This super moist Cinnamon Roll Swirl Coffee Cake is worth making from scratch! Rich, moist coffee cake is swirled with a cinnamon roll filling and topped off with a simple glaze. This cake is to die for!
The first time I made a cinnamon swirl coffee cake was years ago. My sister has posted a recipe she called Honey Bun Cake on her blog. (That’s right, blogging is a family thing for us!). It was absolutely delicious, just like she said. I’ve made it several times since. Hers uses a cake mix and I wanted to give you a “from scratch” version since that’s more my style.
MY OTHER RECIPES
Now, before anyone gets mad about me calling it a coffee cake, let’s get one thing straight: coffee cake doesn’t have any coffee in it and it isn’t supposed to! It’s called coffee cake because it is meant to be served up with coffee. I’m not a coffee drinker, but the sweetness of the cake is supposed to be a good balance to the dark flavors of coffee.
This cake is amazing! It is super moist, and thick, and decadent….everything a coffee cake should be. The batter is quite thick, much thicker than a cake mix so don’t be surprised by that. That’s exactly how it is supposed to be.
You have a couple of different options for the cinnamon swirl. You can simple swirl it in up top like I’ve done here, or you can layer it by pouring half the batter into the pan, doing a swirl layer, then the remaining half of the batter and another swirl layer. Feel free to do whichever works best for you.
This cake stays good for about 3 days before it starts to dry out. Make sure you cover it after it has been sliced into, otherwise it will dry out immediately. Store at room temperature.
If you like this recipe, you may also enjoy some of my other cinnamon recipes like my Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins or my Cinnamon Roll Twist Bread. You may also enjoy some of my other cake recipes like my Most Amazing Chocolate Cake or my Most Amazing White Cake. Both of those are super popular, and for good reason!
Watch the video below where I walk you through every step of this recipe. You can check out my entire cooking show over on YouTube.
Cinnamon Roll Swirl Coffee Cake
- 1½ cups butter, softened
- 3 cups white sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1½ cups sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup butter, melted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9x13 pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar using a hand mixer until creamy. Then mix in eggs, sour cream, and vanilla extract until combined. Beat in 3 cups flour, baking powder, and salt until just combined. Pour into prepared pan.
- Make the topping in another mixing bowl by whisking together melted butter, brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, and cinnamon. Spoon in globs over the top of the cake batter. Then use a butter knife to swirl it into the batter.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Meanwhile, make the glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla in another bowl. Drizzle over the cake while it is still warm.
Stephanie says
It’s called Crumb Cake at our house!
Gail McIntosh says
can this be made in a bundt pan?
Rachel Farnsworth says
In theory it can. It would require a longer baking time though.
Pia says
This has SIX cups of sugar in it!!! That’s outrageous… and not in a good way.
Rachel Farnsworth says
The sugar police have caught me again! I believe in a life of moderation. Nothing wrong with a piece of sweet cake now and then.
Lara says
Agreed…😊
Paula says
I was watching you live cinnamon roll video and you are say 1/2c melted butter for the filling you place on top, but you pouring in a cup or more. which is it?
Thank you,
Paula
Rachel Farnsworth says
I was making two cakes and thought nobody would notice. Shhhhh! Don’t tell anyone! 😉
Sue M. says
The cinnamon filling sank to the bottom and stuck. In spite of this, the cake was delicious. Any ideas as to what I could have done wrong?
Rachel Farnsworth says
hmmm, perhaps you added too much liquid to the batter? The bottom layer of batter should be thick enough that the cinnamon roll drizzle shouldn’t sink. Perhaps just add a little more batter on the bottom next time.
Suzanne says
Just out of curiosity, have you ever made muffins out of this instead of a cake? I’m still in search of the perfect cinnamon struesel muffin and this is the absolute best cinnamon coffee cake I have ever tasted and thought it would make fabulous muffins. Let me know what you think!
Rachel Farnsworth says
I haven’t, but in theory they would sort of work. You wouldn’t get that beautiful rounded top though without some adjustments and experimentation. But honestly, I wouldn’t complain about not having a rounded top if someone gave me one of these in muffin form. They are just too good!
Suzanne says
I think I will give it a whirl and will report back with my results. Fingers crossed it works–this cake is way too good to mess up and have to toss it!
Deanna Mancini says
I’m diabetic, but want to try this badly! Can I use sugar substitute? (Like Splenda for baking)
Rachel Farnsworth says
It might be worth experimenting with, but this has such a large amount of sugar in it that it could cause serious differences in the texture of the cake to substitute with splenda.
Asma says
Is there any substitute of sour cream? I can’t get sour cream here.
Rachel Farnsworth says
Depends on where you are! There’s usually something similar. Google is your best friend here.
Kathy Snyder says
Plain Greek Yogurt is a good substitute for sour cream
Jbrown says
It is very rare I can find a desert that both my kids enjoy…
This sucker was gone in 2 days!
And they both begged for me to make it monthly. 5 STARS! This site is now bookmarked for future yumminess.
Dre says
I used cream cheese because i didn’t have sour cream or greek yogurt, the batter is pretty thick but i’m excited to see how it turns out.. will it be thick and buttery or crumbly and dry?! Either way it’ll be sugary and delicious!
Rachel Farnsworth says
oooo, I am not sure how that will turn out at all. Cream cheese is very different than sour cream and greek yogurt so I’m not sure what to expect here. Be sure to come back and let us know.
Janice says
Can this be made the day before?
Rachel Farnsworth says
Yes, it can.