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High Altitude Cinnamon Coffee Cake

This High Altitude Cinnamon Coffee Cake is moist, dense and delicious! It has a delicious ripple of cinnamon sugar with lots of streusel topping and vanilla glaze.
Course Breakfast, Dessert
Cuisine American
Diet Vegetarian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 55 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes
Servings 24 people
Calories 315kcal
Author Mara

Ingredients

Coffee Cake

  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
  • ¾ cup brown sugar, dark
  • ¾ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup applesauce, unsweetened
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 3 eggs large, room temperature
  • ¾ cup buttermilk
  • 2 & ½ cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 & ½ teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • ½ teaspoon salt

Cinnamon Sugar

  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Streusel Topping

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • cup granulated sugar
  • ½ cup brown sugar, dark
  • teaspoon salt
  • 1 stick butter, unsalted melted

Vanilla Glaze

  • ¾ cup powdered sugar
  • 3-4 teaspoons milk or cream

Instructions

  • Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, mix granulated sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon in a small bowl to create your cinnamon sugar layer and set aside.
  • In a large mixing bowl, mix cream cheese, brown sugar and white sugar until well combined using a stand mixer or hand mixer. 
  • Add applesauce to the creamed sugar and cream cheese. Beat until well combined. Then, add in eggs, one at a time, as well as the vanilla. Beat until well combined.
  • While mixing/beating on low speed, alternate adding-in buttermilk and dry ingredients. 
  • In a 9 x 13 baking dish, spray with non-stick spray. Then, add in ½ the batter, top it with your cinnamon sugar mixture. Make sure the cinnamon sugar is evenly distributed on top of the batter. Next, use a toothpick, wooden skewer or knife to gently swirl the cinnamon sugar into the batter.
  • Top with the remaining ½ of the batter and spread evenly. Place into the oven and bake for 20 minutes. 
  • While the coffee cake is baking, prepare the streusel by mixing the dry streusel ingredients in a bowl, then adding melted butter to it and mixing with a spatula or by hand to create streusel pieces. I think forming streusel by hand ensures nicely formed streusel pieces. 
  • Once the cake has baked for 20 minutes, take it out of the oven. Drop the temperature to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, carefully place the streusel on the cake until the whole pan is covered. 
  • Bake the cake for an additional 30-40 minutes until a wooden skewer comes out clean from the center of the cake. 
  • Cool to room temperature. Prepare the vanilla glaze by mixing together powdered sugar and milk/cream in a small bow. Drizzle the vanilla glaze on top. Serve and enjoy. 

Notes

Properly Measure Flour: If you just dip your measuring cup into a bag of flour, chances are you have way too much flour due to packing. I keep a small digital scale to accurately measure flour BUT you can also use the spoon and level method too if you don't have a scale. To do this, use a spoon to fluff up the flour within your flour bag or container. Then use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and finally use the straight edge of a knife to level the flour across the measuring cup.
Don't Overmix: Overmixing can make your cinnamon coffee cake tough or bake unevenly. You want to mix your ingredients until the flour is just combined.
Wooden Skewer Test: when your coffee cake is toward the end of its bake, make sure to insert a wooden skewer into the center of the coffee cake. When you pull the wooden skewer out, you want it with a few moist crumbs or completely clean to indicate its finished baking. If there is any wet batter, it needs to continue to bake, I recommend baking in 2-3 minute increments until the wooden skewer comes out clean or a few moist crumbs. 
Why do you add the streusel later? Through my many tests of the recipe, I watched as the streusel sink to the bottom of the cake instead of forming a a delicious crunchy top. Instead, we partially bake the cake then place streusel on top and then continue baking until the cake is cooked through.
Why is this called coffee cake? Coffee cake is typically a sweet vanilla sponge cake intended to be eaten with coffee or tea.
What altitude was this recipe baked at? How do I adjust for my altitude? I baked this coffee cake at 5,280 ft! Check out this high altitude resource to adjust this recipe for your altitude.
 
Nutritional information for this recipe is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. Please calculate your own nutritional information if you want it exact to what you make and use my calculations as a guide only.

Nutrition

Calories: 315kcal | Carbohydrates: 45g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 173mg | Sodium: 244mg | Potassium: 127mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 31g | Vitamin A: 488IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 72mg | Iron: 2mg