Cinnamon-Swirl Coffee Cake Recipe

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Hand's down, the best coffee cake you'll ever eat. You won't believe how easy it is to make. Turn a simple boxed cake mix into a cinnamon swirl coffee cake that tastes like its from your favorite coffeeshop.
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Don’t let the name fool you. Coffee cake doesn’t have any coffee in it. This coffee cake recipe gets its name because it is recommended to serve alongside your favorite cup of joe.

Not a coffee fan, not a problem. Coffee cake is one of those desserts that everyone in the family enjoys.

Bursting with cinnamon flavor, each time I make this coffee cake recipe it is devoured in just a few days time. My family loves it.

This recipe is best made in a bundt pan. I prefer to use either a traditional metal bundt pan. However, a silicone bundt pan often makes it easier to remove the cake from the pan after baking. With silicone bundt pans you can push the cake out because of the flexible structure of the “pan”.

Give this Cake as a Gift

This mini-bundt pan would make the perfect sized little bundt cinnamon swirl coffee cakes to give away as a surprise gift to someone. If you choose to use a mini-bundt pan, please keep in mind that you will need to adjust the cooking time of the mini coffeecakes. They will more than likely cook faster in a mini pan than a regular sized bundt pan.

Do you eat coffee cake with coffee?

Get the entire coffeehouse experience without even leaving your house. Learn how to make two coffeehouse classics, Caramel Macchiato and Iced Coffee, in your own kitchen.

These recipes tastes so much better than a trip to your local coffeeshop, you might prefer to stay-in instead. Your wallet will thank you, if you do.

Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake Recipe - turn a box of yellow cake mix into a dessert the entire family will love

Cinnamon-Swirl Coffee Cake Recipe

thedomesticdiva.org
Hand’s down, the best coffee cake you’ll ever eat. You won’t believe how easy it is to make. Turn a simple boxed cake mix into a cinnamon swirl coffee cake that tastes like its from your favorite coffeeshop.
4.95 from 19 votes
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Servings 12 people

Ingredients
  

  • 1 yellow boxed cake mix + ingredients according to package (usually water, oil, and eggs)
  • 1 stick cold, unsalted butter
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350F.
  • Grease bundt pan and set aside. I use coconut oil to grease my pan but you could use any nonstick cooking spray that you prefer. 
  • Mix yellow cake mix according to package instructions and set aside.
  • In a bowl, mix together all of the remaining ingredients except the cold butter.
  • Cut the cold butter and mix into the dry ingredients. I found it easiest to use my hands to squish the butter and dry ingredients together until they formed a crumbly texture. (See Notes)
  • Pour half of the cake batter into your greased bundt pan.
  • Sprinkle half of the crumb topping mixture onto the cake mix.
  • Pour the remaining cake batter on top of the crumb topping.
  • (Optional) Swirl the batter slightly by making small circles in the batter with a butter knife, just once around the pan. This step is not necessary but will swirl the crumb topping in the middle of your cake, ever so slightly. 
  • Evenly distribute the remaining crumb topping to the top of the cake.
  • Bake in preheated 350F oven for 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
  • Remove from oven, and allow to cool completely in the pan.
  • Once cooled completely, remove from the pan, slice and enjoy.

Notes

If you don’t want to use your hands to cut the butter into the dry ingredients, a pastry cutter is the perfect tool for this job.
Check out my favorite kitchen gadgets for stay-at-home chefs on Amazon. 
Keyword Cake, Coffee, Coffeecake
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  1. Mary Ellen Dammyer says:

    So good! Husband loved it / makes a great grab and go breakfast. Will make next time all the kids are in town!

  2. Just made this today it is so good i will be making this again!!!!!!!

  3. Omggggg yummmm!! Made it for a gift but couldn’t resist so I cut a slice to try it and I definitely will be saving this recipe! Bring back the bunt cake lol reminds me of a true vintage recipe!

  4. Love this recipe. I’ve been making this for years. My only edits are that I do add 4 eggs and 1 cup of finely chopped apples. This is one of my family’s favorites ??

