Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Ripple
Breakfast, brunch, or dessert, this Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Ripple does not disappoint. It’s moist and tender from sour cream, with an irresistible cinnamon sugar ripple and topping!
An Easy Cinnamon Coffee Cake
This Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Ripple was inspired by the days when Mom used to make my grandma’s coffee cake recipe. Simple as that coffee cake was, I adored it for its moistness and that crispy cinnamon sugar topping.
This coffee cake is a bit more of a showpiece than my grandma’s, as this one’s baked in a tube pan, with beautiful ripply layers of cinnamon swirl baked into each and every slice. Plus a hefty sprinkling of cinnamon sugar over the top that gets all crackly-shattery from the heat of the oven – the texture adds such a fun contrast to the tenderness of the cake below.
With less than 10 ingredients and a few simple steps, you won’t believe how easy it is to make this richly flavored coffee cake. Sour cream and cinnamon sugar for the coffee cake win!!
Why use sour cream in cake?
I sincerely believe that the very best coffee cakes (and banana breads!) involve sour cream. Just look at the beautiful, moist crumb in this cinnamon coffee cake!
Adding sour cream to baked goods is a trick that allows you to add moisture without thinning out the batter. In the case of this cinnamon coffee cake, it helps create a moist and tender crumb. Plus it adds a wonderful little tang to the flavor of the cake. I love it!
What You’ll Need
This sour cream coffee cake recipe calls for less than 10 ingredients!
- Unsalted butter – Softened but not melted.
- Sugar – Divided for use in different parts of the recipe.
- Eggs
- Pure vanilla extract
- All-purpose flour
- Baking soda
- Salt
- Sour cream – This gives the cake a moist and tender crumb, plus a delightful bit of tangy flavor. I recommend regular sour cream for the best flavor and texture, not light or non-fat.
- Cinnamon – Layers of cinnamon sugar bring out the warm spiced flavor in this sour cream coffee cake.
How to Make Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Ripple
This sour cream coffee cake is very easy to make – let’s do this!
- Make the batter. Cream butter and 2 cups of the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, followed by the vanilla. Then add the dry ingredients, alternating with the sour cream.
- Layer the batter and cinnamon sugar. Transfer a third of the batter to the greased tube pan. In a separate bowl, combine the cinnamon and remaining sugar. Sprinkle a third of this cinnamon sugar over the batter. Repeat two more layers, ending with cinnamon sugar on top.
- Bake. Bake for 60 to 65 minutes. Enjoy warm or at room temperature.
Tips for Success
Just a few things I’ve found helpful when making coffee cake:
- Don’t overbeat the batter. Mix just enough until the batter is smooth and combined again.
- Use full-fat sour cream. For the best flavor and texture, do not use low fat and non-fat versions of sour cream.
- Drop the batter in a spoonful at a time. To make it easier to evenly spread the batter throughout the pan, drop it into the pan by the spoonful.
- Don’t skimp on the cinnamon sugar. It might seem like there’s more cinnamon sugar than you need. But be sure to use it all – it’s the perfect amount for the moist interior ripples and the crispy topping!
Serving Suggestions
Coffee cake is typically served with…you guessed it, coffee. This can be in the morning for breakfast, at brunch, or for afternoon dessert. There’s really no right or wrong time to eat coffee cake. And it’s absolutely not a requirement to eat it with coffee. So, quite simply, enjoy this cinnamon swirl coffee cake whenever you want, however you want!
How to Store Leftovers
Leftover cinnamon coffee cake can be stored on the countertop at cool room temperature for a few days. It can also be stored in the fridge for up to 5 days. Just note that if you cover the cake, the cinnamon sugar topping will lose its crispness.
More Coffee Cake Recipes:
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Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Ripple
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2-3/4 cups sugar divided
- 4 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 cups sour cream use regular sour cream, not light or non-fat
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Lightly spray a 10" tube pan with non-stick cooking spray and set aside.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream butter and 2 cups of the sugar on medium to medium-high speed until light fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Then beat in vanilla.
- In a small bowl, combine flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter and sugar mixture, alternating with sour cream, beating just enough after each addition to keep batter smooth.
- With a spatula, transfer a third of the batter into prepared tube pan and level it out.
- In a small bowl, combine cinnamon and remaining 3/4 cup of sugar, and sprinkle a third of this cinnamon sugar mixture over batter in pan. Repeat layers two more times, alternating batter and cinnamon sugar, ending with a layer of cinnamon sugar on top.
- Bake for 60 to 65 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center just comes out clean.
- Cool for 30 to 45 minutes. Then cut around the pan edges with a knife and remove cake from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
This post was originally published in 2018, and then updated in 2021.
The cake turned out just as your picture.  Delicious!  A wonderful crumb, and I love all the cinnamon.  I’m sure I will be making this cake for years to come. Thanks for sharing!
Hi Rachel – I’m so happy to hear this. Enjoy!!
I made it but I added some mini chocolate Chips to the cinnamon sugar mixture and oh my god I made one regular by the recipe and one with the chips added and they are the one with the chip so fast I only got to taste it off my girlfriend plate everyone ate it so fast I thought what the hell happened here hahaha the regular one was gone about twenty mins later people were raving about these two coffee cakes hahaha you should try the addition of the mini chipsÂ
Hi Henry – I know for certain I’d love your chocolate chip version!!!! Thank you for sharing. :)
I’ve been wanting to make this and since I have company coming, I decided to make it!  Excellent recipe.  Used half cream cheese, half sour cream.  Love so many of your recipes!  Thanks!
Mine is in the oven as we speak.
I only had 1-8oz. (1cup) sour cream so added to that 1-8oz. block of Philly Cream Cheese to equal the 2 cups called for, so we shall see how it turns out. It sure does smell good.
I will also be making a powdered sugar glaze to drizzle over the top once it’s cooled down.
Thank You and enjoy the remainder of the weekend.
This is my second time making this cake. Best coffee cake recipe ever. Moist, delicious and great texture. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
This is the best coffee cake I’ve ever had. Easy to make. My whole family loved it. When I make this I’m lucky if it last 2 days.
LOVE to hear this, Linda Beth! Thank you for coming back to let me know!
I made it but substituted cream cheese in place of the sour cream and it is fantastic.