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This Sour Cream Coffee Cake bakes up in a bundt pan with a ribbon of cinnamon brown sugar through a buttery vanilla almond crumb, all draped in cream cheese glaze. I made it *for a Sunday morning visit* from the grandparents and the bundt was history before the second pot of coffee. If a tender bundt like our banana bundt cake is your coffee companion, this is its cinnamon swirled sibling.
Two cups of sour cream make this the moistest coffee cake bundt cake you will ever slice, and the swirl stays perfectly ribboned through the middle.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake Quick Look
- 🕒 Prep Time: 15 minutes
- 🌡️ Cook Time: 60 minutes
- ⏳ Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes plus cooling
- 🍽️ Serving: 16 servings
- ⚡ Calories: 417kcal
- 🌶️ Flavor Profile: Buttery vanilla almond crumb with a cinnamon brown sugar swirl
- ✋ Difficulty: Easy, on par with our glazed almond loaf cake
Quick Answer
To make sour cream coffee cake, cream butter and sugar, mix in almond extract, vanilla, and eggs, then alternate adding the dry ingredients and two cups of sour cream. Layer a third of the batter in a greased bundt pan, sprinkle with half of a cinnamon brown sugar filling, and repeat, ending with batter. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 60 minutes, cool 20 minutes before flipping out, and finish with a whipped cream cheese glaze.
Jump to:
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake Quick Look
- Quick Answer
- Why This Recipe Works
- Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Key Ingredients
- Variations and Substitutions
- How to Make Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Serving Ideas and Suggestions
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake FAQs
- Other Recommended Brunch Worthy Cake Recipes
- Sour Cream Coffee Cake Bundt Cake
Why This Recipe Works
Click to see the technique science
- Two full cups of sour cream. The acidity tenderizes the gluten while the fat enriches the crumb, this is why the cake stays moist for days instead of drying out overnight.
- Creaming builds the structure. Whipping the softened butter and sugar until smooth creates millions of air pockets that the leaveners expand in the oven for a tall, even crumb.
- Alternating wet and dry. Adding the flour and sour cream a little at a time keeps the batter emulsified, dump it all in at once and the batter breaks and bakes dense.
- The swirl is layered, not stirred. Sprinkling the cinnamon filling between batter layers keeps a clean ribbon, stirring it in would muddy the whole crumb.
- The bundt pan bakes from the middle too. The center tube carries heat into the middle of this thick batter so the cake bakes through evenly in an hour without dry edges.
- Almond extract is the bakery secret. Just a teaspoon alongside the vanilla gives the crumb that nostalgic coffee shop flavor people cannot quite place.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- It serves 16 from one bundt pan, making it the easiest impressive bake for brunch, holidays, or a coffee date crowd.
- It is genuinely better on day two, the swirl settles and the crumb gets even moister, so bake ahead guilt free, like our apple banana muffins, it is built for make ahead mornings.
- The whipped cream cheese glaze is a step above the usual powdered sugar drizzle, tangy, thick, and absolutely worth the extra five minutes.
Key Ingredients
The ingredient list looks long but it splits into three simple teams: batter, filling, and glaze.
- Sour Cream: Two cups, full fat. It is the signature ingredient that makes this coffee cake bundt cake impossibly moist and gives the crumb a subtle tang.
- Butter: A stick and a half, softened, creamed with sugar for the batter, plus a little melted in the glaze.
- Brown Sugar and Cinnamon: The two ingredient filling that bakes into that gooey swirl, the same ribbon trick as our strawberry cheesecake bundt cake uses with cheesecake.
- Almond Extract and Vanilla Bean Paste: The flavor duo, almond adds the bakery note while the vanilla bean paste brings real flecks and depth. Vanilla extract works in both spots.
- Cream Cheese: Eight ounces, whipped into the glaze with powdered sugar, melted butter, and milk for a thick, tangy pour.
See recipe card for exact quantities.
Variations and Substitutions
This sour cream coffee cake recipe loves a remix. Tested favorites:
- Add a nut layer. Stir a half cup of chopped pecans or walnuts into the cinnamon filling for classic crunch.
- Apple cinnamon version. Fold one peeled, finely diced apple into the batter for autumn energy.
