. You must INVOLVE your brain cells and do it carefully. If so, I think it's great!!
Martha Stewart Member
04/09/2014
Just finished making this cake, I was skeptical with how thick the batter was and the huge amount of topping but it came out great, the topping is crunchy (didn't add the nuts to the top part)and melds to a correct amount, did not add the powdered sugar drizzle and it's great without it. I also used mac nuts instead of pecans as i'm not a fan of pecans. The strudel topping on top is just right, kind of salty with sweet yummy, used a regular bundt pan, now to figure out how to get the cake out
Martha Stewart Member
10/26/2013
Thanks from Bonn/Germany for this really amazing recipe. If you prefer a more easier way to make streusel (Step 1) try this way please: Pour melted butter over the mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until clumps form.
Martha Stewart Member
09/12/2013
This came out very nice and delicious. The batter is thick like a previous reviewer said so you have to be careful spreading out half on the bottom of your pan. And it's a little tricky spreading on the rest of the batter over the filling. I used a tube pan. Also, I added blue berries on the top layer pushing them into the batter a bit before adding the crumble topping. I did not use all the topping. It seemed like a lot. Next time I'll use all the topping so I can compare.
Martha Stewart Member
08/16/2013
I made this with whole wheat flour and it turned out great. The only other substitution I made to the batter was adding an extra banana. I also only made a third of the streusel for the top. Very moist and tasty cake.
Martha Stewart Member
07/16/2013
I made this recipe and it turned out very well. The cake was moist and the streusel topping was great. This coffee cake tasted very similar to one I previously purchased from my local bakery.
Martha Stewart Member
06/04/2013
Very nice tasting cake, too much crumb topping though. Will make again with a reduced amount and possibly more butter to hold it together better.
Martha Stewart Member
05/12/2013
I just made this for Mother's Day brunch and it came out beautifully crunchy and delicious. It may seem like there's too much crumb topping but it all bakes into the cake and becomes one. This recipe is a keeper. I will definitely be making this again.
Martha Stewart Member
04/01/2013
Very dissapointing! Dough was too thick and very hard to make into layers with streusel in the middle. Also too much topping!
Martha Stewart Member
03/24/2013
I made mine in a 6-cup cast iron mini bundt pan. I assumed that I had to cut the baking time in half so I let it bake for just 25 minutes. I think I should have left it in for another 3 minutes because it didn't brown enough. The toothpick came out clean so I guessed that it was fine and just let the residual heat do the rest. When it was finally cool enough, I found it so soft that it crumbled easily. As for the taste, oh my God. SO SCRUMPTIOUS AND VERY MOIST! Definitely gonna make this again.
Martha Stewart Member
03/20/2013
Well, for starters, this smelled amazing while baking. The batter was nice to work with and had a nice tang from the sour cream. I did find that the crumb topping is EXCESSIVE. It is over 5 cups worth! No way did I even use half and I was very liberal with using it., It could be cut in half easily and still have some leftover. The cake baked up pretty nice, on the dense side a little but tasted good. Read through - no divided ingredients are mentioned but they are used. Wont make again.
Martha Stewart Member
02/23/2013
This recipe is AWFUL. The baking instructions were a little confusing . I had to re-read it a few times to make sure I was doing it right. The topping has WAY too much flour, it does not taste good at all. After baking it turned into a huge soggy MESS. I bake often, and would NOT recommend this recipe. Im very disappointed to waste all that butter. BIG waste of time and money on ingredients.
Martha Stewart Member
07/17/2012
i made is coffee cake to take to work with me when i got there every one said how good it looked and than just went at it. everyone loved it all my coworkers and the chefs liked it as well . thank you so much is is a keeper. everyone please make this your family will love you so much more.
Martha Stewart Member
12/21/2011
This recipe is great! I made it for a potluck breakfast at work...everybody loved it. I like it so much I am going to serve it for my Christmas brunch...and only my favorite recipes make it to that!
Martha Stewart Member
12/21/2011
This recipe is great! I made it for a potluck breakfast at work...everybody loved it. I like it so much I am going to serve it for my Christmas brunch...and only my favorite recipes make it to that!
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