This cinnamon swirl coffee cake is a soft, moist buttermilk loaf with a ribbon of brown sugar and cinnamon running through the center, plus a crunchy cinnamon sugar crust baked right on top. It takes about 20 minutes to prep and 55 minutes to bake, and it stays wonderfully moist on the counter for days.
I am going to tell you how to make a cinnamon swirl coffee cake. This is a soft and moist white cake with a beautiful swirl of cinnamon sugar running right through the center. Then, you can also put some of that cinnamon sugar on top, and when it bakes, it becomes nice, hard, and crunchy. It is seriously so good!
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love This Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake
You are absolutely going to love this recipe because it gives you a really soft and tender crumb thanks to the buttermilk, paired with a gorgeous vanilla flavor. The contrast between that fluffy cake and the crispy, sweet cinnamon sugar crust on top is just perfect. Plus, it stays wonderfully moist for several days, making it the ultimate treat to have sitting on your kitchen counter!
If you love an easy, moist quick-bread style bake like this one, you are also going to want to try my Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins, another soft and satisfying breakfast bake that comes together just as quickly.
What You Will Need
Special Equipment
- Standard loaf pan (approx 9 by 5 inches)
- Parchment paper
- Pastry brush
- Electric stand mixer with paddle attachment, or hand mixer
- Digital kitchen scale (highly recommended)
- Offset spatula or the back of a spoon
- Wooden skewer or butter knife, for swirling
- Wire cooling rack
For the Cinnamon Sugar Swirl and Topping
- 1/4 cup (55g) light brown sugar, firmly packed
- 1 1/2 tsp (2g) ground cinnamon
For the Cake Batter
- 1/2 cup (113g) butter, softened to room temperature (unsalted preferred)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated white sugar
- 1 tsp (4g) pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs (about 105g total), room temperature
- 2 cups (260g) all purpose flour
- 1 tsp (4g) baking powder
- 1/2 tsp (2g) baking soda
- 1/2 tsp (2g) salt (omit if using salted butter)
- 1 cup (240ml) buttermilk, room temperature (see FAQ for a simple homemade substitute)
For the Pan
- A little melted butter, for brushing
Let us Get Baking!
1. First Things First, Prep That Pan!
So, the first thing you need to do is preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C). You are going to bake your coffee cake in a loaf pan. What you do is melt just a little bit of butter, and then use a pastry brush to thoroughly coat the bottom and the sides. Make sure you do it well because you do not want your cake sticking to the pan! Then, just to be extra sure it does not stick to the bottom, line it with a little piece of parchment paper.
2. The Star of the Show is The Cinnamon Sugar
The first thing is to make your cinnamon sugar. In a small bowl, you just use a spoon to mix together the firmly packed light brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Simple enough! You will use this for both the swirl in the middle and the crunchy topping. Set this aside.
3. Mixing the Fluffy Cake Batter
If you have an electric stand mixer, use your paddle attachment, or you could absolutely use a hand mixer for this. You will start by beating your room temperature butter until it gets nice and smooth. I am using unsalted butter because I personally prefer it, but you can use salted if that is what you have.
Then, add in the granulated white sugar and pure vanilla extract. That way, the vanilla will kind of mix in there and flavor the sugar and the butter right from the start. Beat this on medium high speed for a couple of minutes until the mixture gets nice, light, fluffy, and creamy. You want to get some air in there so you have a beautifully light cake! As always, scrape down the sides and the bottom of your bowl to make sure everything is mixed together.
4. Add the Eggs
Then, just beat in your room temperature eggs one at a time. Make sure you are beating well after each addition until fully incorporated.
5. The Dry Ingredients and My Buttermilk Secret
In a separate medium bowl, whisk together your all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. You want to make sure those leavening agents are really mixed into your flour. Note that if you used salted butter earlier, just leave out this extra salt!
For the wet ingredients, you are using buttermilk! Buttermilk is kind of nice in a cake because it gives it a really nice, soft, and tender crumb. Now, you can buy buttermilk at the store, or you could use sour milk, which is just as good! To make it, just take 1 cup of regular milk, add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, stir it in, and let it sit for about 10 minutes.