- Chocolate swirl. Add two tablespoons of cocoa powder to the filling and swap the glaze vanilla for a splash of coffee.
- Lemon blueberry spin. Skip the cinnamon filling, fold in a cup of blueberries and lemon zest, and glaze with lemon juice instead of milk, or bake our pina colada cake when you want full tropical.
- Simple dusting. Skip the glaze entirely and dust with powdered sugar for a less sweet brunch cake.
- 9×13 pan. No bundt? Bake in a 9×13 at 350 degrees F for 40 to 45 minutes, layering the filling the same way.
How to Make Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and generously grease a bundt pan. Whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl and set aside.
- In a stand mixer or with a hand mixer, cream the softened butter and sugar together until smooth.
- Add the almond extract and vanilla, then mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated.
- Alternating between the dry ingredients and the sour cream, add a little of the flour mixture to the mixer.
- Follow with some of the sour cream, and keep alternating additions, scraping the sides as needed.
- Mix just until the batter is smooth and fully combined.
- Whisk the brown sugar and cinnamon together. Pour a third of the batter into the bundt pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle on half of the cinnamon filling.
- Smooth another third of the cake batter over the filling.
- Sprinkle on the remaining cinnamon filling.
- Finish with the rest of the batter and smooth the top.
- Bake for 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out mostly clean, a few crumbs are fine but wet batter needs more time.
- Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack for 20 minutes, then very carefully flip it out and let it cool completely.
- For the glaze, whip the cream cheese in a medium bowl until smooth, then add the powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste and mix until combined.
- Mix in the melted butter, then add the milk one tablespoon at a time until the glaze is thick but pourable.
- Drizzle the cream cheese glaze over the cooled cake and serve, slightly warm or at room temperature.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Grease every crease of the bundt pan. Butter or baking spray into all the ridges, then a dusting of flour, this cake is too pretty to lose half of it to the pan.
- Room temperature everything. Softened butter, room temp eggs, and room temp sour cream blend into a smooth batter instead of a curdled one.
- Do not open the oven before 50 minutes. The thick batter needs steady heat, an early peek can sink the center.
- Twenty minutes in the pan, no more, no less. Flip too soon and the cake breaks, wait too long and the swirl glues it to the pan.
- Glaze a cool cake. Warm cake melts the cream cheese glaze into a puddle, patience gets you those thick dramatic drips like our lemon cake deserves.
- Slice with a serrated knife. Gentle sawing keeps the swirl intact in every slice instead of dragging it through the crumb.
Serving Ideas and Suggestions
Sour cream coffee cake and a hot cup of coffee is the whole point, but a homemade white chocolate mocha frappuccino next to a thick slice turns breakfast into a coffee shop moment at home.
For a brunch spread, slice the bundt as the centerpiece and surround it with a tray of berry danishes, warm crescent roll cinnamon rolls, and fresh fruit. Sweet table, done.
It also holds its own as dessert, serve slices slightly warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, or alongside a cherry danish board for an afternoon coffee break with friends.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake FAQs
Sour cream is the moisture engine of this coffee cake. Its fat enriches the crumb while its acidity tenderizes the gluten and activates the baking soda, producing a cake that is plush, tangy, and stays moist for days. This sour cream coffee cake uses a full two cups, which is why the texture is closer to pound cake velvet than to a dry crumb cake.
Yes, full fat Greek yogurt is the best substitute in sour cream coffee cake, swap it one for one. The texture stays nearly identical with a slightly tangier flavor. Avoid low fat or nonfat yogurt, the missing fat makes a noticeably drier cake. Light sour cream works in a pinch but full fat versions of either give the signature moist crumb.
A sinking swirl usually means the filling layers were too thick in one spot or the batter was too thin. Sprinkle the cinnamon brown sugar evenly and keep it away from the very edges of the pan, the sugar melts and can glue the cake to the sides. Properly layered, the thick sour cream batter in this coffee cake suspends the swirl right where you put it.
Grease aggressively and flour lightly. Brush softened butter or use baking spray with flour into every ridge of the pan, including the center tube. Then respect the 20 minute cooling window, the cake needs that time to firm up and release steam, but waiting much longer lets the sugars in the swirl harden against the pan like glue.
