The Corner Bakery Cafe’s Cinnamon Creme Coffee cake is a “rich, golden cake swirled with ribbons of cinnamon, topped with a crumbly cinnamon streusel and powdered sugar.” Similar to a New York crumb cake, this cinnamon crumb coffee cake is perfect for a decadent breakfast, mid-day snack, or dessert.
When my daughter and I were having lunch at the Corner Bakery, she raved about their Cinnamon Creme Coffee Cake. Of course, I ordered a slice and it is heavenly. Since it’s over $20 for a small cake, she asked if I could recreate it a home.
Update: I’ve added a video to show how easy and delicious this coffee cake is to make.
A quick internet search took me to IgoUgo (no longer on the web) and a copy cat version of Corner Bakery’s signature coffee cake. I used their recipe as a starting point. My daughter thought it needed more cinnamon because it didn’t quite have the oh wow factor of the original. So I’ve doubled the cinnamon in the recipe below.
How to Make Corner Bakery Cinnamon Coffee Cake
This cake is more moist and delicious the day after it’s made, so you may want to make Cinnamon Coffee Cake the day before you plan to serve it.
Before you start baking, note that you will need a coffee cake pan or a tube pan (affiliate link) to make this cake. The batter will overflow from a regular bundt pan.
Start by making the streusel, which will become the filling and topping for your cake. To make homemade cinnamon streusel, combine white and brown sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and flour. Drizzle in some melted butter and use a wooden spoon just to combine the streusel. Be gentle here and careful not to overmix, as you want nice big chunks of topping.
Next, make the cake batter. Start by combing the dry ingredients in one bowl and creaming the sugar, butter and shortening with a stand or hand mixer in a separate bowl. The creamed butter should be very light and fluffy when it’s finished.
Add 5 eggs and your extract of choice to the creamed butter mixture, beating well between additions. Then, slowly add the dry ingredients and the sour cream to the creamed butter mixture.
Start by adding a third of the dry ingredient mixture, then half of the sour cream. Mix those in. Add another third of the dry ingredients, the rest of the sour cream, then finish with the last of the dry ingredients. Stir to combine everything fully, but not overmix.
Now you’re ready to assemble this beautiful Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake.
How to Assemble Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
When your cinnamon streusel topping and cake batter are mixed up and your cake pan is greased and ready to go, it’s time to assemble your coffee cake.
First, add half of the cake batter to the prepared cake pan. Then sprinkle half of the streusel on top.
It can be hard to spread out the rest of the batter after you add a streusel layer. So I use an ice cream scoop or disher (affiliate link) to place scoops of batter on top of the streusel. Then, it’s easy to spread the batter out evenly with a spoon or a spatula.
Finally, top off the cake with the last layer of cinnamon streusel. Gently pat the topping in so it sticks to the cake while baking.
How Long Should I Cook Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake?
Because this is such a large, dense coffee cake with a crumbly filling, it has a longer cooking time than you might expect. And the pan you use can also make a big difference in your cooking time. I find that the best way to check for doneness is by taking the cake’s temperature.
The cinnamon coffee cake is ready when a thermometer inserted into the middle registers 210°F. If you find that the top starts browning before the cake is fully cooked, cover it with aluminum foil and continue baking.
Let the cake rest in the pan after baking for 30 minutes. This gives the cake some time to set fully. And your slice will still be warm, melty and delicious.
Ingredient Notes for Corner Bakery Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake
This recipe for cinnamon coffee cake uses standard baking ingredients that you likely already have on hand. Before you get started, here are a few answers to questions we’ve heard from readers:
What kind of shortening should I use?
I choose butter-flavored Crisco for baking recipes like this coffee cake. It comes in sticks, so it’s easy to measure out. You could also substitute the shortening with butter in this recipe, and use 1 cup of butter rather than half a cup of each.
Should I use Vanilla or Almond Extract?
This choice is yours! Either pick your favorite flavor or use a combination of both. I love the subtle nutty flavor from almond, but vanilla is always a classic crowd-pleaser.
Can I Substitute Sour Cream with Something Else?
If you don’t have sour cream on hand or simply aren’t a fan, you can substitute yogurt. The cake won’t have quite the same tang but it will be a slightly lighter coffee cake.
How to Store and Freeze Cinnamon Coffee Cake for Freshness
If you find yourself with too much coffee cake on your hands, first count yourself lucky! If you will be enjoying the cake within the next few days, it stores well on your counter covered with plastic wrap or aluminum foil.
You can also freeze the cake. To do so, cut the cake into portions. Then freeze the slices on a baking sheet to keep them from sticking together. Once they’re fully frozen, you can transfer them to a Ziploc bag for safekeeping. Simply let the slices come up to room temperature before enjoying.
You could also freeze the cake whole after it’s cooled fully. I recommend covering the cake tightly in plastic wrap, then in aluminum foil to ensure extra freshness. Remember that the whole cake is quite dense, so it will take some time to defrost fully on the counter.
When you are ready to serve this cinnamony treat, it’s helpful to place parchment around the cake before sprinkling the top the powdered sugar. This will keep the serving platter clean. See the photos above.
This cake is more moist and delicious the day after it’s made, so you may want to make this Cinnamon Creme Coffee Cake the day before you plan to serve it.
Coffee cake is one of my favorite ways to start the day. Be sure and check out all my luscious coffee cake recipes, including two of my most popular streusel-topped coffee cakes, Fresh Peach Coffee Cake and Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake.
