Sour Cream Coffee Cake

5 from 6 votes

Posted: 12/21/21

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Tender, delicious homemade Sour Cream Coffee Cake with a cinnamon pecan filling and topping. A sweet glaze on top makes it the perfect easy crumb cake to enjoy with coffee in the morning or as an afternoon pick me up!

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Sour Cream Coffee Cake piece on white plate

For a special breakfast or brunch, you can’t go wrong with a slice of coffee cake with buttery streusel topping. Even better? Make a sour cream coffee cake! This recipe makes the best coffee cake with a tender and moist texture.

This recipe is great any time of year – make it for the holidays or any time you want to treat your family! I love a slice as an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee or tea – it’s not just for the morning.

For breakfast, it’s great with a savory dish like my tater tot breakfast casserole! Make some hot chocolate for the kiddos and some mimosas for the adults for an epic start to the weekend.

Contents show

Why This Recipe Works

This coffee cake recipe is all about sour cream! It does incredible things – it adds a tangy flavor and richness, plus it gives the cake the most amazing texture. Soft and moist – it’s like magic!

Of course, you need a streusel topping, and mine has it. The topping ingredients combine to make a nutty, buttery, and sweet finish. Plus, I add an extra layer inside the cake for double the goodness.

You can make this treat a day in advance (it keeps for up to three days at room temperature!), or you can keep it in the refrigerator. This makes it great when you have a big brunch planned and want to spread out the work.

Everyone will go crazy for a slice of this homemade sour cream coffee cake! Be sure to print out some copies of the recipe – I’m sure you’ll get lots of requests. I always do!

Ingredients

Unsalted butter – Take it out of the refrigerator at least 30 minutes before making the recipe.
Granulated sugar
Large eggs – Let them sit out at room temperature before making the batter.
Vanilla extract
Sour cream – For the best flavor, use full-fat sour cream. Also, leave it out at room temperature for 20 or 30 minutes before making the batter.
All-purpose flour – Lightly spoon the flour in the measuring cup and level it off. This will prevent too much flour from being added. You will also need some for the topping.
Baking powder
Baking soda
Fine sea salt – or you can use the same amount of table salt.
Light brown sugar – Pack it in the cup when you measure it.
Ground cinnamon
Cold unsalted butter – Slice it into cubes and keep it chilled until you’re ready to use it.
Chopped pecans – You can also use walnuts or almonds.
Confectioner’s sugar – This is the same thing as powdered sugar.
Milk – Whole milk or 2% milk work best!

Products Needed

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°F and lightly butter a 9×9″ baking pan and set it aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat the softened butter and granulate sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly between each addition. Beat in the vanilla and sour cream.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and then mix half of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients. Mix well and then add the rest and combine. The batter will be thick and sticky.

Overhead image of eggs being added to creamed mixture

Overhead image of sour cream being added to wet mixture

In a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Add the cold butter cubes and use a fork to cut the butter into the mixture. Once it resembles crumbs, mix in the nuts.

Spread half of the coffee cake batter in the prepared pan. Smooth the top with a spatula and then sprinkle half of the streusel over the top. Drop the remaining batter by the spoonful over the top of the streusel. Carefully smooth it into an even layer and then sprinkle the remaining streusel over the top.

Overhead image of coffee cake batter in pan

Overhead image of coffee cake filling in pan

Bake the coffee cake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs.

Place the baking pan on a wire rack to cool for at least 20 minutes.

Overhead image of bowl of powdered sugar icing

Overhead image of baked coffee cake with icing

While it cools, you can make the glaze. Mix the powdered sugar and milk in a small bowl. If your glaze is too thick, add a little more milk to thin it. If it’s too thin, add a little more sugar.

Drizzle the glaze over the top of the coffee cake and then slice and serve!

Can you use an 8×8″ baking pan, tube pan, or bundt pan for this recipe?

An 8×8″ pan will probably be too small to hold the batter, so I don’t recommend trying it. I haven’t tested this coffee cake recipe in a tube pan or bundt pan. If you want to use a bundt pan, you should try my bundt coffee cake.

Why is my cake dense with a tight crumb?

It could be a few things. First, you might have added too much flour. Always use the spoon and level method to measure (instead of scooping the flour out of the package with the cup), so you don’t end up with too much.

It could also be that you overmixed the batter. When you add the dry ingredients, do it in two batches and mix just until combined. Overmixing will develop more gluten in the flour which can make your cake dense.

It’s also a good idea to use room-temperature ingredients. Adding cold eggs and sour cream makes it harder to fully incorporate the batter, so you end up overmixing the batter.

How should you store sour cream coffee cake?

Cover it with plastic wrap, and it will keep for up to three days at room temperature. Or, you can keep it covered in the refrigerator for up to a week.

What does sour cream do for cake?

Sour cream is a great ingredient to use in baking! It adds a rich, tangy flavor and also helps create a tender, moist crumb. Greek yogurt is often used as a substitute for sour cream – if you try it, just be sure to use full-fat yogurt.

Don’t wait to give this sour cream coffee cake a try! It’s so perfect it will be your new favorite recipe. I know you will love it!

More Breakfast Baked Goods

For another delicious breakfast treat, try my Coffee Cake with Blueberries!
Apple Muffins are easy to make and topped with a crunchy, sweet oat topping!
Everyone loves Monkey Bread! It’s sticky, sweet, and perfect for a special breakfast or brunch.
Cinnamon Twists taste like cinnamon rolls but so much easier to make.
Crumb Topping Cake is so easy to make with yellow cake mix! It’s great if you’re short on time.
Delicious Banana Coffee Cake loaded with flavor from mashed bananas and white chocolate chips then topped with brown sugar and slivered almonds.
Sweet and tart Cranberry Scones are the perfect fall or holiday treat for breakfast or with coffee.
Love warm, fresh muffins in the morning? Don’t want to do all the work? These Refrigerator Bran Muffins are the answer!

Meet Julie Evink

I'm here to help you win in the kitchen again! Life is Busy, Life is Crazy, but that doesn't mean you can't make your family dinner! Julie's goal is to provide you with easy, family, friendly recipes that use pantry staples. Dinnertime will be stress free again!