This Starbucks Coffee Cake recipe is one of my favorites! An easy copycat recipe that’s perfect for the holidays and family celebrations!
Homemade Starbuck’s Coffee Cake
If you’ve had the Starbuck’s Coffee Cake, you know how amazing it is! So tender and cinnamon perfection! This is a version I’ve had on Picky Palate since 2008. It’s so simple to prepare and perfect for your next celebration of any kind.
Be sure to try my Cinnamon Roll Sheet Cake too! Follow Picky Palate on Instagram for daily recipe inspiration.
What Is Coffee Cake?
It’s generally a moist, tender cake that is often topped with streusel topping and served alongside coffee or tea at breakfast. They stand apart from other cakes because of their streusel topping and not generally frosted. The name comes from the fact that it is served with coffee, not because it has coffee in it.
What You’ll Need
Here are the ingredients you’ll need to make this delicious coffee cake recipe. See the recipe card located at the bottom of the post for full instructions and details.
- box of yellow cake mix– I like to pick up Pillsbury or Duncan Hines. 15.25 ounce box.
- canola or vegetable oil– Find the oil in the baking section of the grocery store.
- eggs– For consistency I use large eggs for all of my cooking and baking.
- water– Part of the wet ingredients.
- butter– I use salted butter for my baking.
- all purpose flour– The flour is part of the coffee cake topping.
- ground cinnamon– Find cinnamon in the baking section of the grocery store, near the other spices.
- brown sugar– Light brown sugar works great here.
- pure vanilla extract– For best tasting results use pure vanilla.
- powdered sugar– Also called confectioners sugar. You’ll dust the powdered sugar on top of the coffee cake.
How To Make Coffee Cake
Preheat Oven. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray.
Prepare Cake Mix. Remove cake mix from box and prepare according to package directions.
Bake. Bake cake for 15 minutes.
Prepare Crumb Topping. While cake is baking, prepare crumb topping. Place butter, flour, cinnamon, and sugar into a mixing bowl, beat with an electic mixer or stand mixer until slightly crumbly, slowly adding vanilla.
Add Crumb Topping To Partially Cooked Cake. When cake has baked for 15 minutes, open oven and carefully add crumb topping over partially baked cake.
Continue Baking. Close oven and continue baking for another 10-13 minutes until center of cake is baked. Use a toothpick poked in center to make sure cake is baked. Remove from oven and let cool completely.
Dust Cake With Powdered Sugar. Before serving dust top with powdered sugar and cut into squares.
Once cake has cooled, use a sieve to dust a generous amount of powdered sugar over cake.
Cut cinnamon cake into squares and serve room temperature.
How To Serve This Easy Cake Recipe
- Serve cake as a dessert or brunch sweet treat at your next family gathering or party.
- Serve as is, or with a side of fruit and/or scoop of vanilla ice cream.
- Store any leftovers in an airtight container for up to 3 days in the refrigerator.
How To Store Leftovers
Refrigerate. Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator or room temperature for up to 3 days.
Freezing Instructions. To freeze leftover cake, wrap in plastic wrap and place inside an airtight container. Freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw before using again.
Try More Cake Recipes!
Starbuck’s Coffee Cake Copycat Recipe
Equipment
- Oven
- 9 x 13 inch baking dish
- stand mixer
- Bowl
- measuring cups
- measuring spoons
Ingredients
- 1 box Yellow Cake Mix
- 2/3 cup canola oil
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup water
Crumb Topping
- 1 stick cold butter salted
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for dusting
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with cooking spray.
- Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Bake for 15 minutes.
- While cake is baking, prepare crumb topping. Place butter, flour, cinnamon, and sugar into a mixing bowl, beat with an electic mixer or stand mixer until slightly crumbly, slowly adding vanilla.
- When cake has baked for 15 minutes, open oven and carefully add crumb topping over partially baked cake. Close oven and continue baking for another 10-13 minutes until center of cake is baked. Use a toothpick poked in center to make sure cake is baked. Remove from oven and let cool completely. Before serving dust top with powdered sugar and cut into squares.
Nutrition
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Welcome to my online kitchen! Picky Palate is where you’ll find family friendly recipes along with the best Disney eats, tips and copycat recipes! 
Cake recipes are the specialty of my best friend, my favorite ones are those exotic fruit cakes*–
While this is VERY close, I think the cake portion is still missing something. I added about 8 tablespoons of extra flower to make it a little less like plain cake. But still think there needs to be something added to the cakemix to make it a little more like the Starbucks version. Never the less, it still turned out wonderful, thanks for the receipe.
Yumm.. That surely looks luscious!! Honestly, I really love Starbucks’ pastries.. not only that, they also go well with a warm cup of coffee. Thanks for posting this recipe. I’ll try this one when I get home. Great post by the way. Thanks!
Can you layer this in like a bundt pan or another pan so you have a layer of crumb topping in the middle?
OMG awesome! but can we PLEASE get the BLUEBERRY COFFEECAKE recipe! i;m addicted to that stuff! :D!
