Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake is the best of all worlds, easy, sweet and impressive! It has all the flavors of a delicious cinnamon roll with about 5% of the effort. With a delicious sweet glaze, and even a few seconds in the microwave the following day, it will be the best accessory to that cup of coffee we all look forward to in the morning.
Mother’s Day is coming up this Sunday and I’m not too excited. We live pretty far from family, so there is no celebration to attend and our little ones are too young to understand what Mother’s Day is. Instead, I am using it as an opportunity to save my calories until Memorial Day when I blow through them with lots and lots of bbq. That being said, I will take any excuse to make a delicious meal for someone, especially a brunch meal. This week we will explore some delicious Mother’ Day options for your weekend needs.
Let’s start the Easy Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake by setting the oven to preheat at 350 degrees.
Mix flour, salt, sugar, baking powder with a whisk. In a separate bowl mix the milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix the wet and dry together, then add in the melted butter.
Use some baking spray to spray a rectangular cake pan, 9×13, then pour the batter evenly into the pan.
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and spread evenly on the cake.
Using a knife or fork, start swirling the brown sugar and cinnamon into the cake until it resembles this picture. Bake for 30 minutes, let cool completely.
Mix the powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and water until it is a consistency like pancake syrup. Pour over the cake and it will set into a harder glaze. Enjoy this Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake with a fantastic cup of coffee.
Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- 4 tsp baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups milk
- 2 large eggs
- 4 teaspoons vanilla
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter , melted
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1-2 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Set oven to preheat at 350 degrees.
- Mix flour, salt, sugar, baking powder with a whisk. In a separate bowl mix the milk, eggs and vanilla. Mix the wet and dry together, then add in the melted butter. Mix until well combined.
- Use some baking spray to spray a rectangular cake pan, 9x13, then pour the batter evenly into the pan.
- Mix brown sugar and cinnamon together and spread evenly on the cake. Use a knife or fork to swirl the sugar and cinnamon into the batter.
- Bake for 30 minutes, let cool completely.
- Mix the powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla and water until it is a consistency like pancake syrup.
- Pour over the cake and it will set into a harder glaze.
- Enjoy with a fantastic cup of coffee
Nutrition
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Is the cake batter supposed to be very thick? I just made this and it’s in the oven atm. I was unsure and kept re-reading the ingredients and directions while mixing everything together.
How did they turn out?
I do have a quick question about the recipe, I know you’re supposed to use the 9×13 pan, but have you ever tried it in miniature loaf pans? I’m making several for my coworkers for my Christmas goodie basket and this recipe caught my eye, but wanted to make sure it was a good one to use in the loaf pans. But so excited to try it!!!
Hmm, good question. I can’t see why it wouldn’t work out, you’d just get less of that swirled surface area that is super delicious.
Concerning the butter, Is it being mixed in until well combined? Thanks!
Yes, you’ll want to add in the melted butter and mix it until well combined. I’ll edit the recipe to clarify to avoid any other confusion. Thanks for asking! I hope you enjoy it!
I’m making this for my Mom’s Bible Study this coming Tuesday. It looks so yummy.
Hope everyone enjoys it!
Hi
Please could you tell me how much a stick of butter is…..I live in Africa so do not know how many grams of butter to use.
Thank you Jenny
1 stick or 1/2 cup butter is equal to 4 ounces, or 113 grams.
I was looking for an easy coffee cake to make and ran across this recipe. My kids and I absolutely love it! It only took me a few minutes to prepare. It was so moist and tastes just like a cinnamon roll. Why make cinnamon rolls that take forever when you can enjoy this cake that tastes just like one. Thank you so much for the recipe!
I love this!! So glad you all enjoyed it Stacey!!
Do you think this could be made earlier like the night before and then refrigerated? All except the frosting of course.
I would hesitate to say yes because I’ve never tried it and am not sure how it would turn out sitting for so long before baking. If you decide to try, I’d love to hear how it turned out.
Hi Sabrina,
I would like to know if I could halve this recipe and if so do I use exactly half of the ingredients? Sorry for the silly question.
