Tessa’s Recipe Rundown
Taste: Oh so flavorful! You seriously won’t believe it. Perfect for that transition into cooler temperatures.
Texture: The cake itself is tender and moist, and that cinnamon streusel is layered inside and on top of the cake for the perfect amount of richness and a slight crunch.
Ease: Pretty simple and easy! Browning the butter is an extra step but it’s so worth it.
Pros: Absolutely delicious recipe that’ll likely become a staple part of your baking repertoire!
Cons: None.
Would I make this again? Oh YES.
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This Brown Butter Coffee Cake is one of those recipes that EVERYONE loves. When I thought up the recipe, I expected it would be pretty good (otherwise I wouldn’t have created it!) – but it blew even my expectations out of the water!
Every single person who has sampled it has loved it.
You won’t even believe how incredible this Brown Butter Coffee Cake smells while it’s baking.
Your neighbors will probably come knocking just to see just what that divine aroma is! I hope you’ll be ready to share 🙂
If you’ve never browned butter before, what are you waiting for?! Learn more about browning butter in my How to Brown Butter article here.
The brown butter adds a slightly caramelized nutty flavor to this cake that, when combined with the other flavor-boosting ingredients (sour cream, cinnamon, and brown sugar), the result is simply heavenly.
Pair it with a cup of coffee and you’re ready for a moment of pure bliss! I truly hope you give this recipe a try soon and let me know what you think!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Brown Butter Coffee Cake
Overview of How to Make Brown Butter Coffee Cake:
- Make the streusel: In a small bowl, whisk together the crumb topping ingredients with a fork until the texture resembles wet sand. Set aside.
- Brown the butter: Instructions on this just below.
- Make the cake: In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients and sugars. To the browned butter, add the milk, eggs, and sour cream. Make a well in the center of the dry mixture then pour in the wet ingredients. Gently stir until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- Layer the streusel topping and the cake batter: Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spread the remaining batter over the streusel. Sprinkle with the remaining streusel.
- Bake: Bake at 350°F for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack.
- Make the glaze: In a small bowl combine the sugar and milk until a thick yet pourable icing forms. Drizzle over the warm cake. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days.
How to Brown Butter
Use a stainless steel sauté pan for best results. Nonstick prevents the butter from browning completely – and it also prevents you from being able to visually see how browned the butter is getting. Same with the dark color of cast iron. Something with a wider surface area, like a sauté pan rather than a saucepan, encourages browning faster and more evenly.
Don’t step away from butter that’s browning after it’s melted! It can go from browned to burnt very quickly. At the same time, don’t be afraid of letting that color develop. It should become rich amber in color and nicely fragrant. Be sure to scrape all the brown bits into the mixing bowl – that’s where the flavor lives!
Learn all my tips and tricks for browning butter in my How to Brown Butter article here.
The Best Pan for Coffee Cake
Be sure to use a light-colored metal baking pan for best results! Dark-colored pans will brown the edges and make them dry. Glass or ceramic pans will work in a pinch, but you’ll likely need to increase the baking time and lower the temperature by 25°F. Check out this article on Glass vs. Metal Pans for more information.
Why is There No Coffee in This Brown Butter Coffee Cake?
Generally, coffee cake is meant to be served with coffee, so it doesn’t always contain coffee as an ingredient! Enjoy this coffee cake alongside a nice cup of coffee instead.
Why is There Sour Cream in This Recipe?
Sour cream in coffee cake creates the most beautiful, moist texture and flavor. If you don’t have sour cream, you can also use plain full-fat yogurt. Make sure it’s room temperature when incorporating into your batter.
Can You Double This Recipe?
Yes! Simply double all ingredients and bake in a 9 by 13-inch baking pan. Add a few minutes to the baking time.
How Long Can You Store Brown Butter Coffee Cake?
Brown Butter Coffee Cake will keep fresh and moist for 3 days. Cover well with plastic wrap or store inside an airtight container or ziptop bag.
Can You Freeze Coffee Cake?
I’ve had great results from freezing the entire baked cake in an airtight container, then allowing it to defrost at room temperature before icing and serving.