    1. Oh wow, I love your addition of apples. I’m sure it tastes amazing! Thank you for using my recipe.

  5. I forgot to take a picture of my beautiful coffee cake, anyway I followed your instructions exactly, it turned out great, so moist and delicious, I made it for my Bible Study group, and everyone loved it, I definitely will be making it again and again, Thank You So much for sharing this wonderful recipe .

  6. I do not have a Bundt cake pan. Can I make this cake and a 9 x 13” pan? Thank you.

    1. You could make the swirled cake part in the 9×13 pan but I would not add the crumb topping to the top of the cake because it will more than likely sink into the cake while baking.

      My suggestion would be to only use half the butter, flour, sugars, cinnamon, and vanilla because you would only be adding that cinnamon mixture to the middle of the cake and not the top so you’d only need half.

      Also your cook time will be a bit different since you are using a different shape pan. Use the suggested baking time on the back of your cake mix box for a 9×13 pan as a guide for how long you should bake it. When a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, then you’ll know it is done.

      If you give it a try, I’d love to hear how it turns out and if you have any other suggestions for baking this cake in a 9×13 pan. Good luck & Happy Baking!

      1. I had this challenge when making it in a round cake pan. Still tasted great!

  7. That looks so delicious, I definitely need to try this out at home soon. Thanks for sharing!

  8. Monica Simpson says:

    I love how easy this is since you used a boxed mix. Sometimes I don’t want to make it all from scratch!

  9. Melissa Cushing says:

    I am so making this this weekend for weeny in Laws come to town. My mother in-law loves a good coffee cake and everything homemade is even. better! Thank you for this!

  10. That’s a gorgeous looking coffee cake, and although I don’t drink coffee I bet it would still taste wonderful with a cup of tea!

  11. I love a good cinnamon coffee cake! This looks so beautiful and delicious. Would love it for breakfast with a cup of hot coffee or tea.

  12. I make a coffee cake every Christmas morning. My recipe is very similar to this one.

  13. This looks delicious. Thank you for clearing the coffee in its name. Happy to know it doesn’t have any coffee in it in that way, I can serve it to my kids as well. Thank you for sharing the recipe. Can’t wait to try it.

    1. Linda Gallagher says:

      I was wondering if this would do well in the loaf pan? I wanted to give them as gifts.

      1. I have not tried to make this in a loaf pan so I am not sure. If you decide to give it a try, please let us know how it turns out.

  14. That really does look amazing. We love all desserts with cinnamon so this would go down well in my household.

  15. Richelle Milar says:

    Oh my! This looks absolutely delicious and tasty! I would really love to try this cake recipe!

  16. This looks so good. I need to make this real soon. I love coffee cake. I can’t wait to try this one.

  17. Tara Pittman says:

    I love how easy it is to make this cake. This will be perfect for Christmas breakfast.

  18. Amber Myers says:

    Oh yum, I would love this! I have always been a fan of coffee cake.

  19. I’d love to make this cake for myself! Big fan of coffee cakes, also perfect with tea :)

  20. My wonderful Aunt Aggie used to make a similar coffee cake but she used to call is KC Coffee Cake because she didn’t know what else to call it. She came over from Ireland and she loved to bake as well as my Mom, I love to bake different recipes, guess I come by it honestly. I just can’t conquer their cinnamon buns, my friends used to come over and have tea and cinnamon rolls with my mom.
    Thank you for sending out this recipe, if it wasn’t so late I would make it. God Bless.

    1. Love this, Mary Ann. Thank you so much for sharing your story. I love to hear how recipes can bring up different memories for people.

  21. How did you take the cake out of the pan without breaking it?

    1. If the cake feels like it is sticking to the sides of the bundt pan, I will usually run a knife along the edge of the pan to loosen it before flipping it upside down. Running the knife along the edge will usually loosen the cake enough so that it will drop out of the pan in one piece. Hope that helps.

  22. Eiizabeth says:

    Do you think this would work if you put the crumb topping in the Bundt Pat first, then half the batter, followed by crumb topping, and ending with batter? I was thinking that
    (a) the cake might release more easily and (b) the slice of cake would have a “flat” bottom to sit on the plate with the crumb topping showing on the fluted top.
    Please advise.

