Can you use a cake mix to make a coffee cake?
Yes. A boxed cake mix makes a good base for coffee cake because it already contains the flour, sugar, leavening and salt in balanced amounts. A plain yellow or white mix is a blank canvas, and the part that makes it a coffee cake is what you add: a richer batter (usually sour cream or yogurt, eggs and oil or butter) plus a cinnamon-sugar swirl and a crumb topping.
This is the pillar recipe for our cake mix shortcuts collection, so it also introduces the tricks used throughout the cluster: swapping part of the liquid for something richer, keeping add-ins from sinking, and finishing with a simple glaze.
Ingredients you need
For a 9x13-inch pan (quantities are a starting point, so check your box for the size of mix it calls for):
Cake
- 1 box yellow or white cake mix (a standard 15 to 16 ounce size)
- 1 cup sour cream (full-fat plain Greek yogurt also works)
- 3 large eggs
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil or melted butter
- 1/2 cup milk or water
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon swirl
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons of the dry cake mix, set aside before mixing
Crumb topping
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup cold or softened butter
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Optional glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
- A splash of vanilla
How to make it, step by step
Mix the batter
Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan. Scoop out a couple of tablespoons of dry mix for the swirl, then whisk or beat the remaining mix with the sour cream, eggs, oil, milk and vanilla until smooth. Mix just until no dry streaks remain. Overmixing can make the crumb tougher.
Layer the cinnamon filling
Spread about half the batter in the pan. Stir the brown sugar, cinnamon and reserved dry mix together and sprinkle it evenly over the batter. Dollop the remaining batter on top and spread it gently so the filling stays in a layer instead of blending in.
Add the crumb topping
Mix the flour, brown sugar, butter and cinnamon with a fork until you have clumpy crumbs. Scatter them over the batter in an even layer.
Bake and test
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs, which usually takes roughly 30 to 40 minutes. Ovens and pans vary, so start checking at the early end. Cool at least 20 minutes before cutting.
Optional glaze
Whisk the powdered sugar with a tablespoon of milk and the vanilla, adding more milk a little at a time until it drizzles. Drizzle over the cake once it has cooled slightly, so the glaze sets instead of melting in. Our two-ingredient icing recipe has more glaze ratios and fixes.
Tips for a tender, well-swirled cake
- Use a richer liquid. Sour cream or yogurt gives a denser, more bakery-style crumb than the water-and-oil recipe on the box.
- Do not skip the pan prep. Grease the pan well, and consider lining it with parchment so you can lift the cake out in one piece.
- Keep the swirl in the middle. A layer of batter on top of the cinnamon filling helps stop it from sinking to the bottom.
- Let the crumbs be chunky. Squeeze the topping into clumps with your fingers before scattering.
- Check early. Cake mixes bake faster than many scratch cakes, and an overbaked coffee cake turns dry.
Variations
- Blueberry coffee cake: fold fresh or frozen berries into the batter. See our blueberry cake with cake mix for how to keep berries from sinking.
- Spice cake mix: swap in a spice mix for a deeper, warmer flavor and use less cinnamon in the filling. For a from-scratch spice cake, see our breakfast spice cake.
- Nuts: add chopped pecans or walnuts to the crumb topping.
- Apple cinnamon: scatter thinly sliced or diced apples over the first layer of batter.
- Cinnamon crumb cake: skip the swirl and double the crumb topping for a thicker, bakery-style crumb layer.
Storing, freezing and making ahead
Cover the cooled cake and keep it at room temperature for a day or two, or refrigerate if your kitchen is warm or if you added a cream-cheese element. For longer storage, wrap slices individually and freeze, then thaw at room temperature. You can also bake the cake the day before and add the glaze just before serving.
How many calories are in a slice?
It depends on the cake mix, how much sour cream and oil you use, the size of the crumb topping and how you cut the pan. A 9x13-inch cake cut into 12 to 16 pieces will differ from one cut into 24. For an accurate number, enter the exact ingredients and your portion count into a nutrition calculator. Treat any single figure online as a rough estimate.
Do coffee and cake go together?
They are a classic pairing. The name “coffee cake” refers to a cake meant to be served with coffee rather than one flavored with it, and the bitterness of coffee balances a sweet cinnamon crumb nicely. If you prefer tea or milk, the cake works just as well.
More cake mix shortcuts
If you enjoy this method, try other recipes that start with a box. The jello pistachio pudding bundt cake uses a similar mix-plus-pudding approach, and the best crack cake recipe shows how a hot syrup can make a boxed mix taste bakery-moist. For a showstopper, try an easy piecaken.