Because of the cream cheese glaze, store this sour cream coffee cake covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, the crumb stays remarkably moist thanks to all that sour cream. Let slices come to room temperature or microwave them for 15 seconds before serving. Unglazed, the cake can sit covered at room temperature for 2 days.
Yes, this cake freezes beautifully. For best results freeze it unglazed, wrapped tightly in plastic and foil, for up to 3 months, then thaw overnight and glaze fresh. Glazed slices also freeze well individually wrapped, thaw them in the fridge. The high fat crumb tastes just baked after thawing.
Want another glazed stunner for the cake stand? Our almond torte cake is the elegant next bake.
Add a savory anchor to brunch with our breakfast bagel sandwich, stacked with crispy bacon and a cheesy fried egg.
Serve a slice of this alongside our buttery strawberry scones for the perfect coffee morning.
red velvet bundt cake recipe
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For a cozy coffee cake, our sour cream coffee cake is wonderfully tender.
Pair these buns with a slice of our sour cream coffee cake for the ultimate brunch.
Our sour cream coffee cake is another cozy breakfast bake.
Our sour cream coffee cake bundt is another tender, buttery favorite.
Our sour cream coffee cake bundt is a tender, buttery bake.
Our sour cream coffee cake is tender, moist, and perfect with coffee.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake Bundt Cake
Ingredients
Coffee Cake Batter
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- pinch salt
- 1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter softened
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups sour cream
For the cinnamon filling
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cream Cheese Glaze
- 8 ounces cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste or vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 6 tablespoons milk
Instructions
Coffee Cake Batter:
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Generously grease a bundt pan, set aside.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.3 cups all-purpose flour, 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 & 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, pinch salt
- In the bowl of a stand mixer (or with a hand mixer and a large bowl), cream together the softened butter and sugar until smooth.1 & 1/2 cups granulated sugar, 3/4 cup unsalted butter
- Add the almond extract and vanilla extract and stir to combine.1 teaspoon almond extract, 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- Mix in the eggs one at a time until incorporated.3 large eggs
- Alternating between the dry ingredients and the sour cream, add both to the mixer a little at a time until the batter is combined. Scrape the sides as needed.2 cups sour cream
For the cinnamon filling:
- Whisk the sugar and cinnamon together in a small bowl.1/2 cup light brown sugar, 1 & 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cake Assembly:
- Pour 1/3 of the batter into the greased bundt cake pan and smooth the top.
- Sprinkle in half of the sugar filling.
- Smooth another 1/3 of the cake batter on top.
- Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon filling.
- Finish off with the rest of the cake batter and smooth the top.
- Bake for 60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out mostly clean, a few crumbs are okay, any wet batter needs longer.
- Place the bundt pan on a wire rack and let the cake cool for 20 minutes.
- Very carefully flip the cake out onto the serving platter and let it continue to cool completely.
Cream Cheese Glaze:
- While the cake is cooling, make the glaze by whipping the cream cheese in a medium-sized bowl with a hand mixer until smooth.8 ounces cream cheese
- Add the powdered sugar and vanilla bean paste and mix until combined.1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
- Add the melted butter, and mix.2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Add in the milk one tablespoon at a time until it reaches the consistency you like, it should be thick but still pourable.6 tablespoons milk
- Drizzle the cream cheese glaze on top of the cake and serve. It’s very good served slightly warm, or let it come down to room temperature, enjoy!
Notes
- You can make this is a 9″x13″ baking pan opposed to a bundt pan if you’d item, see my tips above.
- You’re able to substitute vanilla bean paste for vanilla extract 1:1.
- This recipe can be frozen, also see my tips above
- Glaze this with whatever you like, our cream cheese glaze is just a simple favorite we use.
- Make sure that this is fully cooled before glazing or it will melt off.
- This is a great recipe to make ahead and freeze for guests or make a double batch where you will have one for company at a later date.
Nutrition
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My mom used to make a sour cream coffee so I tried this recipe. It’s actually better than hers. My family loves it.
This recipe is really easy that was enough for my 11year old to make all by herself and that’s why I’m giving this recipe 5 stars!
Made this for Easter Brunch! Brunch in a barn on a farm and Easter Egg hunt for the kids! Everyone is going to love this almond, vanilla and cinnamon flavored sour cream coffee cake. All the best flavors. Very moist.