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Buttermilk Coffee Cake topped with a heaping layer of buttery cinnamon crumb topping is a cake that any cinnamon-lover is certain to love.
I recommend stirring this together today and enjoying a slice after dinner tonight and again tomorrow morning with a cup of coffee or tea.
Buttermilk Coffee Cake
I absolutely love coffee cake. Given my choice between pretty much any other cake and coffee cake, you can bet that a coffee cake piled with an abundance of cinnamon streusel is likely to be my first choice.
And knowing just what buttermilk can do for a batch of pancakes, a homemade syrup, or biscuits, this coffee cake needed to happen.
While buttermilk can often add a slight tang (that I love) to baked goods, I don’t really taste that here. But, it absolutely contributes additional moisture and creates a lovely texture for this cake.
Easy Buttermilk Cake
This is a very simple cake to stir together. Stir together the dry ingredients. Cut in the butter. (This butter grating tip is an awesome one to use for this recipe.) Stir it all together with the buttermilk and spread the batter in the pan.
Stir together the topping ingredients and sprinkle it over the top. I can typically pull this cake together and get it in the oven in less time than it takes my oven to heat.
Cake Ingredients
- all-purpose flour
- sugar
- cinnamon
- baking soda
- butter
- buttermilk
Topping Ingredients
- butter
- light brown sugar
- cinnamon
- chopped pecans
Buttermilk Coffee Cake Recipe
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8″ round or square pan with butter. (A pie plate will also work nicely for this recipe.) Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add the butter to the dry ingredients and use a fork or pastry blender to mix until crumbly. (Little lumps are a good thing, don’t worry about making it perfect.) Add the buttermilk to the bowl and stir again to combine. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
- Combine the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl or large glass measuring cup. Microwave for 1 minute, or until the butter has melted. Stir to combine. Add the pecans and stir again. Sprinkle topping over the cake batter.
- Bake for 35-38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Favorite Coffee Cake Recipes
Coffee cakes are at the top of my cake-love-list and you can add pretty much any streusel or cinnamon topped recipe to that list of loves.
Cinnamon Toast Cake has been a favorite of mine since childhood. That simple, but oh so delicious, cake inspired these Cinnamon Toast Bars.
This Layered Pumpkin Coffee Cake is one that I’ll be making now through the end of the year, pretty much any time I have an excuse for cake.
Blueberry Coffee Cake is a reader favorite year-round and will brighten any morning.
Fresh cranberries and a hint of lemon are combined in this incredibly moist brown sugar streusel Cranberry Coffee Cake.
Ingredients
Cake Ingredients
- 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup butter, very soft, room temperature
- 1 cup buttermilk
Topping Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter
- ¾ cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ cup chopped pecans
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8" round or square pan with butter. (A pie plate will also work nicely for this recipe.) Combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon, and baking soda in a mixing bowl. Stir to combine.
- Add the butter to the dry ingredients and use a fork or pastry blender to mix until crumbly. (Little lumps are a good thing, don't worry about making it perfect.) Add the buttermilk to the bowl and stir again to combine. Spread the batter into the prepared pan.
- Combine the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a small bowl or large glass measuring cup. Microwave for 1 minute, or until the butter has melted. Stir to combine. Add the pecans and stir again. Sprinkle topping over the cake batter.
- Bake for 35-38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I should have known something wasn´t right with this recipe because it has no egg in it. I followed it to the “t” and the cake didn´t even bake thoroughly. I had to toss it in the trash. What a huge disappointment, not to mention waste of time. And it looked so good in the photo! I read and re-read the recipe and didn´t forget anything. I have also baked successfully for over 50 years – a passion of mine – so something here wasn´t right. Cannot recommend.
That’s so strange, Kristi. I honestly can’t imagine what went wrong. And not baking thoroughly? That just doesn’t even make sense. Without being in your kitchen with you, it’s hard to guess what happened. There are a whole lot of 5 star reviews for this recipe, but the past couple reviews have been off. I think I’ll re-make it and see if I can figure out what’s going wrong. Thanks for taking the time to let me know.
I found this recipe because I had buttermilk on hand and was pleasantly surprised it doesn’t need eggs. It was delicious and made the house smell wonderful. The batter was quite thick so I used a dough whisk to make sure I didn’t over mix and the crumb turned out tender. I had no problem with it overflowing. I did turn the oven down to 325 after 30 mins because it was getting dark. Thank you for the recipe!
I’m thrilled that you’re enjoying the cake, Yvonne!
There is no sprinkling the topping over the cake. The cake was fine but the topping is what didn’t work for me. Something is amiss with this recipe.
Perhaps the word sprinkle was confusing? You’ll just drop bits of the pecan topping over the top of the cake.
My comment is a question.
For the topping, do you melt the butter separately, then add it to the brow sugar/cinnamon mixture? I reason I ask, I followed as it red to mix all three together and melt in microwave for one minute. This became a liquid and not a crumble. Please help me understand better this step. Thank you♥️
If you allow it to cool for a moment, it should come together a bit.