6. Combine Wet and Dry
To bring the batter together, you are going to add the flour mixture to the butter mixture in three additions, alternating with the room temperature buttermilk in two additions. Start with a third of the flour, half the buttermilk, more flour, the rest of the buttermilk, and finish with the last of the flour. Mix on low speed just until combined. Give the batter a quick and gentle stir with a spatula at the end just to make sure any flour hiding on the sides gets mixed in. Not too hard!
7. Layering and That Beautiful Swirl
Now for the fun part. You are going to put exactly half of your batter into the prepared loaf pan first. You can just eyeball it, but if you have a digital scale, it is a lot easier! You just put your pan on the scale and add exactly 450 grams of your batter. Use the back of a spoon or an offset spatula to smooth it out into an even layer, making sure to get into the corners.
Next, sprinkle half of your cinnamon sugar mixture (about 2 tablespoons or 28 grams) in an even layer over the first layer of batter. Then, gently dollop the rest of our cake batter on top and smooth it out. Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar right over the surface of the cake.
Now, you could just bake it off just like this. But if you want that kind of uneven and rustic swirl, take a wooden skewer or a butter knife and just drag it through the batter in a figure eight motion. It gives the inside a little more interest!
If you love a good cinnamon-forward bake, my Easy Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Cookies hit that exact same cozy note and come together just as easily.
8. Into the Oven It Goes!
Bake your coffee cake for about 55 minutes. You want to bake it until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Since everybody has an oven that is a little different, check your cake about 5 minutes before the timer goes off, just to give yourself a gauge of how much longer it needs.
9. Cool and Serve
Once it is done, let it cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack for about 10 minutes. Run a knife or spatula around the inside edges of the pan, turn the cake out onto the rack, and peel off that parchment paper. You can serve it while it is still a little warm or at room temperature. Is that not gorgeous? Try this, and until next time, bye!
How to Store Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake
- Room temperature: Keep the cooled cake in an airtight container right at room temperature. It will stay moist for 3 to 4 days! I highly recommend avoiding the refrigerator, as the cold air can dry out the cake. Baker’s trick: place a slice of plain white bread in the container with the cake because it helps the cake hold onto its moisture!
- Freezer: Once the cake has cooled completely, wrap it tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, then put it in a heavy duty freezer bag or wrap it in foil. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Let it thaw at room temperature on the counter before slicing.
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FAQs
Why is it called coffee cake if there is no coffee in it?
It actually got its name because it is meant to be served alongside a nice hot cup of coffee or tea! The tradition comes from Northern and Central Europe, where sweet, vanilla, and spiced cakes were baked specifically to complement the bitterness of coffee during breakfast or a social break.
How do I store leftover coffee cake to keep it moist?
To maintain that beautiful and soft texture, keep the cooled cake in an airtight container right at room temperature. It will stay moist for 3 to 4 days! I highly recommend avoiding the refrigerator, as the cold air can dry out the cake. Oh, and here is a great baker trick. Place a slice of plain white bread in the container with the cake because it helps the cake hold onto its moisture!
Can you freeze coffee cake?
Yes, it freezes beautifully! Once the cake has cooled completely, just wrap it tightly in a double layer of plastic wrap, and then put it in a heavy duty freezer bag or wrap it in foil. It will keep in the freezer for up to 3 months. Just let it thaw at room temperature on the counter before you slice it up.
Why did my cinnamon swirl sink to the bottom?
If you ever have this issue, it usually happens if a cake batter is too thin or overmixed. Gravity just naturally pulls the heavy and melting sugar downward! Luckily, this buttermilk batter is nice and thick, which gives the sugar a strong foundation to sit on. Just make sure you do not overmix your batter, and your swirl will stay right where you put it!
Can I use sour cream instead of buttermilk?
Yes, absolutely! Sour cream is a great substitute and gives the cake an equally tender, moist crumb, sometimes even a touch richer. Use the same 1 cup amount, but thin it out slightly with 2 to 3 tablespoons of milk since sour cream is thicker than buttermilk. The batter consistency should look about the same as it would with buttermilk before you bake it.