Corner Bakery Cinnamon Creme Coffee Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Topping and Filling Ingredients
- ½ cup sugar
- ⅔ cup brown sugar
- 4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 2 ⅔ cups flour
- 2 sticks salted butter melted
Cake Ingredients
- 3 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup unsalted butter room temp, cut into pieces
- ½ cup vegetable shortening
- 1 ½ cups sugar
- 5 eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
- 2 cups sour cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º. Grease and flour 10 inch/12 cup tube pan very well. (Do not use a smaller pan or a bundt pan.)
- Combine first five topping ingredients in a large bowl, add melted butter and combine with a wooden spoon. You want big chunks of the topping and filling so don’t over mix.
- Cake: Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium size bowl, set aside.
- In a large bowl cream butter, shortening, and sugar until very light. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in almond extract. Add the dry cake ingredients alternating with the sour cream. The batter will be very thick.
- Spoon half of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half of the topping mixture over the batter, then the remaining cake batter, then remaining topping. Press the final topping layer into the cake layer very gently, just to make sure it ’sticks’.
- Bake in the center of the oven for 50 – 1 hour and 15 minutes. Cake is done when it starts to pull away from the sides and a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Or when the Internal Temperature Reads 210°F.
- Cool in pan for 30 minutes. Loosen sides of cake with knife and invert onto a wire rack and then invert again on to serving platter. Sprinkle with powder sugar to finish.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Other Coffee Cake Recipes You Might Enjoy
If coffee cake is your new favorite way to start (or end) the day, like it is for me, give one of these other decadent treats a try:
- Pumpkin Sour Cream Streusel Coffee Cake has the cinnamon streusel you love in this recipe, plus a festive pumpkin flavor.
- Fresh Peach Coffee Cake is a summery take on this classic treat.
- Lemon Blueberry Coffee Cake is jam-packed with melty blueberries, zesty lemon and plenty of chunky streusel.
- Apple Streusel Coffee Cake from That Skinny Chick Can Bake is a classic for fall: soft, gooey apples and cinnamon in a moist coffee cake.
- Classic Banana Streusel Coffee Cake with Maple Glaze from Shugary Sweets marries banana bread with coffee cake in a truly delicious way!
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Lori @ RecipeGirl
I keep seeing Corner Bakery- it seems- everywhere! Yet I haven’t been there yet. I’ll have to test out the coffee cake, but this sure looks like a great way to make it at home!
Sue
It sounds so yummy and fall-ish. Love the top photo..it’s perfect! Great tip about using the ice cream scoop! I will do that for sure!
Kim
Barbara – The coffee cake looks delightful! I especially like your ice cream scoop technique!
[K]
Kitchen Belleicious
Absolutely heavenly! Moutwatering delicious. I can say enough about this cake! I am making it as soon as I can get myself to the store- i know this sounds weird but I always have a cake or muffins made for the week and this is my next one on my list! It looks amazing
Blond Duck
If you ever open a bakery, I’m never leaving!
Valérie ( France )
Il est très appétissant
Je te souhaite un bon mercredi
Valérie.
Jamie
We absolutely love this kind of cinnamony coffee cake for breakfast and I love trying new recipes. I’ll definitely be trying this one because wow it looks perfect! Perfect in texture, flavor and love the streusel swirl. Fab recipe, Barbara! Glad you found it for us!
Lisa
I’m waiting for ‘Barbara Bakes – The Cookbook’. I’ve been enjoying your beautiful creations for three years and then some, now – and this coffee cake is yet another that’s beautiful and superb in every way. My Barbara Bakes bookmarks take up two pages. May be time for Pinterest, although I’v tried to avoid it at all costs lol
Barbara
Thanks Lisa! I was thinking just the same thing about you. You should do a cookbook! With your great recipes, gorgeous photos and wonderful sense of humor, it would be a big success.
I avoided Pinterest at first too. It just seemed like one more thing to do, but I’m loving it more and more all the time.
Nutmeg Nanny
This is the kind of cake that would get me into trouble. I would seriously sit down and eat it all….yum!
Katrina
Looks like breakfast food to me, what with the muffins shape and all! Love coffee cake!
Barbara
There’s nothing I like better than a streusel coffeecake, Barbara. This one looks fabulous. Love the idea of the ice cream scoop…will be trying that with all my bundt type cakes.
Angie's Recipes
I adore rich and moist coffee cakes.This looks splendid.
Debbie
Looks delicious Barbara. Would love this with some coffee any time of day!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella
Great job mum! This looks tailor made for a cup of tea or coffee 😀 xxx
Claire @ Claire K Creations
I’m going to make this and invite my grandma to morning tea. We both absolutely love cinnamon so I’ll add a little more as per your daughter’s verdict. I love the photo styling.
Lauren from Lauren's Latest
Using an ice cream scoop is a great idea! Totally stealing it! Beautiful cake too!
Yudith @ Blissfully Delicious
I love streussel in my coffee cake, too! Love it!
Dragon
So beautiful. 🙂
Molly
Oh thanks you for this recipe! My husband is from New Jersey and his mom overnighted him a heavy crumb cake from B&W Bakery last Christmas. It would be a lot more efficient if I could re-create it at home… I’ve tried before, but without much success. Can’t wait to make it!
foodie @ Tasting Spot
i like your food pictures and want to invite you to try out tastingspot.com. it’s for anyone that just wants another place to submit photos and share it will other foodies. It’s still in beta version, but would love for you to start adding some photos and help get it going.