This Cake Mix Coffee Cake starts with a box of yellow cake mix, has a cinnamon-brown sugar swirl baked through the middle, and is finished with a buttery brown sugar topping and simple vanilla icing. It tastes like you spent the morning baking from scratch, but is incredibly easy!
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Coffee cake is one of those things that always feels a little fancy. Whether you bring it to brunch, you set it out for houseguests, or you cut yourself a square at 3 p.m. and call it a snack.
While there are plenty of from-scratch coffee cakes well worth the effort (as are these coffee cake cupcakes), sometimes you want all the cinnamon-y, buttery goodness without having to measure out flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
That's exactly what this recipe is. A box of cake mix gets the structure right without additional flour, sour cream makes the crumb soft and rich, and some fun additions turn it into something that genuinely tastes like coffee cake and not just cake mix with cinnamon mixed in.
I wanted this recipe to taste like really good coffee cake, so it may have a few more ingredients and steps than other cake mix coffee cakes out there, but they're very worth it.
❤️ Why this recipe works
So easy to make: you don't need a mixer for this recipe and will dirty minimal dishes since you stir everything together for the batter in a bowl with a spatula. You will mix the cinnamon swirl mixture, butter topping, and icing in small bowls, too.
Uses sour cream: a full cup (!!) of sour cream helps give this cake the same soft, tender crumb you'd get from a from-scratch coffee cake. If you don't have any, you can substitute with full-fat Greek yogurt.
It uses two layers of cinnamon sugar: I made this with a brown sugar and cinnamon swirl that runs right through the middle of the cake and a buttery brown sugar mixture that gets drizzled on top and bakes into a lightly crackly crust. I didn't do a traditional crumb topping because I wanted to make this as easy as possible and didn't want you to require flour (since the cake mix omits the need for it in the batter!).
It tastes totally homemade: what else do you need to know?? Nobody will guess you made this coffee cake with cake mix!
🗒 Ingredients
Here's everything you need to make this cake mix coffee cake (be sure to view the recipe card at the bottom of this post for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions):
- Boxed yellow or vanilla cake mix: I use a 15.25 oz. box, but also have recommendations for 13.25 oz boxes.
- Sour cream: full fat is best. If you don't have any, you can use a full-fat Greek yogurt (regular yogurt should work, too, but since it's thinner, the batter will likely be looser.
- Large eggs: room temperature
- Unsalted butter: melted and slightly cooled
- Vanilla extract
- Light brown sugar
- Ground cinnamon
- Confectioners' sugar: for icing
- Milk: for icing
🍰 Recipe tips
- Always use room temperature eggs. I know I already said this, but it really does matter when you're mixing them with melted butter, otherwise the butter can seize.
- Be sure to pack your brown sugar when measuring for the cinnamon swirl and buttery topping.
- The brown sugar cinnamon swirl mixture is supposed to look dry and sandy. It will melt and spread as it bakes.
- The butter topping should be more of a liquid that you'll drizzle over the cake to get a crackly top. If you skip this step, the cake will still be delicious, but will not have quite the same texture as a coffee cake.
- I generally use a metal pan for my coffee cakes, but if you're using a glass pan, your cake may need an extra 3-5 minutes in the oven.
- You can either line the pan with parchment paper or spray it lightly with cooking oil. I love Caraway's square pans because bakes comes out so easily every time with minimal spray (I so wish they made 8x8 pans, too!).
- Start by spreading a layer (about half) the cake batter on the bottom of the pan. Top that with the cinnamon swirl mixture.
- Then spread on the rest of the cake batter (I like to drop it in dollops over the top and use an offset spatula to spread it). And drizzle on the buttery topping.
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- Start checking cake for doneness at the 35 minute mark. You want the cake to be just set in the middle and a toothpick should come out with moist crumbs. If you over-bake it, it's likely to be dry.
- Be sure to let the cake cool a bit before you add icing. If the cake is still too warm, the icing will melt right into the surface instead of sitting on top.
- If you don't want to make your own icing, you can spread store-bought frosting on top or can thin out store-bought frosting with a little milk for a drizzle.
