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.
I have made this recipe twice. First time just like directions said. This time I put it in a 9in springform pan. Put all crumb on the top. Baked it for approx.42 min. Waiting for it to cool a little to cut. I will let you know what happens. Great tasting recipe. Love it.
Hope it turned out wonderful! 😉
good, but doesn’t hold together very well. My guess is that there’s just WAY too much flour in the topping – 2/3 or half as much would have been better.
the ideas of putting on the 2d layer as “pats” or strueseling the layers together are good ones.
This looks delicious! I did have a hard time spreading it because iT was so thick. So i took my time and spred the first layer on the bottom and dollopped the rest and spred it with a spreader and my finger. A little patience 😀 it sure does smell good
I wish I had read the comments before I attempted this recipe! Fair warning, the comments from other people are completely accurate. This batter was so thick it was impossible to do to layers. In addition, there’s no way it fills a 9×13 pan, so i used a small square pan. This recipe also makes way too much topping so I threw most of it away. The finished cake was good but I think this recipe should be rewritten.
Just made this with Pillsbury gluten free yellow cake mix. Followed directions exactly… it was sooooo thick! I ended up having to spray pam on my spatula so I could pat it out in the pan. just mixed brown sugar with cinnamon out of time constraints and put the whole amount on the top layer. it came out amazing! drizzled a little simple frosting on top for pizzaz, although not necessary. my friends totally raved about it, nice and dense with the sour cream, and very moist. i hate a dry coffee cake! thanks for the recipe, it’s a keeper!
Hi Regina- So happy to hear that you loved it and that it turned out so great! Way to go with adding the pizzaz on top! 😉