The cake looks delicious , I just wanted to make a smaller size version of it.
Thanks,
Marta
Not a silly question at all! Yes, you can! Enjoy!
Instead of cutting the recipe in half, I just divided it into two smaller pans and after they baked and cooled, I put one into the freezer to enjoy later.
The glaze turned out strange tasting to me. I had to add about 3 tblsp to make it syrupy. Seemed like too much powdered sugar?
So sorry this message got snagged in my spam filter! Glazes can be tricky sometimes depending on how packed your powdered sugar is, but the measurements I listed are pretty standard for my cinnamon roll baked goods. Did it taste overly sweet because you had to add more sugar than expected?
omg my mouth is watering at the moment. I’ve made Cinnamon coffee cake in the past. Regarding the melted butter I’d use unsalted. Normally I don’t add melted butter to cake batters. I bet if I ask my husband to make this cake he’d make it. I knew what to do with the sugars just by reading the ingredients. Similiar to mine but mine has a crumb topping. Made one for a neighbor who reported back that she couldn’t stop eating it.
Have him make it for you and then you can sit back and enjoy! 🙂
I just made this for my husband’s office. Super fast and easy. Tasted delicious!!! Definitely printing this one out for my folder!
So glad it worked out for you!
This turned out so yummy!! I would recommend cutting the brown sugar amount in half because it’s way to much! but other than that this was very good and fluffy.
I only had the printed copy of the recipe and it doesn’t say to swirl the cinnamon and sugar mix into the cake, so I have a huge amount of sugar and cinnamon just running free. Please edit it so people don’t end up with my mistake.
Sorry about that, I’ve fixed the recipe now! Thanks for letting me know about the mistake!
Made these last night- love them! Was for a bake sale and they went so fast, everyone loved them!
Aww, that’s so sweet, you made my night! I’m so glad you came back to tell me about it!
I was looking for an easy and fast coffee cake recipe that used simple ingredients readily available in my pantry and VOILA – yours was perfect! Although it’s wonderful how many comments you received about how good the photos looked – the only comment I found truly helpful was from Christine who actually tested the recipe and gave feedback on how your coffee cake is in real life. Thank you Christine! Based on Christine’s comments and my own preferences, I altered the recipe slightly and couldn’t be happier with the results. Your recipe is easy, fast, moist and delicious. It’s also really easy to adjust!
In case anyone’s interested – here are my little alterations. I used 1/4 stick more butter in the batter since I knew I’d be baking this a little longer. I used raw sugar for the batter which made it a little less sweet. The cinnamon mix is where I really changed things up because I love my coffee cake with nuts and coconut! I melted a 1/4 stick of butter, mixed in the brown sugar, threw in 1/2 cup of chopped pecans, added in 1/3 cup of toasted coconut and then stirred in the cinnamon. Mixed everything so that is was moistened by the butter but all was still very crumbly and loose. When everything was ready, I poured half of the cake batter into the pan, then poured 2/3 of the cinnamon/nut mix evenly over the batter, then poured in the rest of the batter to cover everything completely and then sprinkled on the remaining cinnamon nut mix. I took a chopstick and swirled everything together (a fork or butter knife would also work). I baked it at 350 for about 45 minutes (depending on where you live and how moist you like your cake – I’d say baking anywhere 40-50 minutes)
This came out so amazing and I couldn’t have done it without this recipe. Your site is great and thanks so much for the fantastic recipe. Hope my feedback is helpful for others and I highly recommend the coconut/pecan additions!!
xo
Abby Shepard
Oh my goodness, thank you SO much for coming back and leaving this feedback! I agree too, I love it when the comments reflect people making it and rating it. I know I am pretty guilty of commenting before I make something and failing to come back and leave a note, so I really appreciate you doing so! And I am so happy you enjoyed it!
I found this a few days ago and wanted to make this for a church gathering this weekend, so I did a trial run for breakfast this morning. It was a WIN WIN WIN!!!!! My husband (who thinks coffeecake belongs in parlor rooms with tea and crumpets) absolutely LOVED it!
