Cake Mix Sour Cream Coffee Cake
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Sour cream makes this coffee cake super moist and the best part is that it starts with a cake mix. It’s so easy to make, and loaded with lots of cinnamon crumbly goodness. This breakfast cake is an instant crowd pleaser!
I love eating cake for breakfast. And I know you know I’m serious because yesterday we chatted about my lack of shame for eating all sorts of debatably inappropriate foods first thing in the morning, such as these Best Baked Apples Recipe (don’t knock it ’til you try it.)
But really, cake is on the less-weird list of breakfast foods because while admittedly I have eaten frosted chocolate birthday cake with sprinkles within 17 minutes of waking up, it’s really not that far of a stretch from the towering shortstacks that we all like to down at the local IHOP. Really? Pancakes? We didn’t even try to disguise the name on that one.
At least this coffee cake isn’t smothered in syrup, right?
Instead it’s loaded down with a cinnamon crumble topping. Oh oh oh, and that same crumble topping is rippled right throughout the center of the cake too. Raise your hand if the streusel is your favorite part?? Good. So you all know exactly what I’m talking about when I say there can never be enough streusel.
I developed this recipe as an easy-to-make totally delicious option for feeding a crowd. When family and friends are coming over, the last thing you want to do is fuss over a labor-intensive breakfast. This cake is just the thing because it starts with a cake mix and just four other ingredients. Easy peasy. And the crumble topping is a cinch to make so the prep takes only 10-15 minutes tops then it’s into the oven. Super moist and loaded with cinnamon crumble, this is an instant favorite!
What people are saying about this Cake Mix Sour Cream Coffee Cake
“Absolutely the best coffee cake I have ever made, and maybe my new go to family treat. The trick to the second layer is dropping the batter by dollops and then sprinkling a bit of the crumb topping to help spread. Well worth the trouble! Delicious. It won’t last the day. I will recommend this to all my friends.” – Susanne
“I’m just sitting down to taste a piece of this coffee cake, all i have to say is DELICIOUS!!! The batter is thick but if you take your time and use dollops of the batter it will spread!! May not be the easiest of batters but the result IS worth the extra time! I will use this recipe again and again because it’s that good. Thank You Tiffany!!” – Tammy
“Found this on Pinterest when looking for a quick coffee cake recipe. After reading the comments I decided to spread all of the batter out first (with a spatula sprayed with Pam) and then put one layer of crumb on the top. Yes, the batter is thick but you can work with it. Oh my gosh, this came out so good! Rich, moist, flavorful, and the whole house smelled great! My husband loved it and it’s my new go-to recipe, highly recommend, so yummy!” – Lisa
“I wrangled all the dough into one layer, grinned with decadent delight at the massive layer of crumble that left me for the top, and I’m about to dish it out to my slobbering family with huge glasses of cold milk. It is to die for! I’m glad I “toughed it out” for that whole 5 minutes to make it! :p Thanks Tiffany!” – Ginger
Cake Mix Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1 package yellow cake mix, (mix only, not prepared)
- 1 egg
- 1 cup sour cream , (may sub plain greek yogurt)
- ¼ cup butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
Crumble Topping
- 1 ¼ cups flour
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup butter (8 tablespoons), chilled and cut into cubes
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- First prepare the crumble. Whisk together flour, brown sugar, sugar, salt, and cinnamon. Cut in chilled butter until crumbly. Set aside.
- Next prepare the cake. Combine cake mix, egg, sour cream, melted butter, and vanilla and mix until combined. It’s okay if the batter still has some lumps.
- Spread half the cake batter in the bottom of the greased baking dish (see note.) Sprinkle with half of the crumble mixture. Grease a rubber spatula and gently spread the remaining batter over the crumble (this takes a little finessing but it's worth it if you just work with it.) Top with remaining crumble.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe is soooo good! I just add one egg to give the consistency i prefer.
Can you tell me why my streusel topping was very light in color compared to yours and it looks much dryer than what yours looks. Flavor is awesome though.
First, you need to ensure that all of the ingredients are measured correctly, especially the flour sugar and butter. Also, if your butter was too soft or the streusel was overtaxed that can also cause it to be lighter and drier.
I made this cake for the simplicity of ingredients and what I had in my pantry. Further after reading others reviews I used a cookie scoop for the remaining half of the cake that went over the filling. It was amazing! Oh! And I had an Orange cake mix in the pantry. Everyone that tried it voted it the best ever! Anyways the point I want to make is it’s easy to make this cake, it’s not easy for those that expect it to make it self. My biggest suggestion is to relax, be creative and smart, and don’t panic.
This was yummy but super sweet. I added some chopped Granny Smith apple in the middle and added chopped walnuts. I think next time I would skip the white sugar and just use the brown so to cut the sweetness. I couldn’t spread out the top batter so I just plopped it in small blobs (technical terms🤣) and then put the rest of the topping over it. I cooked it 34 min and it was done perfectly.
It was good, but not amazing? I definitely suggest making extra topping, and then layering in a decent amount of the topping into the batter first, then add more topping on top. Also, yellow cake mix def has a distinct taste, so if you like that then great, but it definitely has that flavor. I think the swirling in more of the topping into it would help a lot. I just used a wet spoon to get the sticky batter spread out in the pan, and worked fine. I also added chopped pecans which everyone said they loved. And added more cinnamon to everything. I would also use another egg next time like another mentioned. Overall, it was decent, just needs a few extra elements that would help a lot.
The cake was delicious!!! I used greek yogurt instead of the sour cream. Fabulous recipe!!!
The cake is delicious but I found not at all moist. I followed the recipe exactly and only baked for 26 minutes….it was to be given to a friend, but cannot when it is sooooo crumbly and dry…Next time I will add more sour cream to the batter and butter to the topping…
Can this be made in a muffin pan
I haven’t personally tried this but other readers have with success 🙂
I added a 1/4cup of oil and will add another egg next time
Can I make ahead of time and freeze?
Yes 🙂 just make sure it’s covered well or in a tight container to protect it from freezer burn.
I made this last night and I have to say that other than adding 1/4th cup of oil in addition to the butter this is a delicious and easy coffee cake. I did opt to put the whole batter into the pan but then swirled about 1/3rd of the topping thru the batter before putting the rest on top.The result is a moist buttery cake. I will be using this as my go to from now on. Thanks for this recipe.
How can I make this into an apple sour cream coffee cake?
You can peel and cut up apples, coat them in flour and then fold them into the cake batter before putting it into the dish. You can also use my Cinnamon Coffee Cake recipe as a reference 🙂