Starbucks Cinnamon Coffee Cake Recipe

This Copycat Starbucks Cinnamon Coffee Cake is super easy to make and so yummy! Perfect with your coffee or tea!

My boys have been obsessed with the Starbucks cinnamon coffee cake for as long as I can remember. Every time we’d walk in, that was the request before we even got to the counter. So one day I decided to figure out how to make it at home — partly because I wanted to see if I could get it right, and partly because buying individual slices every time they wanted one was adding up fast.

Turns out it’s very doable. The ingredient list looks long at first glance — GWT said it in the comments and they were right — but it’s long because this cake has three components, not because any one of them is complicated. You’ve got the streusel topping, the cinnamon swirl that runs through the middle, and the buttermilk batter. Each one takes about two minutes to put together. The oven handles the rest for 75 minutes at low heat while your whole kitchen smells like a Starbucks in the best possible way.

One more thing worth knowing before you start: this cake is better the next day. Make it the night before if you can. The cinnamon settles through the crumb overnight and the whole thing slices more cleanly after a full cool. Morning-of is fine too — just know it gets even better with a little time.

What ingredients do you need for these coffee cake treats?

INGREDIENT NOTES

Butter — two forms, two jobs. The batter uses softened butter, creamed with the sugars to build structure and lift. The streusel uses melted butter, combined with flour and brown sugar to form those sandy, crunchy clumps on top. Don’t swap them — softened butter in the streusel won’t form proper crumbles, and melted butter in the batter won’t cream properly.

Two sugars in the batter. Brown sugar adds moisture and a subtle molasses depth. Granulated sugar gives structure and helps the cake bake evenly. The combination is what makes the crumb tender without being dense.

Buttermilk. Buttermilk is the moisture engine of this cake and also reacts with the baking soda to give the crumb its lift. If you don’t have buttermilk, make a quick substitute: add 1 tablespoon of white vinegar or lemon juice to a measuring cup, fill to 1 cup with whole milk, stir, and let sit for 5 minutes. It works the same way.

Room temperature eggs. Cold eggs added to creamed butter can cause the batter to break — the fat seizes and the mixture goes from smooth and fluffy to curdled and grainy. Pull them out of the fridge 30 minutes before you start, or set them in a bowl of warm water for 10 minutes if you forgot.

Vegetable oil. One tablespoon alongside the butter. The oil adds moisture that stays soft even after the cake cools — butter cakes can firm up in the fridge, the small amount of oil keeps the crumb tender.

Cinnamon — two places. The swirl is pure cinnamon sugar: brown sugar and ground cinnamon mixed together, scattered across the middle layer of batter. The streusel has cinnamon in it too. These are two separate applications with different textures and purposes — one melts into the batter, one stays crunchy on top.

How do you make it?

Preheat oven to 325. Spray baking pan with non stick spray and set aside. Make the crumble by combining melted butter, flour, brown sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon and chopped pecans (optional) in a bowl. Mix the cinnamon sugar for the swirl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl cream butter, 1/3 cup brown sugar, granulated sugar and oil until fluffy (about 2 mins).

Add eggs and vanilla and mix until light and fluffy. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into the bowl of wet ingredients for the batter. Add buttermilk mix until well combined. Pour slightly more than half the batter into prepared dish. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over the top of the batter. 

Add some of the crumble (optional-for added texture).Pour the remaining batter on top. Add crumble to the top completely covering it. Bake for 75 mins or until the edges turn light brown. Cool for at least 15-20 mins before serving. 

Starbucks Cinnamon Coffee Cake is delicious! It’s moist, fluffy, and has the perfect amount of cinnamon flavor. It’s also super easy to make – you can have it on the table in under an hour. So if you’re looking for a quick and tasty dessert, this is the cake for you.

Tips For The Best Copycat Coffee Cake

Make all three components before you start assembling. The batter comes together fast once you start and you don’t want to pause in the middle to mix the streusel while your creamed butter is sitting.

The crumble-in-the-middle is a choice, not a mistake. Adding streusel to the middle layer creates a denser, more layered cake. Keeping all the streusel on top gives you a lighter crumb with maximum crunch. The post Notes explain this — decide before you start assembling so you’re not improvising mid-pour.

Don’t skip room temperature eggs and butter. Cold butter won’t cream properly and cold eggs can break the batter. Both will affect the texture of the finished cake. Pull them out 30–60 minutes before you start.

Tent with foil if the top browns early. At the 60-minute mark, check the surface. If it’s deep golden but the toothpick isn’t clean yet, loosely lay a piece of aluminum foil over the top for the remaining bake time.

Use the toothpick test in the center. The edges will look and feel done well before the center is ready. Always test the middle of the cake — that’s the last part to cook through on a thick cake like this.

Let it cool before cutting. 15–20 minutes minimum. The layers need to set or you’ll get beautiful cake crumble instead of clean slices.

FAQs

GWT said it best in the comments — a lot of ingredients, but you’re onto a winner. The ingredient list looks long because there are three components, but each one is straightforward on its own and comes together in about 20 minutes of actual work. The oven does the rest. Make it the night before if you’re serving it for brunch — it genuinely tastes better the next day, which is a rare and useful thing for a baked good to do. And if you’re building out a full Starbucks copycat spread, my Pink Drink and Vanilla Bean Frappuccino are the drinks to make alongside it.

Here are some more fun Starbucks Copycat recipes to try: