Sour Cream Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe

A close-up of a slice of sour cream coffee cake topped with cinnamon crumb streusel and drizzled with white icing, served on a decorative plate with cinnamon sticks in the background.

4.65 from 137 votes

Sour Cream Streusel Coffee Cake Recipe

This is my FAVORITE recipe for Sour Cream Coffee Cake! My main complaint with Coffee Cake is that there is usually too much cake, not enough streusel. This recipe gives you the max amount of streusel without ruining the light fluffiness of the cake! A vanilla drizzle finishes it off for the perfect cake-for-breakfast situation.

Prep Time20

Cook Time45

Total Time1 5

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: Servings

Calories: 553kcal

Author: The Food Charlatan

Ingredients

For the streusel

3 cups all purpose flour spooned and leveled
1 cup brown sugar packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 cup butter 2 sticks, melted

For the cake

2 & 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 & 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup butter 1 and 1/2 sticks, softened but still cool
1/2 cup sour cream
4 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

For the icing

1/4 cup butter half stick, very soft
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 cup milk more to taste
2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch cake pan* with nonstick spray or rub with butter.
Make the streusel: In a large bowl, whisk together 3 cup flour, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1 teaspoon salt, and 2 tablespoons cinnamon.
Melt 1 cup butter in a small bowl in the microwave. Pour into the larger bowl and stir the butter into the flour. You should end up with a bowl of what looks like wet sand, with lots of big chunks. Don't try to smooth it out. See photo.
For the cake: In a large bowl or stand mixer, whisk together 2 and 1/4 cups flour, 1 and 1/4 cups sugar, 1 tablespoon baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon baking soda, and 3/4 teaspoon salt.
Chop 3/4 cup softened butter into chunks. You want the butter to sit out of the fridge for several minutes so that it's not rock-hard, but don't let it soften so much that it's completely creamy.
Add the chopped butter and 1/2 cup sour cream to the flour mixture. Use the paddle attachment (or electric beaters) to blend the butter in. Eventually the butter will moisten the flour and it will all come together in a ball. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as necessary. Don't over mix, just beat until all the butter is incorporated.
In another large bowl, whisk together 4 eggs, 1 cup sour cream, and 1 tablespoon vanilla. Beat well until the eggs are well blended.
Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture in 3 additions, beating for about 20 seconds after each one. Once all the egg mixture is added, beat for another 1 minute until the batter is light and fluffy.
Spread 2 cups of batter into the bottom of your prepared cake pan. Sprinkle 1 cup of streusel evenly over the top, breaking up any too-large pieces with your hands.
Spread another 2 cups batter on top and spread it around as best you can.
Add another 1 cup streusel on top.
Add the rest of the batter and spread evenly.
Evenly spread another 2 cups of streusel on top of the cake. Do NOT add all the remaining streusel! There will be some left over. Spread the remaining streusel on a baking sheet to dry out a little bit.
Bake the cake at 350 for 25 minutes.
Do this next part fast. Remove the cake from the oven and shut the oven door. Use your hands to sprinkle all the remaining streusel on top of the cake, focusing on any areas where the cake batter has puffed up from the center. Move quickly! Get the cake back in the oven as soon as you can, and keep the oven door shut as much as possible.
Bake for another 20-25 minutes.* The total bake time for the cake should be about 45-50 minutes, depending on your oven and whether you use a glass or metal pan. Test the cake with a toothpick. It is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with no wet batter on it. The cake should not wobble around at all when you shake the pan.
Let the cake cool on a wire rack for at least 15-20 minutes for cutting into it.
Make the icing: In a medium bowl, beat 1/4 cup butter until smooth. (I actually did it by hand with a whisk. You can do this if your butter is ultra soft.)
Add 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1/2 teaspoon salt, 1/4 cup milk, and 2 cups powdered sugar. Beat with a mixer or by hand until very smooth.
Drizzle the icing over the cake. You can either drizzle it over the whole cake or drizzle each individual serving. I like to drizzle about half the icing over the whole cake, and then save the rest for drizzling over each serving.
The cake is best served warm! Zap individual servings in the microwave for 10-20 seconds if you are serving after the cake has cooled.
This cake will keep well covered on the counter for 2-3 days. After that, put it in the fridge.

Video

Notes

*I baked my coffee cake in a glass pan. If you use a metal pan, the bake time WILL be shorter. Start testing with a toothpick a few minutes earlier than suggested.

How to store coffee cake

Can this sour cream coffee cake be made ahead?

The great thing about coffee cake is that it’s delicious right out of the oven but also saves well. To make this ahead, bake as directed. Make the frosting but don’t drizzle it yet. Once the cake has cooled, cover and store the cake and frosting separately. Both can be stored at room temperature.

And don't forget to heat before you serve! (Fine, maybe you like cold coffee cake, but maybe you like eating dirt, too. I’m not responsible for that.) Put the whole cake in the oven on the warm setting (170 F) until the cake feels warm throughout, should take 20 minutes at least. Drizzle the room-temperature frosting over it.

To reheat, just zap individual portions in the microwave for 15-25 seconds.

Can you freeze sour cream coffee cake?

Yes please! A tasty treat for later! To freeze coffee cake, seal it very well. A lot of cake pans have a lid that isn’t a true seal. Consider wrapping the whole pan in plastic wrap or putting the cake by large slices into a ziplock freezer bag. To reheat, microwave works fine for individual portions or you can heat in an oven at a low temperature.

You are going to be everyone’s favorite person when you make this coffee cake! Seriously all this streusel is life changing. It would be perfect to make on Christmas morning! Or basically anytime you want to impress!

Nutrition