Coffee Crumb Cake — This coffee crumb cake recipe couldn’t be easier to make! It’s made with boxed yellow cake mix, which is used in both the batter and the crumble topping.
Easy Coffee Cake Recipe
I have a thing for buttery crumbs or anything with a crumble or streusel topping. The more crumbs there are, the happier I am.
Let’s talk about coffee cake for a minute — I think it’s very underrated. I would prefer a slice of glazed coffee cake with those big crumbs to a fancy layer cake most any day. It’s even better when the cake is extremely easy and fast to make. I had this coffee crumb cake made, cooled, and ready to dig into in under an hour.
It tastes like something you’d get at a bakery but better because it’s not dry in the least, a problem I find with cake in general from bakeries.
The secret is that I doctored up a box of yellow cake mix. Who knew that cake mix combined with brown sugar and melted butter could yield such a scrumptious crumb topping? If you’re cake mix averse, make this scratch base and use this crumb topping minus the cocoa.
This cake mix coffee cake is soft, fluffy, and tender. The crumbs add subtle texture and it wouldn’t be coffee cake without plenty of glaze. It’s a perfect brunch cake or simply a great recipe to keep on hand for when you need a fast, easy coffee crumb cake that everyone will love.
What’s in Coffee Crumb Cake?
For this yellow cake mix recipe, you’ll need:
- Yellow cake mix
- Eggs
- Water
- All-purpose flour
- Canola oil
- Light brown sugar
- Unsalted butter
- Cinnamon
- Powdered sugar
- Corn syrup
How to Make Coffee Crumb Cake
To make the cake mix coffee cake base, simply add all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and stir until combined. Turn the batter out into a greased 9×13-inch pan, then make the crumb topping. The crumb topping is made by mashing the ingredients together with the back of a fork until the texture resembles coarse sand.
Sprinkle the crumb topping over the cake batter, then bake until the center is set. Once the coffee crumb cake is out of the oven, let it cool slightly before whisking together the glaze and drizzling it evenly over top. Give the cake a few more minutes to cool before slicing and serving.
Can I Make This Easy Coffee Cake Recipe in Advance?
Yes, you can certainly make this cake mix coffee cake the night before you plan on serving it. The glaze will stay fairly soft, but it won’t soak into the cake, so nothing should get mushy.
Can I Omit the Glaze?
Of course! If you don’t have the ingredients for the glaze or simply don’t want to make it, this coffee crumb cake is delicious without it. But try making it with the glaze at least once to know whether or not you like it!
Tips for Making Crumb Coffee Cake
When making the coffee cake batter, you do NOT make the cake mix according to package instructions. You should measure it out like you would any other dry ingredient and mix it with the ingredients I’ve listed in the recipe card below.
And when making the crumb topping, you don’t want to overwork the mixture. Tossing lightly with a fork is the way to go. If you overwork the crumb topping, it’ll be too fine in texture and will just sink into the raw cake batter.
Unlike a layer cake, you actually want to add the glaze to this coffee crumb cake while it’s still a little warm. The residual heat helps the glaze sink into the crumb topping and makes for the most delicious, gooey bite of coffee cake.
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Buttery Coffee Crumb Cake
Ingredients
Cake
- one 15.25-ounce package yellow cake mix; reserve 1 cup
- 2 large eggs
- ⅔ cup water
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup canola oil
Topping
- 1 cup reserved cake mix
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
Glaze
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 tablespoon light-colored corn syrup, helps keep the glaze softer
- 1 tablespoon water
Instructions
- Make the Cake
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9×13-inch metal pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large bowl add the cake mix (reserve one cup and add to a medium bowl), eggs, water, flour, oil, and mix with a handheld electric mixer on low speed for 30 seconds. Mix on high speed for about 2 minutes, or until blended, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as necessary.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula; set aside.
- Make the Topping
- To the medium bowl with the 1 cup reserved cake mix, add the brown sugar, butter, cinnamon, and mix with a fork until crumbs form. There will be a mixture of sandy crumbs and pebbles.
- Evenly turn crumb mixture out over the cake mix.
- Bake for about 22 to 24 minutes, or until cake is set in the center, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs but no batter. Allow cake to cool in pan on a wire rack while you prepare the glaze.
- Make the Glaze
- To a medium bowl, add the confectioners’ sugar, corn syrup (milk or water may be substituted noting glaze will set up harder and crustier), water, and whisk until smooth and combined. Evenly drizzle glaze over cake.
- Allow cake to cool for about 15 minutes in pan or until sufficiently cooled to slice and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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