Can I make this coffee cake gluten-free?
You can try a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose baking blend in place of the regular flour. Results can vary slightly depending on the specific blend, since gluten-free flours behave a bit differently with buttermilk-based batters, but many bakers have good success with this type of swap in similar buttermilk cakes.
Can I make this coffee cake vegan?
This would require several substitutions since the recipe relies on butter, eggs, and buttermilk for its structure and moisture. A plant-based butter, a flax egg substitute (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons water per egg), and a dairy-free buttermilk (plant milk plus a splash of lemon juice or vinegar) could be tried, but this exact combination has not been tested in this recipe, so the texture and rise may differ from the original.
Can I make these into muffins instead of a loaf?
Yes! Divide the batter between the muffin cups, layering a small amount of the cinnamon sugar swirl into the center of each one just like you would in the loaf. Fill the cups about two-thirds full and reduce the bake time to roughly 18 to 22 minutes, checking with a toothpick for doneness since muffins bake much faster than a full loaf.
Can I add fruit like blueberries or apples to this coffee cake?
You can! Folding in about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of fresh blueberries or small diced apple pieces into the batter right before layering is a lovely variation on this base recipe. Toss the fruit lightly in a bit of flour first to help prevent it from sinking. This has not been tested extensively in this exact recipe, so keep an eye on bake time, as added fruit moisture can sometimes extend it slightly.
Soft and Moist Cinnamon Swirl Coffee Cake
Course: BreakfastCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Easy8-10
slices20
minutes55
minutes315
kcal1
hour25
minutesA wonderfully soft and tender buttermilk loaf cake featuring a rich cinnamon sugar swirl running through the center and a crispy, sugary crust baked right on top.
Ingredients
- Equipment Needed:
Standard loaf pan
Parchment paper
Digital kitchen scale
Electric mixer
Wooden skewer or knife
- Ingredients:
- Cinnamon Sugar Swirl and Topping
55g (1/4 cup) light brown sugar, firmly packed
2g (1 1/2 tsp) ground cinnamon
- Cake Batter
113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus extra for the pan
200g (1 cup) granulated white sugar
4g (1 tsp) pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs (105g), room temperature
260g (2 cups) all-purpose flour
4g (1 tsp) baking powder
2g (1/2 tsp) baking soda
2g (1/2 tsp) salt
240ml (1 cup) buttermilk, room temperature (sub: sour cream thinned with 2 to 3 tbsp milk)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Brush a loaf pan with melted butter and line the bottom with parchment paper.
- In a small bowl, mix the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Set aside.
- In a stand mixer, beat the butter until smooth. Add the white sugar and vanilla. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Scrape the bowl.
- Beat in the eggs one at a time until fully incorporated.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
- Alternately add the dry ingredients and buttermilk to the butter mixture on low speed, starting and ending with the flour. Stir gently at the end with a spatula.
- Spread half of the batter, about 450g, into the prepared loaf pan. Smooth the top.
- Sprinkle evenly with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture, about 28g.
- Top with the remaining batter, smooth it out, and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top. Run a skewer or knife through the batter to swirl.
- Bake for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Let cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Notes
- Buttermilk Swap: Don’t want to buy buttermilk? Make sour milk. Pour 1 tablespoon of lemon juice into a measuring cup, then add enough regular milk to reach the 1-cup line. Stir and let it sit for 10 minutes before using.
- The Scale Trick: For the perfect center swirl, place your empty pan on a digital scale, zero it out, and add exactly 450g of batter for the bottom layer.
- Raw Batter Caution: This batter contains raw eggs. As tempting as it is, avoid tasting the raw batter and wait until the cake is fully baked.
- Allergen Note: Contains gluten, dairy, and eggs.
- Storage: Airtight container at room temperature for 3 to 4 days. Freezes wrapped tightly for up to 3 months.
- Nutrition: Calories are estimated and will vary based on slice thickness and butter used.
