This Starbucks Coffee Cake recipe is one of my favorites! An easy copycat recipe that’s perfect for the holidays and family celebrations!
Be sure to try my Cinnamon Roll Sheet Cake too!
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.
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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! 
Made thus several times. Always a big hit!!
Thanks for the feedback Peggy, glad you’ve enjoyed it!
The recipe is still showing 2/3 c. Oil….should be 1/3 cup.
I made this recipe today, too good but mine sunk in the middle too .Should it be cooked more than 15 before the crumshow are put on ??? Sure was excellent tasting !
Will it taste totally different if I use unsalted butter?
unsalted will be just fine and won’t taste different here 🙂
I want to make this but make the cake myself. Do you have a recipe for the cake, not using a box? I live somewhere where there are no boxed cake mixes in the store.
Can I make this the day before I serve it?
Yes, that works just fine Debbie. Once it cools, just cover it with foil until serving the next day.
Our family loved the recipe! The entire pan was gone in less than 48hrs!
Love it. I’ve made it twice now. I cut it in squares and I put it in A freezer container. Proportioned and easy to grab and go.
so easy and the whole family loved it! My husband’s favorite bakery item from Starbucks is their coffee cake. He gave this a big thumbs up and said it tasted just about identical!
Was the topping edited? I loved the old way!! Can you please provide it
Hi Stephanie, I found I had almost half of the topping left with the previous recipe, so I halved it. If you liked it before, just double the topping 🙂 Let me know if you need anything else.
Quick Question: The recipe says to use the cake box directions for making the cake, which calls for 1/3 cup oil. However, the recipe above calls for 2/3 cup oil. What has everyone used when making this? I’m nervous to “over oil” this cake. I can’t wait to make it! Thank you, everyone, for your input!
I would use the cake mix directions Tanya. I’ll edit my instructions.
Hi Jenny! This is my 2nd time baking this coffee cake and both times the cake seeps through the top of the cumble in a few spots. I apply an even layer across so I don’t know what I’m doing wrong. Tastes amazing though!
Love this yummy recipe! I’ve literally been making this for soooo many years now & it’s become a part of our treasured family baking memories so thank you! I often make it as stated and when I don’t have a cake mix on hand, I whip one up from scratch & follow all the other directions & it’s delicious both ways. Now, with family sheltering at home, we’re returning to this comfort in a 9×13 pan & thought we’d say thank you for sharing this bit of bitten joy with the world 🙂
So glad you’ve enjoyed Elle. Thanks for the feedback.
I have made this MANY time and it is absolutely amazing. I am making it again for our Super bowl partu5. Thanks!
We made this cake in our class. It was fun to make. The directions were easy to follow. The cake was a big hit, it was buttery and delicious. Thank you Beth for sharing!
My go to coffee cake. Always a hit and so easy. Thank you.
All I have to say is OMG! I have recently discovered that I love to bake, and I have begun researching recipes and compiling my favorites. I have discovered this wonderful site and already made the cinnamon roll cookies for my sis and her fam when she was sick and they were a huge hit! Last night I made this recipe and brought them into my work and everyone loved them! Thank you Jenny keep up the awesome work, you are an inspiration.
I made this last night,and also had to cook additional 5 minutes before taking out the 1st time.Put the crumb topping on,let go an additional 10 minutes and perfection!!!Wonder if it’s OK to freeze?Excellent!!!Just what I was hoping for.
I know this is a recipe from 2008. But I just made it today! And oh my gosh is it delicious! My family loved it!
I just made this today and it turned out perfect! I made my cake (substituting butter for the called-for oil and brewed coffee for the called-for water). I poured it into my greased & floured pan and baked @ 350 for 20 minutes while I made the crumble. I then packed my crumble mixture into the half-cooked cake. I really pressed it in to allow all of my crumble to top my 9×13 pan. Put it back into the oven for another 20 minutes and it was done.
We couldn’t even wait for it to cool, and I forgot the dusting of powdered sugar. So GOOD!
Thanks so much.
Tara, glad it worked, thank you for commenting. 🙂
Loved this recipe!! Have made it several times and always get compliments.
I just wanted to say thank you for this recipe. I have been using it for several years for my mommy who loves Starbucks coffee cake. For the past two years THIS is what she has asked for on Mother’s Day because she loves it so much. So THANK YOU, you have made both myself and my mom very happy.
I made this last year for our church coffee hour. I have made it a least twice a month since (most times by request) Everyone loves it!!! So easy too 🙂 Thanks for the recipe
Please tell me how to get your blog or newsletter!
This coffeecake is what got my attention, now i want more of your recipes.
Please
Sandra
you can email me please
Better than Starbucks the recipe reads and it is OH SO TRUE, I make this cake at least once a week for crowds of people, everyone loves it. Only thing I bake it about 25 min. In over before I add the crumbs because it looks to raw to put the crumbs on. It looks like the would sink into the said because there is so much crumbs. Other than that this is the best crumbs that I have every made, I I am a baker, love to bake, bake a few times a week. Thank you so much for this recipe 🙂
I just wanted to tell you that I made this for my bride for her bridal shower as part of a tea that we put on for her. The guests loved it! I made the double batch and it wasn’t even enough and now I am getting requests to bring it for the holidays. Thank you so much for such a great cake!
Can anyone stop with just eating one slice? I LOVE coffee cake!
Found this on Pinterest. Made it for the family last night. It was wonderful. Thanks for a great recipe!
This was delicious. I just made this for the first time and used French Vanilla cake mix instead of yellow cake mix since it was all I had. It came out spectacular. The only bad thing was that I did not let the cake bake in the oven for long enough before adding the topping, so the middle of the crumbs is a huge deformed circle of actual cake and the crumbs went under. Those pieces weren’t terrible either. Over-all a huge success 🙂
Made this for Mother’s Day Brunch today! DELICIOUS!
God!!
The moment I read the recipe, I rushed to the kitchen and prepared everything……… Wow.. The result was satisfying..
I’m wondering if I can add cream or frosting on it.. The cake is fab.. Thanks a lot for sharing it..
Oh.. Another thing to say… The pan I baked the cake in was small.. I wonder what kinda pans should I use.. And can I use the same recipe but on cupcakes?
i love to eat cakes and bake them too that is why i am always on the lookout for cake recipes,:~