I followed the recipe to a “T” save adding an extra 1.5 TBSP water to the icing to make it spreadable and the icing hardened up perfectly. This recipe is easy to follow, easy to make, and turns out absolutely delicious without having the dryness that often comes with coffeecakes. The only thing I’ll do different next time will be to swirl the topping down into the batter a bit more than I did. I only swirled it through the surface, but I think I was supposed to do a deeper swirl than what I did. Also, this is a very thick batter, so make sure you THOROUGHLY work it into the corners evenly BEFORE you put the topping on and swirl it in…mine domed more in the middle than what I would like in the future.
This is my new go-to recipe for a quick and delicious coffee cake and I just may keep it on hand for friends who stop by! Thank you so much! Blessings!
Fantastic! So glad you enjoyed it! Thank you so much for coming back and letting me know you enjoyed it!
Yw Sabrina! When I read comments on a recipe I am looking for a review from someone who has tried it, so I’m hoping my review and comments can help someone else making it for the first time. 🙂 I was a lot more impressed than I thought I’d be!
Totally agree! I do the same thing on blogs! I hope your review gives people a feeling of confidence that is really is a recipe that works too! 🙂 Thank you again!
Christine, thank you so much for commenting on how it turned out! Yours is exactly the kind of comment I like to see on these blogs 🙂 I was wondering if you could tell me how well it holds up the next day? I’m hoping to make this for breakfast, but I’d prefer to make it the night before if it will still be good the next morning.
Not to interject myself, but it’s just as good if you prepare it the night before, and we keep it in the fridge for a few days. If you ice it and wrap the pan in foil, it will help to keep the cake moist!
I was able to serve this to friends 3 days later and they raved so much that I was printing copies of the recipe for them! Everyone was amazed at how moist and flavorful this was THEN they were amazed at how simple the actual recipe was! FYI : I used a 14×9 (3qt) Pyrex pan that has a lid, so I kept it on the countertop and it was still good a week later when we finally finished it. This made a VERY thick cake, so next time I’ll probably separate the batter into that pyrex and the next size down (11×7) for more manageable pieces.
Wonderful! So glad you enjoyed it!! And I am so glad it kept well for you 🙂
I’ve got it in the oven now. Looks amazing!
Wonderful!! Hope you love it!
Found you from Pintrest. This does look good. But I have a question. Does this really call for 5 cups of sugar (1 cup regular + 1 cup brown + 3 cups powdered) to 3 cups of flour? Also just a minor detail but in ingredients list it reads “1 stick melted” but doesn’t specify what. I assume you meant butter.
Yes, LOTS of sugar, but to be fair the three cups is all in the glaze. You technically could leave it off and the cake is still delicious, but it is sort of how cinnamon rolls go. Also good catch on the melted butter! I am off to change that now!
Hey there! Someone in my Facebook group shared this site with us so I came to give it a look. I’m definitely loving the information. I’m book-marking and will be tweeting this to my followers! Exceptional blog and great design and style.
This sounds so delicious! I bet I could get one of my kids to make this for me!
Yes! It was made for me on Sunday!
Hi Sabrina. I shared this recipe on pinterest. It looks delicious.. I LOVE anything cinnamon.
Anjanette, thank you so much! This pan went to my husband’s office and came back nearly empty, so that has to be a great sign. I only took a few bites since I am still getting back to pre-pregnancy form.
Oh my word does this look amazing! I love cinnamon roll cake so darn much! Yum!
Oh my word does this look amazing! I love cinnamon roll cake so darn much! Yum!
me too!
Oh wow… if only that cake was in front of me now! Looks amazing. Will have to try this soon!
Hope you like it!
I didn’t think coffee cake could get much better – but this looks AMAZING!! I cannot wait to make ti!
I hope you enjoy it! It was so easy to make!
The coffee cake looks so good. I may try to make it gluten free with a gluten free baking mix.
Oh my gosh this looks so good. How do you stop from eating the entire pan?
This looks absolutely delicious. Definitely pinning for my next brunch since you aren’t hear to make it for me!
Wish I was!!
