The Best Sour Cream Coffee Cake has a delicious cinnamon sugar swirl, chocolate chips, and a sweet glaze on top. Great breakfast cake to go with your morning coffee.
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My oldest son chose Home Economics for one of his electives in school when he was in middle school. Talk about making this foodie mom proud.
Although, he did say he chose it because he thought it would be easy. He also wished they would cook more than bake. Say what? I won’t be much help to him if they start cooking. But if he can learn to make dinner, that could be a good thing around here.
One day he brought home a recipe that he had to bake as “homework”. Man, I wish all homework was this fun to do. I can handle math when it involves measuring cups and sugar. He and I had so much fun working together.
And by working together, I really mean I sat and supervised with a Dark Chocolate Latte while he baked cake.
Making the Best Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Measure your ingredients properly to ensure that your easy coffee cake bakes properly.
We talked about the correct way to measure flour because I stopped him from scooping just in time. Did you know that you should never scoop flour out of the container?
How to measure flour correctly:
- You need to fluff it first and then gently spoon it into a measuring cup.
- Use the flat edge of a knife to level off the cup before adding it to your batter.
- When you pack flour into a cup it adds extra flour.
- That extra flour can dry out your recipe or make your end product heavy and dense.
I promise, he did all the mixing and all the pouring for this sweet breakfast cake. Well, for the first one that is. I had to make it again and take some new delicious looking pictures.
At first I was trying to be good and only have one bite. But I must have blacked out because all of a sudden my entire piece disappeared.
Hmmm, I’m sensing a pattern because the same thing happened when I made this Banana Caramel Coffee Cake and this Banana Split Coffee Cake.
What makes this the Best Coffee Cake?
Sour cream and chocolate makes this glazed coffee cake taste amazing.
Adding sour cream to the batter makes the cake so rich and moist. What I love about this cake is that it is tender and dense without being heavy at all.
In fact, this breakfast cake is pretty light and has a great texture.
Do I have to use sour cream in this cake?
- You can substitute Greek yogurt in place of the sour cream, if that’s what you have on hand.
- A whole milk yogurt will give this coffee cake the closest texture and taste.
- If you only have low-fat in your fridge, be sure to strain the extra liquid off first.
Can I add blueberries to the coffee cake?
- Yes, you can. Make sure to toss them with some flour so they don’t sink to the bottom of the pan as the cake bakes.
- Leave the chocolate chips out of the recipe.
- Add a little bit of lemon zest and juice to the glaze.
Making the Best Sour Cream Coffee Cake:
Another reason this cake is the best is the three layers of cinnamon sugar that adds pockets of goodness to every bite of this Sour Cream Coffee Cake.
Chocolate also makes anything better. You could stir the chocolate chips into the crumble mixture if you want too, but I added them to the cake batter instead. Either way works and this sour cream coffee cake with chocolate chips will taste delicious with your morning cup of coffee.
Add some of the sugar mixture to the bottom of the pan, in the middle of the batter, and on top of the batter.
Pro Tip: Make sure to flip the cake out of the pan within 10 minutes of it coming out of the oven, so the sugar doesn’t caramelize on the bottom of the pan. I had a small chunk stick to the pan.
If a little bit does stick, just use a knife to loosen it and press it back into the cake. The glaze on top will hide any mishaps.
More easy breakfast recipes you may enjoy:
- Chocolate Nutella Banana Muffins
- Banana Nut Cinnamon Rolls
- Maple Bacon Apple Cinnamon Roll Bake
- Cherry Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
- Banana Breakfast Bars
- Blueberry Pecan Coffee Cake
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Best Sour Cream Coffee Cake
The Best Sour Cream Coffee Cake has a delicious cinnamon sugar swirl, chocolate chips, and a sweet glaze on top. Great breakfast cake to go with your morning coffee.
Ingredients
For the Cake
- 3/4 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup mini chocolate chips
For the Topping
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 Tablespoons cinnamon
For the Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 Tablespoon + 1 teaspoon water
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a bundt pan with nonstick spray that has flour in it extremely well.
- Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla.
- Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Slowly add to the butter mixture.
- Stir in the chocolate chips gently.
- Mix together the topping ingredients. Spoon 1/2 cup of topping into the bottom of the prepared pan. (The topping should be loosely spooned into the measuring cup.)
- Spread 1/2 the batter into the pan. Sprinkle with 1 cup topping. (not packed)
- Spread the rest of the batter on top. Sprinkle with the rest of the topping over the top of the batter. Bake for 45-50 minutes.
- Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Place a large plate on top and flip the cake out. Let the cake cool.
- Mix together the powdered sugar and water. Drizzle over the top of the cake. Let set before slicing.
Notes
*Make sure your brown sugar is packed when you measure it out for the topping.
**When you stir it together with the cinnamon, you will actually end up with 2 cups of loose sugar. That is how you get 2 cups of topping for the cake.
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 460Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 73mgSodium: 390mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 2gSugar: 49gProtein: 4g
(original photos from November 2012) (photos updated March 2018)
*The post and recipe for the Best Sour Cream Coffee Cake was first published on November 6, 2012. It has been updated and republished on May 23, 2019.
