Small Coffee Cake Recipe

Kick off the morning hours with this simple and delicious two-serving Small Coffee Cake Recipe. This is the best way to wake up your taste buds and perfect if you only need a serving for two! Pour yourself a hot cup of coffee, and enjoy what's sure to become your new favorite thing to indulge in bright and early. 

What I love about this easy coffee cake recipe is that it's versatile when it can be made. I've whipped this up for lazy weekend mornings or had it as a simple treat to eat throughout the week. The tender cake is a great recipe because of its flavor and ease of preparation.

This tastes like classic coffee cake, so it has that flavor that everyone loves. The simple steps for making it keep it easy to do, and the outcome of this homemade coffee cake is lots of great flavor. The one difference is that this isn't a crumb cake, as I don't add a ton of crumb topping to the top. I chose to add crushed nuts and a little bit of topping, which give it a nice crunchy texture, paired with the center of the moist coffee cake recipe. 

If you're a fan of sweet treats in the morning, be sure to try my Cinnamon Streusel Muffins Recipe. They're easy, simple, and loaded with sweet cinnamon flavor. 

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• How To Make This Small Coffee Cake Recipe 
• Variations
• Common Questions 
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Ingredients

Salted butter - I use salted butter for this recipe instead of unsalted butter because I like the flavor that it adds to the batter. 

Brown sugar - This adds sweetness and helps with a darker coloring. 

Flour - The main ingredient needed to create the cake batter. 

Cinnamon - For flavor. You can also swap in another sweet spice like nutmeg.

Egg white - Just the white of the egg is needed. Use the yolk for another baking recipe! 

Milk - To help make the batter not overly thick. 

Baking powder - Adds texture to the cake. 

Salt - A pinch of salt will enhance all the other flavors.

Nuts - For the top of the cake. I like to use pecans but any nut will work.

How To Make This Small Coffee Cake Recipe 

Step One: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. 

Step Two: Mix the butter and sugar in a bowl with a mixer in a large mixing bowl. 

Step Three: Add the flour and mix until a crumb mixture forms. Take and save 2 tablespoons of the crumb mixture into another bowl.

Step Four: Mix in the remaining batter ingredients and combine. Pour that mixture into the baking dish and spread it out to be even.

Step Five: Combine the chopped nuts and the crumbs that were reserved. Sprinkle that on top of the batter.

Step Six: Put the pan in the oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Variations

Add fruit - You can easily change the flavor of this simple coffee cake by adding fresh fruit. I love a good blueberry coffee cake recipe - or even a strawberry one! Apple coffee cake is a fave in my house as well.

Add seasonings - Ground cinnamon has already been added to this recipe, but you could use pumpkin spice or any other flavor you love and crave. 

Use Greek yogurt - A simple way to make the best coffee cake recipe is to add a little bit of Greek yogurt to the wet ingredients. This helps the fluffy cake stay moist and delicious. You can also make a sour cream coffee cake by adding sour cream instead of Greek yogurt. 

Change the topping - The versatility of this little cake proves that you can easily change the toppings, too. Instead of just adding nuts and a bit of the crumb mixture on top of the cake batter, you can easily add a cinnamon sugar layer on top or even add more flavor to the tender crumb mixture by adding mini chocolate chips or vanilla extract. 

Common Questions 

Does a coffee cake have actual coffee in it? 

It doesn't! The name comes from the fact that most people make this recipe and enjoy it with a cup of coffee, but a lot of people assume that the cake has to have some sort of caffeine inside. It's caffeine-free and delicious. 

How do I know when the cake is done baking?

The best way to make sure that the cake is fully baked is to insert a clean toothpick into the center of the cake. If you do that, and the toothpick comes out without any cake batter on it, that's your key to know for sure that the cake is fully cooked and ready to take out of the oven. 

How do I store leftover coffee cake? 

For the best results, let the cake cool down completely. You can then store the leftovers in an airtight container. I keep the leftovers in the fridge so that they stay fresh longer. The cake is good to eat chilled, or it's simple to pop into the microwave and warm for a few seconds of time. 

Like what you see? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram! Love this recipe? Leave a comment & a 5-star rating right here! Make sure you don’t miss new recipes by getting email updates!

📖 Recipe