More Coffee Cake Recipes You’ll Love:
More Brown Butter Recipes:
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Brown Butter Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the streusel
- 3/4 cup (150 grams) light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup (48 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons (57 grams) unsalted butter, melted
For the coffee cake
- 1 1/2 sticks (170 grams) unsalted butter
- 2 cups (254 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup whole milk
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 8 ounces (227 grams) sour cream or plain full fat yogurt, at room temperature
For the topping
- 1/2 cup (63 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square metal pan with parchment paper or foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Make the streusel:
- In a small bowl, combine all of the streusel ingredients with a fork until the texture resembles wet sand.
Brown the butter:
- In a medium slightly deep stainless skillet set over medium heat melt the butter. Swirling the pan occasionally, continue to cook the butter. It should become foamy with audible cracking and popping noises. Once the crackling stops continue to swirl the pan until the butter develops a nutty aroma and brown bits start to form at the bottom. Once the bits are amber in color, about 2 to 3 minutes after the popping stops, remove from heat and pour into a medium mixing bowl and let cool slightly.
Make the cake:
- In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and sugars.
- To the browned butter, add the milk, eggs, and sour cream. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients then pour in the wet ingredients. Gently stir until just combined. Don’t overmix.
- Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spread the remaining batter over the streusel. Sprinkle with the remaining streusel.
- Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes.
Make the topping:
- In a small bowl combine the sugar and milk until a thick yet pourable icing forms. Drizzle over the warm cake. Cut into squares and serve. Store leftovers, covered, at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Photos by Ashley McLaughlin.
Can I use buttermilk instead of sour cream? Thank you.
I baked this cake a few times and hope to bake it some more. So good! I eliminated the glaze and only did 1/2 tsp of cinnamon for the streusel. It’s sorta light and rises nice. Thank you much Tessa!
This coffee cake brings back childhood memories. It is amazing!!! I like the round shape though.
I love this cake so much and make it often. What do you think about mixing in a little fruit, like blueberries?
This was so good. I made some modifications based on need as well as preference or what I could find available. First I used gluten free 1 for 1 flour (the need), second I couldn’t find whole milk yogurt so I used a 2% vanilla (6oz), and filled the rest of the 8 oz with regular sour cream, third I used buttermilk instead of whole milk. I also left off the icing drizzle. I made this for our Easter breakfast at home, and my husband is still talking about it. He said to make sure I saved a copy of the recipe!
Made this over the weekend and they were great. I turned the recipe into bakery style muffins and they were perfect. I wanted to make them jumbo sized so I added a little more baking powder and they were moist and very tasty. I baked them at 425 for 5 minutes and then put them down to 350 for another 15 minutes watching them carefully because the tops started to get brown. I tented them for the last 5 minutes as they were still moist in the middle. The icing was little too thin and I had to add more confectioners sugar. The top of the muffin had a nice crunch and added a lot of texture to the muffin. Tessa your recipes are the best. Also love your chocolate chip cookies!!!
My first time ever making coffee cake and was so excited when I found this recipe. It just seemed like it would be good even tho I was a little upset at having to use yogurt bc I hate yogurt. Didn’t have it so I googled alternatives and found a blog describing how to sub yogurt! I made “butter milk” using 1Tbsp white vinegar and added enough white milk to make 1cup. I let that rest while I started the cake and only used 3/4 c of the”buttermilk” .I made extra crumb as well bc it’s my fav part. It turned out AMAZING. I’m saving this recipe and sharing it as well.
I made this for my family and it was a huge hit! Everyone wanted the recipe. This will be my go-to coffee cake now.
This looks delicious!! Would it work in mini loaf pans? What adjustments would I need to make?
I cut the bake time on mine, but it still over baked just a bit. Was still really moist. My mom said she thinks it would be really good with some nuts added, so I might try that next time
Tessa, can I use buttermilk instead of sour cream for this recipe?
I admit, I was not super excited about this cake because it seems every time I make a coffee cake, it’s dry and flavorless. But this is the most AMAZING, moist cake! People just raved about it and I nearly didn’t even get to try it! So easy to make, and the prescribed baking time of 40 minutes was spot on.