Gail says
Could I make this in a Nordic Ware heritage Bundt pan??
Jocelyn says
Yes, you can. I used the Nordic Ware formed aluminum pan for this one, but the heritage should work too.
Trang says
This looks delicious! I hope my son wants to bake with me when he is older too!
Taylor says
This coffee cake is HEAVENLY! The topping and glaze are to-die-for!
Steph says
This looks phenomenal! I can’t wait to make one of these and have it for breakfast!
Ashley F says
I can’t get over how good this cake is! The glaze is perfect!
Ashley F says
That glaze makes this the ultimate cake! Love it!
Kellie Hemmerly says
This coffee cake is so easy to make and is so incredibly tender! Coffee Cake Perfection!
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
That drizzle!!! I want this for breakfast and dessert and every meal in between.
Molly says
Can you make this in something other than a bundt pan?
Jocelyn says
I haven’t done this particular recipe in another pan, but it would work in a 9×13 pan I’m sure. I would just layer the filling in the middle and top if you use that pan. Here is another coffee cake recipe that I did that way. https://insidebrucrewlife.com/2010/01/spring-teasing/
Jerri M says
Love this! We make one but use a ‘popular’ baking mix as the base, then add the eggs, oil, sour cream to make the batter. it was featured on one of their boxes. Luckily I cut the box apart and kept it because it was never shown again. Thanks for the reminder… I need to make this again!
Leah says
This looks spectacular! going to try it right now with oil instead of butter. do you think that would work?
Jocelyn says
I have never mad it with oil, so I’m not quite sure how it will do. I think it would be fine. Keep me posted on how it turned out!
Leah says
I can’t remember if i was the one who asked the question lol, but i did make this with oil and it was out of this world! going to make this again right now, using different types of chips i have in my pantry, i.e. white chips, butterscotch and cinnamon…
Annette says
I made this last Saturday, and never got the chance to glaze it. The family dug right in fresh out of the oven and it was gone before the day was over. Thanks for the great recipe!
Tammy says
I made this yesterday and it is fabulous.
Jocelyn says
I am so happy to hear that you tried and liked it:-)
Ruthie says
Jocelyn… I {heart} coffee cake! Some crazy addiction from my childhood 🙂 This looks amazing! xoxo~ Ruthie
Jocelyn says
Thank you so much! Isn’t it great how certain foods just remind us of great memories?
Karly says
Um, yes. That’s totally my kind of homework. Where do I sign up?
Jocelyn says
I know, right? I sure wish I had homework like that:-)
Kristy (Sweet Treats & More) says
this just looks down right amazing!!
sally @ sallys baking addiction says
What a BEAUTIFUL cake Jocelyn! Honestly – it is simply gorgeous. That chocolate brown sugar topping/swirl looks divine. I never took home ec when I was in school! I wish my homework was baking cakes though. I had to suffer through accounting homework! UGH!
Erin | The Law Students Wife says
Oh how I love cake for breakfast! Major kudos to your son. He’s well on his way to being a pro! This is beautiful and reminds me of a cake my grandmother makes. Does your son want to come teach my hubby how to bake?
Jessica@AKitchenAddiction says
I wish I had homework like that when I was in school! This looks amazing! He did a great job!
Elaine @ Cooking to Perfection says
Ok, why didn’t my school offer that class?! That’s awesome that he is trying to get in the kitchen more. That’s definitely going to make the girls swoon later in life. 🙂
Liz says
I have great memories of eating Sour Cream Coffee Cake when I was little. I remember it being the best cake ever! I haven’t tried making one yet but now I have no excuse! Thanks for sharing 🙂
Ashton @ Something Swanky says
Oh you have no idea my weakness for coffee cake!!!! This looks amazing. Well done brucrew son!
Jocelyn says
I heart a good coffee cake too!!! He did do an excellent job on this:-)
Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel says
Oh man, if my homework looked like this, I’d be the valedictorian in no time! (Okay, so I was an A-student with a great GPA but still, this is some motivation I didn’t have, hehe!) This looks awesome and I’m so glad your little one enjoyed making it (and eating!)
Jocelyn says
I sure wish I had homework like this when I was in school. My home ec always just stayed at school. He was so proud of himself for doing it all my himself:-)
Ashley @ Kitchen Meets Girl says
Oh my goodness, he did SUCH a good job! And no kidding–I could totally go for “homework” like this. 🙂
Jocelyn says
Homework like this trumps everything else:-)
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
Oh, man. This is amazing! Does he get in trouble for having a slice missing? LOL
Jocelyn says
haha! Actually this is the 2nd one that he made…for us:-)
Jen @ Savory Simple says
What a fabulous cake!
amy @ fearless homemaker says
Sour cream coffee cake is one of my all-time favorite treats + this looks awesome. Two thumbs up to your son choosing a fantastic class! =)
Jocelyn says
I couldn’t believe how addicting this cake was…I just kept saying, “just one more slice:-)” And I was thrilled to pieces when he told me he was choosing home ec!!!
cindy says
Oh that all homework was so sweet! Looks like he did a great job. Congrats to your son.