    1. No, I don’t think putting the crumb topping on the bottom first would work. I think that it would make the bottom very gooey like it does in the middle layer. The purpose of putting it on top is so there is a layer of crunch to enjoy with the soft cake.

  23. So I must have done something wrong….the cake batter rose and covered my top crumb coating completely….is it possible the crumb coating weighed too much and it just went around it? Maybe I put too much on top but it was around half I thought. Now I have two inside layers of the crumb coating lol…oh well. It will still eat! ?

    1. Some have mentioned having this problem as well. The only solution that I can think of is to make sure that the crumbs on top are very small. The heavier chunks will more than likely sink into the cake. There will be some batter that makes it’s way to the top, that is just how this cake bakes. Regardless, the end result should be very tasty.

  24. I just made this cake with a peach amaretto glaze for my friend and it made her cry. She was reminiscing about her Grandmother making something just like it for her when she was a child. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe with us. Blessings to you always!

    1. Wow! That is so amazing. Thank you for sharing this with me. I am so happy your friend loved the cake you made for her.

  25. I grew up eating a very similar cake. My grandma always made it for holidays and special occasions. I have continued the tradition, and everyone loves it! Her recipe had a few slight differences from yours. Hers calls specifically for a box of Butter Golden Cake mix (I use Duncan Hines). It also calls for 8oz. of sour cream, and 1tsp. each of vanilla and butter flavored extract. Everything else seems the same. I’m wondering how the two would compare. Only one way to find out! ?

    1. Your recipe sounds delicious! If you do a taste test comparing the two, I’d love to know the results.

  26. This cake has a cinnamon flavor to it. The name can be confusing, it is best served alongside a cup of coffee or tea.

  27. Oh yum this looks so good! I’ve been wanting to try a new cake recipe too, might just have to try this one next!

  28. Nikka Shae says:

    Growing up my aunt loved making coffee cakes!

  29. This is one of my favorite treats to get a Starbucks. I’ll have to try out your recipe at home.

  30. I haven’t quite ate breakfast yet and now, I see this and am starving. I love the swirl inside – gives it such a perfect touch.

  31. I love the texture of this cake! I should definitely make it on weekend! Looks divine!

  32. That looks really good. It has been a long time since I made a coffee cake. I often bake sweet treats for my mom and sisters who don’t like to bake. That mini bundt pan looks like the perfect size.

  33. Someone at my church makes a coffee cake similar to this and it is divine. I need to try this recipe soon.

  34. I really love coffee cake. I’ve never tried to make one. Guess it’s time!

  35. oh I love a good coffee cake! This one looks oh so good! I need to make it for my next brunch.

    1. This looks so delicious! I want to try it! Thanks for the recipe!

  36. Omg-pinning this!! I LOVE coffee cake and I love that this is from a mix so it’s easy. Can’t wait to make it!

  37. I used to love coffee cake growing up. I’ve never made it at home. Looking forward to giving your recipe a try.

  38. It’s been a while since I tasted some good coffee cake. This looks like a perfect one to go with my tea.

    1. I’m a tea drinker as well, it goes perfectly with a warm cup of tea.

  39. I never ever turn down a cinnamon swirl coffee cake. Love the way it makes the house smell and a warm piece from the oven oh yes please.

  40. What a great looking coffee cake I am getting so hungry looking at it. I rarely bake but i would love to make a cake that looks this good.

  41. Oh yum, I just love coffee cake. This one looks fabulous. I must make it! I know I’d eat so much of it.

  42. THESE bring back so many memories of when I was a kid. I used to go to my friend’s house and she and I would rip into those dup packets of coffee cakes!!! Ugh. So not healthy and definitely not as good as the real deal, but UGH – still loved them!

  43. MELANIE EDJOURIAN says:

    I must say I did think this would have coffee in it. It sounds delicious. I made a cake like this recently myself and everyone loved it.

  44. Oh my gosh that looks absolutely fantastic. That is definitely something I need to try. I know my family would love it.

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