Sour Cream Coffee Cake
This sour cream coffee cake is anything but dry and bland. With its tender and moist cake crumbs, and its spicy and nutty brown sugar streusel, this cake is guaranteed to be your most requested recipe.
My husband thinks of coffee cake as a dry-bland old lady dessert (no offense to any little old ladies out there), but even he was AMAZED about how moist and delicious this cake was. My kids even enjoyed it and you don’t normally think of coffee cake as a kid’s dessert. To be honest, they would have preferred it without the nuts, but couldn’t get enough of the cake itself.
This recipe starts with creaming the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Then you beat in your eggs, sour cream, and vanilla. You mix in your dry ingredients and your batter is done. The sour cream is the key ingredient in this recipe. It makes the cake incredibly soft, tender and moist. The cinnamon and brown sugar streusel is what gives this cake its main flavor profile, so I used a whole lot of cinnamon and brown sugar to really pack a punch in flavor.
The texture of this sour cream coffee cake is soft and moist. The taste is spicy with the sweet notes of caramel and molasses. There is a soft scent of vanilla and cream from the cake. And if you do add nuts to the streusel, it adds a whole other layer of taste and texture to the cake, which I highly recommend.
PrintSour Cream Coffee Cake
- Prep Time: 15 min
- Cook Time: 45 min
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 12-16
- Category: dessert, breakfast
- Method: bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
This sour cream coffee cake is anything but dry and bland. With its tender and moist cake crumbs, and its spicy and nutty brown sugar streusel, this cake is guaranteed to be your most requested recipe.
Ingredients
Cake
- 2 cups (250g) all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup (114g) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup (250g) sour cream
- 2 tsp vanilla
Streusel
- 1/2 cup (100g) brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 cup (125g) chopped pecans or walnuts (optional)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 10″ tube pan.
- In a medium bowl, toss together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together all the streusel ingredients. Set aside.
- Using an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well in between. Mix in the sour cream and vanilla until smooth.
- Stir in the dry ingredients until just combined. Batter will be thick. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread to cover the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle half of the streusel over top. Repeat with the remaining batter and streusel.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
Query, where is the coffee in this cake!!!
The term “coffee cake” refers to a cake that is meant to be enjoyed with coffee, not coffee flavored or has coffee in it. I know, it’s confusing, lol
Hello! This looks great!! Is it alright if I split this recipe in half and put it into small loaf pans instead?
I only 1 cup of flour left!
Yes, for sure, you can cut this recipe in half if you only have 1 cup of flour left. Enjoy!
Great coffee cake ,just made it.did not put nuts due to allergies! Just delicious thanksÂ
You’re very welcome and thank you for your lovely feedback!
Made your Sour Cream Coffee Cake, it was fantastic, my husband loved it. Also made your Sour Cream Pear Cake, Wonderful.
Thank you, Sarah. I’m thrilled you are liking my recipes. Enjoy and happy baking!
I did it, and love it! Next time I’ll use more cinnamon, I’m a cinnamon lover. I had plain Greek yogourt and sour cream left over, so i mixed them together and I had enough to make 1 cake and 8 small loafs and both recipes are just perfect! Thank you Lily 😊
You’re very welcome, Lyne, and thank you for your kind words! Enjoy the cake:)
HI there
Love your recipes. What size pan can I use if I don’t have a tube pan.
Thanks
Thank you, Melissa! You can make this recipe in a 9×9″ square pan if you don’t have a tube pan. Enjoy and have a great week!
Really enjoying your recipes, thank you for the details and videos!
Looking for an individual portioned coffee cake with streusel. Is it possible to make this into muffins? Best guess on bake on bake time?Â
Thanks!Â
You’re welcome and thank you for your kind words, Kelsie. Yes, you can make this recipe into muffins. Bake at the same temp for about 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
You note that the sour cream is the key ingredient. I’ve always thought of sour cream and plain yogurt as being easily interchangeable in recipes. Do you think yogurt would work just as well in this recipe or is it worth waiting until I restock enough sour cream? I’ve got some sour cream in the fridge but it’s not a full cup.
Thank you.
Hi Gina,
Yes, you’re right. You can use plain yogurt as a substitute. They are interchangeable in most baking recipes. I hope you enjoy the coffee cake!
I took this to my friends house and I already got another request to make it. My 8yr old loves it and  insists that we make the exact recipe as is without changing it up. I also want to let you know that I tried other recipes on your site and each time they came out well. Thank you for taking time to publish your great recipes.
You’re very welcome Ms. Singh and thank you for your kind words! I’m so glad you like my recipes:)
Made this tonight with a little added frozen blueberry. My 5-year old gobbled it down and asked for it again at breakfast tomorrow. Thanks for the great recipe!!
You’re very welcome, Vicca! So glad you and your 5-year old like it. Enjoy the coffee cake and take care!
Quick and simple! Love it!
Awesome coffee cake. Moist and delicious. Quick and Easy to make.
Thank you for your lovely feedback, Lyn! I’m glad you enjoyed the coffee cake. Have a great week!
The cake looks absolutely delicious. Thanks for sharing the wonderful recipe 🙂
You’re welcome, and nice to meet you!
I love the things sour cream does to cake batter. This looks delicious Lily 🙂
Thanks Jess! xx