This cinnamon roll coffee cake recipe combines cinnamon, vanilla, and more for a gorgeous flavor. There is no coffee in this recipe. It gets its name because it’s the perfect treat to enjoy with your morning (or afternoon) coffee!
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Any cinnamon fan will fall in love with the soft texture and delicious flavor of this easy-to-make recipe. So whenever you have the craving, make this instead for a tasty change. It’s wonderful served at brunch.
Cinnamon rolls can take a while to prepare and you have to let the dough rise, roll it out, and so on. Make life easier by opting for this instead. It’s quicker and easier to make, yet offers the same incredible flavor.
Sweet potato cupcakes are also filled with warm and earthy flavors, as well as these old fashioned molasses cookies which have the perfect touch of cinnamon in them.
Main Ingredients
All the ingredients in this recipe blend together perfectly to guarantee perfection in every bite. Let’s take a closer look at the ingredients you need to make it:
- Sugar: For sweetness. The batter calls for white sugar while the brown sugar combines with cinnamon for the topping. Finally, confectioners' sugar mixes with water to make a sweet syrup to drizzle over the top.
- Cinnamon: The main flavor in the cake. Because this is such a key ingredient, make sure you use a good quality. Ceylon cinnamon has a richer flavor than standard Chinese cinnamon and it’s perfect in this recipe.
- Flour: A basic ingredient. Good old all-purpose flour works perfectly here.
- Milk: Another basic ingredient. I always use whole milk, but I should think anything from 2% to almond milk or even soy milk would work just fine in this recipe.
- Egg: To bind the batter. This ingredient helps bind all the ingredients together to get a perfect-textured cake.
Instructions Overview
Mix the egg, milk, and vanilla in one bowl and the sugar, salt, baking powder, and flour in another one. Then combine both mixtures.
Whisk in the butter and then pour the whole mixture into a cake pan. Spread the brown sugar and cinnamon on top and bake it until done.
The last step is to make a glaze with confectioners' sugar and water and pour it over the top. Ta-da! All ready to enjoy!
Common Questions
Now the first time I saw a coffee cake recipe I was wondering the same thing. Although it doesn't have coffee in it, it’s called that because it goes perfectly with a cup of coffee. This kind of cake just gives you something sweet and tasty to pair with your coffee, tea, hot chocolate, or whatever else you’re drinking. It pairs wonderfully with coffee (cinnamon dolce latte, anyone?)
Simply put, cinnamon rolls have cream cheese or vanilla frosting while cinnamon buns marinate in a brown sugar glaze. This cinnamon roll coffee cake has a light glaze on top, but it’s a dessert that is inspired by cinnamon rolls rather than actual rolls themselves.
The sweetest, boldest tasting is Vietnamese (Saigon) cinnamon which you can buy online. It’s really good for rolls, cakes, or cookies, or in fact anything where cinnamon is the main flavor.
If you’re curious, the other types are Ceylon which is light, mild, and ideal for a subtle cinnamon taste, and Indonesian which is the middle ground between Vietnamese and Ceylon. You can however use any type for this cinnamon roll coffee cake since the difference in flavor is very minor.
Coffee is the perfect accompaniment to a slice of this delicious cake. Whether your go-to is cappuccino, espresso, or just regular coffee with a splash of cream, you will find this cake goes beautifully alongside.
You certainly can. Actually, this cake seems to taste better the following day! You could make it the night before then glaze it the following morning just before serving.
Keep it in an airtight container at room temperature. It should stay fresh for a few days.
Cut the cake into individual servings. Wrap them with foil or plastic wrap, then put them in heavy-duty freezer bags. For the best flavor, enjoy it within 3 months.
It will thaw on the countertop or in the refrigerator overnight or else you could warm it up from frozen in the microwave so it’s nice and warm for your breakfast!
You might like to swap half the cinnamon for nutmeg or swap the vanilla extract for an orange extract for a different flavor. Use margarine rather than butter if you prefer or add a splash of orange liqueur if you’re making this for a special brunch!
Chopnotch Tips
- Although this recipe is already quicker and easier than making cinnamon rolls from scratch, you can further simplify it by using white cake mix along with the other ingredients called for on the box.
- It’s best to add the glaze while the cake is still warm. I know a lot of recipes tell you to wait until it's cold, but this isn’t one of them.
- You might like to swirl the cinnamon mixture through the batter a bit rather than layer it on top. Either way is good!
Cinnamon roll coffee cake has all the flavors of cinnamon rolls without all the extra time and effort. The fluffy cake is topped with cinnamon sugar and a beautiful sweet glaze finishes it off wonderfully.
Enjoy a piece for breakfast, serve it for brunch or enjoy it as dessert.
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Let us know what you think! Give this recipe a rating in the comments section below.
Recipe
How to Make
Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 egg
- 1 cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ stick unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Instructions
- Mix egg, milk, and vanilla extraact in a bowl. Mix white sugar, salt, flour, baking powder in a separate bowl. Now mix dry and wet ingredients together.
- Add melted butter to the mixture and whisk until well combined.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a baking dish or a cake pan with cooking spray, pour batter into it.
- Mix brown sugar and cinnamon and spread on top of batter. Bake for 30 minutes, let cool completely.
- Mix confectioners' sugar and water until it is of a syrup consistency. Pour over the cake and serve.
Notes
- Although this recipe is already quicker and easier than making cinnamon rolls from scratch, you can further simplify it by using white cake mix along with the other ingredients called for on the box.
- It’s best to add the glaze while the cake is still warm. I know a lot of recipes tell you to wait until it's cold, but this isn’t one of them.
- You might like to swirl the cinnamon mixture through the batter a bit rather than layer it on top. Either way is good!
Could these be baked as muffins