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This moist Sour Cream Coffee Cake only takes 15 minutes to prep and is sweet and delicious with the crunchy cinnamon pecan streusel. Enjoy it for brunch, with coffee, or dessert.
If you love sweet brunch recipes try our Sheet Pan Pancakes, French Toast Casserole, Homemade Scones, or Hawaiian French Toast Casserole.
Simple, delicious Coffee Cake.
Simple, delicious Coffee Cake.I am going to say it – this is the BEST Coffee Cake recipe! The cake is soft and moist, and not only does it have a crunchy cinnamon pecan streusel on top, but we even layer it in the middle of the cake! Serve it with a cup of hot tea of coffee, or a side of fruit, for the perfect easy weekend brunch! We serve coffee cake most often at brunch, holidays and special occasions.
How to make Coffee Cake:
Make Batter: Cream together sugar and butter then mix in egg, sour cream, milk, and vanilla. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix just until combined.
Layer: Combine all of the ingredients for the pecan topping in a bowl. Grease an 8×8 square baking dish then pour in half of the cake batter. Sprinkle half of the pecan topping over the batter then repeat with the rest of the cake batter and sprinkle the rest of the pecan topping on top.
Bake: Preheat to 350°F then bake for 40-50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Check it halfway through and lay a piece of aluminum foil loosely on top if it's getting too brown. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before enjoying.
Make Ahead And Freezing Instructions:
To Make Ahead: Coffee cake is best served the same day, but you can make it in the morning or even the night before. Store covered at room temperature for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days.
To Freeze: Allow coffee cake to cool completely, cover tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to come to room temperature before serving.
More Sweet Brunch Recipes:
- Blueberry Coffee Cake
- Apple Coffee Cake
- Old-Fashioned Sour Cream Donuts
- Cinnamon Rolls
- Blueberry Muffins
- Blintzes
- Snickerdoodle Muffins
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 1/2 cup sour cream
- 2 Tablespoons milk
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Topping:
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 1 cup chopped pecans, , finely chopped
Instructions
- Lightly grease an 8×8 inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Crumble topping: Combine flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Add butter and cut in with forks or a pastry blender until there are no large pieces. Stir in nuts.
- Batter: In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Add egg and mix. Add sour cream, milk, and vanilla then mix. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture then mix just until combined.
- Assemble: Spoon half of the batter into your prepared pan and smooth into an even bottom layer. Sprinkle half of the topping mixture over the top. Spoon remaining batter on top then smooth into an even layer. Sprinkle remaining topping mixture over the top.
- Bake in preheated oven for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with few crumbs. Check it half way through baking and cover with a piece of aluminum foil if browning too much.
- Cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I originally shared this recipe December 2016. Updated March 2020 and November 2024.
WOW!!! This coffee cake is out of this world!
I doubled the recipe and baked in a 9×9 pan. It did take a tad longer to bake (about an hour in all). I saw lots of comments saying this coffee cake was too dense, but I did not seem to have this problem. A trick I found to work well to avoid this issue is beating the butter and sugar for upwards fo 5 minutes to really incorporate some air.
Also, the sour cream keeps it so moist and adds a delicious tang to a sweet dessert!
Highly Recommend 🙂
I like taller coffee cakes so I doubled the recipe and kept the same size pan (8×8 glass) and increased the cook time by 5 minutes. I also did not have a second stick of butter (for doubling the recipe) so I substituted a half-cup of Earth Balance vegan “butter” spread instead of the second stick and that worked great. I also mixed a tablespoon of melted butter into the topping before adding that to the cake. It came out wonderful – tall and super moist!
I’m ready to make this, but my son doesn’t like nuts in baked goods. Any suggestions on something to replace it with? Maybe diced apples? Or replace pecans for butter & make a crunch?
You can easily just leave out the nuts, just make the crumble without nuts. It will be great.
I originally followed the recipe as indicated but once the batter was ready to place in the 8X8 pan I knew it was going to be very thin. I made another batch , mixed the two batters together and cooked it in the 8X8 . It was amazing. Just don’t forget to double the topping.
Hi…where is the coffee in the ingredients ? Looking fwd to trying this. 🙂
There’s no coffee in it. It’s called “coffee cake” because people like to enjoy it with a cup of coffee.
I needed a quick cake to take to church coffee hour. This was so good. I will be bringing it again and again. I used walnuts since I was out of pecans. The only negative is that the batter is so thick I thought I forgot something. Now I know and won’t panic.
Thanks for sharing Debra! I’m really happy you liked it so much <3
Wow, what a delicious coffee cake! I baked this for Mother’s Day brunch and everyone loved it. Especially Mom, she went back for a second piece! Soft, fluffy, and rich-tasting, with plenty of cinnamon nut topping. Plus it worked wonderfully with dairy-free “butter” and “sour cream”. (My sister gets migraines from dairy products so I bake dairy-free when I know she’s coming over.)
My only complaint is that I personally prefer my coffee cake to be nice and tall. Easily fixed, next time I’ll just make half again as much batter and cook it a little longer.
Wonderful recipe. Easy, moist, and absolutely delicious!
I’m really happy you loved it–thank you so much for sharing!
Hi, Can’t wait to try this recipe, but I only have buttermilk, no sourcream. Can I trade out? Karen
Hi Karen,
Buttermilk should be a decent substitute, although I wouldn’t do a full 1/2 cup – try slightly less than 1/2 cup! I’d love to know how they turned out!
hiya
making this now – but in your picture it looks like you put the topping then the batter then the topper…is that correct?
Hi Kasey, No, you will want to start with a layer of batter, then topping, then the rest of the batter, and then the rest of the topping. (see step #7) Hope that helps.
Can this be made the night ahead you think?
Hi Mariana, I wouldn’t recommend it, just because these type of baked goods usually taste best fresh, and dry out after 1-2 days. You’re welcome to try it though, but be sure to cover it tightly.