And get ready to enjoy one of the tastiest coffee cakes! I am absolutely obsessed with this and can't believe how easy it is to make.
It's packed with sweet cinnamon and vanilla flavor and the crackly top makes it extra tasty.
Perfect for enjoying with your afternoon coffee, but this is also a coffee cake you can feel proud to serve to a crowd.
⏲️ How to store
Store leftover coffee cake covered tightly at room temperature for up to 3 days.
You can also keep it in the fridge for up to 5 days. If refrigerated, I recommend warming an individual serving in the microwave for 10-15 seconds before enjoying.
Also note that this is a great recipe to bake the night before brunch!
🎉 Variations on recipe
I want to make this exactly as is forever and ever, but am also tempted to make all different kinds of cake mix coffee cake!
Here are some ideas:
- Use any flavor cake mix you want. I think yellow or vanilla work best for a classic coffee cake flavor, but funfetti would work really well, too. Spice cake mix would also be yummy. I don't think chocolate or strawberry would work well with cinnamon, but lemon could be interesting!
- Instead of the butter topping, you can add a classic crumb topping instead, like the one found in this post. Or you can make extra cinnamon swirl mixture to sprinkle over the top (no flour needed).
- Add nuts. Pecans or walnuts would be especially delicious. You can sprinkle them in with the cinnamon swirl, on top with the butter topping, or both.
- Fold toffee bits into the batter.
- Add dry fruit like raisins or dried cherries.
- Add a little pumpkin spice to the batter for a fun seasonal twist.
- Instead of the homemade icing, you can frost the cake with store-bought frosting or mix frosting with a little milk to drizzle on top.
🧁 More cake mix recipes
If you're looking for more easy recipes you can make with a box of cake mix, check out some of my other favorite recipes:
I also have lots of boxed mix recipes with pancake mix, muffin mix, and more!
Whether you're making this cake mix coffee cake for a special brunch or just because you want an easy tasty snack, please comment below and let me know how you like it!
📖 Recipe
Cake Mix Coffee Cake
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Ingredients
- 1 15.25 oz. box yellow or vanilla cake mix see notes for 13.25 oz. box
- 1 cup sour cream (can substitute with full-fat Greek yogurt)
- 3 large eggs room temperature
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon Swirl
- ½ cup light brown sugar packed
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Butter Topping
- 3 tablespoon unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
- ¼ cup light brown sugar packed
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Vanilla icing
- ½ cup confectioners' sugar
- 1-2 teaspoon milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and lightly grease a 9x9 baking pan.
- In a large bowl, stir together cake mix, sour cream, eggs, melted butter, and vanilla until smooth.
- Spread half the batter in the prepared pan. Top with dollops of cinnamon swirl mixture.
- Gently spread remaining batter over the top. I recommend dropping in dollops and using an offset spatula to gently spread the batter.
- Drizzle top with buttery/brown sugar mixture.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes, until the center is set and a toothpick inserted comes out with moist crumbs.
- Cool cake slightly before adding icing and slicing.
Cinnamon Swirl
- In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar and cinnamon.
Buttery Topping
- In a small bowl, stir together melted butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon until combined.
Vanilla Icing
- Whisk together confectioners' sugar, 1 tablespoon milk, and vanilla extract in a medium bowl. If mixture is too thick, add remaining tablespoon milk a little at a time, until desired consistency is reached.
Notes
- If you're using a 13.25 oz box of cake mix, I would keep everything the same except I would use ¾ cup + 2 tablespoon sour cream and ¼ cup melted butter.
- If you want to skip a step and avoid dirtying another bowl, I recommend skipping the butter topping and making extra brown sugar/cinnamon mixture to sprinkle over the top.
- You can also feel free to skip the vanilla icing drizzle. Or you can spread store-bought frosting over the top or mix frosting with some milk to drizzle over the top.
- To store: keep covered tightly at room temperature for up to 3 days. Or store in the fridge for up to 5 days. I recommend heating gently in the microwave before serving.
- This is a great brunch option for baking a day ahead!
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