This looks absolutely delicious. Definitely pinning for my next brunch since you aren’t hear to make it for me!
This looks so delicious. I want to make it for my family this weekend.
Perfect for a sweet tooth. I haven’t had coffee cake for years, I’d love to have some again!
This IS perfect for Mothers Day. I will leave this recipe open on my computer so my family will see it and make it for me. Hopefully they will bring it to me in bed.
I like your style!
Yes, please. This would be perfect with a little tea. Yum!
You are speaking my language here. This would be such a wonderful Mother’s Day brunch for me and my mama.
Hope you enjoy them!
This looks delicious! Your pictures are making me hungry – I will be making this for dessert.
That looks absolutely delicious!!! Moist and full of flavor, I have to try it!
Hope you like it!
That looks super yummy! I’m not much of a baker, but even I could do this – but I need someone to make it for me for Mother’s Day!
Thanks! You deserve to have someone do it for you instead!
Mouth watering! Looks soooo good!
thanks 🙂
This looks so goooood. I would love a slice right now
Really hard to type right now. Mouth is watering.
The swirled brown sugar and cinnamon are definitely what I need! Perfect idea for Mother’s Day!
Thanks!
Perfect indeed! I could go for a slice with my morning cup of coffee before anyone else wakes up and just savor some peace and quiet.
I couldn’t agree more. As much as I love my kids, the hour or so I am awake before they are in the mornings with my cup of coffee and some completely not g-rated show like a housewives show is on the tv is the best hour of the day!
This sounds really, really good! I think I will actually make this for my mother-in-law for MOther’s Day this weekend.
Hope you like it!
That looks too delicious. I’d really like to make some of that soon. It would be gone very quickly.
Thanks!
Oh my gosh this looks so incredible! I need to make this asap! Looks so delicious!
Hope you like it!
Ugh, you are killing me Smalls with the food! It looks absolutely amazing!! We don’t celebrate mother’s day at our house either. Happy Mother’s Day!
Haha, well at least you get to actually enjoy some of it! Bringing a new recipe from tonight over tomorrow morning 🙂
I can’t say no to cinnamon. This cake looks perfect for Mother’s Day! (Plus, I can’t believe Memorial Day is just around the corner…and then it’s SUMMER! )
I definitely think this year is flying by too. I need it to slow down! 🙂
I don’t think I have ever wanted to lick my computer screen before today. That looks incredible. I am going to ask my husband to make it for me for Mother’s Day!
Aww thanks! I hope you like it!
That looks DELICIOUS! My husband LOVES Cinnamon buns.
Thanks!
I’ll take that for Mother’s Day! That looks so delicious! If my husband surprised me with this, he’d have brownie points for days.
That is soooo totally drool worthy. You have no idea how much I want that right now. Yum!
Thanks! I had to stop myself at one small piece and sent the rest into my husband’s office so I didn’t keep eating it!
I forgot to ask this question. This cake pan – greased or ungreasted. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Yes, I use a baking spray. Enjoy!
After baking 30 minutes my toothpick was not clean when I tested it to see if it was done. There is no mention of testing it in the recipe. I’ve put it back in the oven. Is this necessary or should I just bake for 30 minutes without testing it??? Thanks.
Sorry I’m just now seeing this 🙁 Depending on how the temp in your oven runs, I would leave it in for a bit longer. Hopefully it turned out well for you!
The Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake was delicious. I toothpick tested it after baking 30 minutes and decided to leave it in the oven longer. Then some family members didn’t want the extra sugar so I put the glaze on only half which made everyone happy. My glaze ended up too runny after adding a little more water, but it didn’t make a difference in taste. I would definitely make this for guests – it will be a go-to coffee cake in my house! The ingredients are things I always have around for a last minute occasion.
Yay! So happy to hear everyone loved it!! Thank for letting me know 🙂
I added another five minutes, then it was perfect. I will make less icing next time and just drizzle it, it made it too sweet (yes, there is such a thing!)
I also had to add some time, about 15 minutes. I only used half the icing since it’s so sweet. These came out amazing! Such an easy but impressive cake.