Hi Nina,
If you don’t follow the directions given on a recipe, I don’t feel it’s fair to say the recipe didn’t turn out as expected. I have made this cake a zillion times and it comes out fabulous. Get yourself a basic electric mixer and I think you’ll find your problem is solved. The topping is made to be thick, so it shouldn’t have gone to waste like you mentioned.
Amelia, I had the same problem! I think the only answer to bake the cake part longer (maybe ten minutes or so?)so that it sets up more and is sturdy enough to handle the weight of the crumb topping. (It can’t be all liquid in the middle when the crumb topping goes on.) At least, this is what I’m going to try when I make this again!
I’ve made this twice now and was wondering if anyone else has the same problem I do with the batter bubbling out the topping when it goes in the oven for the second time. Tastes just delicious but I’d like it to look as good as it tastes. Help anyone? BTW, I make the half reciped in a 9×13.
Hi Jenny!
I finally got around to making this (I’ve been looking for a good excuse :). My husband needed to bring something in for a dept. baby shower, so I whipped this up last night. Of course I saved some for us to try (OMG!) Kevin just emailed and said people inhaled it. They asked for the recipe so I emailed your link; he is going to forward it to the dept. Thanks Jenny!
Made this for my husband to bring to his co-workers. It got rave reviews. Thanks again.
whoa…butter.
drool.
i want to be all cool-like and say that i never go to s’bux, but that coffee cake is GOOD.
The kids and I made this coffee cake this afternoon and it is real hit! My cake did take longer to bake than recipe indicates.
I just found your blog and this looks yummy, yummy, yummy. I can’t wait to surprise my husbnd with it. Thanks for sharing!
I have never had the Starbucks Coffee Cake but yours looks really good!
Thanks Patsyk,
I just found your blog. Love it!
I’m glad you enjoyed it Emily! How easy is it to make??!! I love it.
Jenny!! I made this today and it’s great. I was proud to take it to my friend- knowing it was yummy. So fast and easy. Thanks!
-Emily Johnston
That looks heavenly!
I love your recipes! I just found you, and love the site! Your pics look as great as the food! I can’t wait to try this one!
Jenny, this looks delicious! Anything with crumbly, buttery topping sounds delish! I too love any yummy thing that Starbucks has. This would be a nice dessert if you are taking someone dinner. I am the Bonnie that doesn’t have a blog. Linked to you from Kim A. I have bought some cute clothes from her. I think she is your sis?
okay, that looks good! thank you for sharing (yet again!)
Hey Jenny! Summer Tilton here. I just saw you on TV! How cool! Hope you won, you will have to let me know! Oh, your recipes all look so yummy! Maybe I will get up the nerve to try them one day soon. It seems that we eat the same things over and over again!
It never fails, everytime I peek at your blog, I happen to be on a health kick….and then I cheat because I have to try your latest recipe, not sure if I should be thanking you or not!! This looks great and I’m afraid I have all the ingrediants too!
I usually slap my hand away from Starbucks sweets, but I would try this one for sure. Looks sweet and homey!
I’ve been on a coffeecake/muffin kick lately – and this looks so quick and easy! Thanks for the recipe, I’ll have to try this one on the co-workers!
i worked at starbucks for awhile and ate more than my fair share of the scrumptious coffee cake. if this recipe yields something that tastes even remotely like it, my tastebuds thank you!
my thighs, on the other hand, do not. 🙂
Jenny, that looks sinfully good!!better than Starbucks!!
this looks just like the starbucks version! great job 🙂 guess we were both thinking along the same lines recently w/our starbucks copycat recipes 🙂
Jenny,
You have no clue who I am, but I found your blog a while ago via a friend, and I am really interested in doing the Bakers Challenge. However, I have tried emailing both ladies a couple of times, having them returned each time because they are invalid addresses. Any idea how to contact them another way? Thanks so much! Chani
Kameron,
I think everyone will really enjoy this! I know we are still munching on it today!
Amy,
I find myself picking off the crumb too, it’s so good!
Tracy,
Why didn’t I know we both started contesting in 04? Crazy! What fun this hobby is huh? I feel like I’ve been out of the loop for a while. Time to get contesting again!
I don’t know Tracy, every I pick up a muffin or cake from Starbucks it’s pretty darn good!! And totally fattening.
Thanks for commenting everyone!
This looks delicious!
That crumb looks awesome! Like the thick Entenmann’s we used to get as a kid visiting New York. I never wanted the cake, just the crumb.
Okay, I printed it out and I’m making it RIGHT NOW! I cook dinner for another family every weeknight (their mom passed away a few years ago), and I try to make a dessert once a week or so. This is it!! (It also gives me an excuse to bake for my little family, but we don’t end up with as much sugar when I split it up.)
YUM!
HI Emiline,
It’s funny, I was thinking I’m probably the only one who hasn’t tried that yummy looking chocolate cake from starbucks!
That looks so good! And yes, I do like Starbuck’s coffee cake…or anything by Starbuck’s, really.
I would love to try this sometime.
Did you ever try making the Starbuck’s chocolate bread? It’s great.
yes, that in my mouth stat.
wow, i love crumb cakes and this looks like mrs. right now in mah belly