The Best Cinnamon Streusel Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This Cinnamon Walnut Sour Cream Coffee Cake is not only incredibly easy to make, it’s absolutely delicious! A tender crumb cake with layers of cinnamon sugar streusel and a walnut brown sugar filling… you won’t be able to stop after just one piece.

Nothing says brunch like sour cream coffee cake with streusel topping! Honestly, a few bites of this and you will never want to make any other homemade breakfast again! 

If you love breakfast/brunch recipes, you may also like Vegan Banana Chocolate Chip Sheet Pan Pancakes or my Superfood Protein Breakfast Cookies. These are healthier versions of your favourite breakfast foods!

This cinnamon coffee cake is perfect for Christmas morning. My family calls it my Christmas morning coffee cake because I love making it Christmas morning for everyone! 

It’s something easy that you can prep ahead, and that will feed everyone without having to make three or four different dishes. When you don’t feel like dirtying three frying pans, Christmas coffee cake to the rescue!

THE INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR THE BEST SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

You will need the following ingredients listed below to make this tender cake (the exact measurements are in the printable recipe card below):

• Room temperature butter, and well as cold butter for the cinnamon streusel
• Brown sugar
• White sugar
• All-purpose flour
• Cinnamon
• Walnuts
• Room temperature eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Baking powder
• Sea salt
• Reduced-fat sour cream
• Powdered sugar – to dust the cake.

HOW TO MAKE THIS CLASSIC SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×9 inch baking dish with nonstick spray or line with parchment paper.  
2. For the streusel – using a pastry cutter or fork, combine the cold butter, flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. 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. Put in fridge to chill. 
3. For the walnut sugar filling – combine the walnuts, brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.  
4. For the cake – In a large bowl of an electric mixer or stand mixer, cream butter and sugar fitted with the paddle attachment for 2 to 3 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla extract. 
5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, add half the dry ingredients to the batter until just combined. Then add in the sour cream. Finish by adding the remaining flour mixture and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed. 
6. Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a spatula or knife in an even layer. Sprinkle the walnut sugar filling over the batter, and approximately 1/3 of the streusel topping. Spoon the remaining batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. 
7. Let cool on a wire rack for at least 15 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Sprinkle with icing sugar and devour!  

WHY THIS IS THE BEST COFFEE CAKE RECIPE

Streusel – Made with melted butter and brown sugar, the streusel mixture is simply irresistible! A portion of the streusel is layered with the cake batter to form a ribbon running throughout the coffee cake. The remaining streusel is sprinkled over the top of the cake batter and bakes up beautifully golden.

Walnut Sugar Filling – The walnuts add a nice crunch to the cake! Mixed in with the streusel, it’s a match made in heaven!

Cake – Sour cream, more butter, and two large eggs ensure golden and moist cake crumbs. Full fat Greek yogurt can also be used as an equal swap for the sour cream. Pure vanilla extract adds rich flavour to the buttery cake! The streusel, delicious walnut filling, and moist cake all combined makes for the best sour cream coffee cake recipe!

(Pro tip on the batter-spreading: Since the batter is fairly sticky, it can be a little difficult to spread.  So I recommend adding it to the pan in small clumps, then spreading it around with a rubber spatula until smooth and even.  And if the batter is sticking to your rubber spatula too much, just spray it with some cooking spray!)

HOW TO STORE

1. Cool Completely: Allow the sour cream coffee cake to cool completely before storing. This will help prevent moisture buildup and maintain the texture.

2. Wrap Well: Wrap the coffee cake tightly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil. Make sure it is completely covered to prevent air exposure and maintain freshness.

3. Airtight Container: Place the wrapped coffee cake in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag. This additional layer of protection will further prevent air from reaching the cake.

CAN I FREEZE THE HOMEMADE COFFEE CAKE?

This cake is best made in the morning of or even the night before. Store it on the countertop for 1-2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. 

It does dry out easily so it tastes best made fresh! Keep it in the freezer to maintain optimal freshness!

You could easily create other delicious variations for this cinnamon coffee cake with sour cream. By adding blueberries you’d make blueberry sour cream coffee cake, or cranberries for a cranberry coffee cake with sour cream. 

Another flavourful option would be adding chocolate chips for a chocolate chip sour cream coffee cake – that might be my favourite option!

Though I have not tested it, you could try using 1:1 gluten free baking flour for a gluten free sour cream coffee cake. Remember when measuring gluten free flour to spoon it out of the container, rather than scooping your measuring cup right in. 

This will help avoid adding too much flour to the cinnamon coffee cake with sour cream, so it won’t dry out.

HOW TO REHEAT THIS COFFEE CAKE?

To reheat stored sour cream coffee cake, remove it from the refrigerator or thaw it from the freezer. Allow it to come to room temperature. 

If desired, you can warm it slightly in the oven at a low temperature or in the microwave for a short time. Be cautious not to overheat it, as it may dry out.

Other Christmas Morning Breakfast Ideas You May Want To Try

• Cinnamon Roll Baked Oatmeal
• Healthy Banana Bread Cookies (Vegan & Gluten Free)
• Sugar Cookie Baked Oats
• Gluten Free Bread Pudding
• 3 Ingredient Gluten Free Bagel Bites

IF YOU TRIED THIS NEW RECIPE PLEASE LEAVE IT A COMMENT AND STAR RATING. I LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOUR CREATIONS! YOU CAN PIN THIS RECIPE ON PINTEREST OR SHARE ON INSTAGRAM BY TAGGING @basicswithbails and #basicswithbails