This 6 inch coffee cake is not only adorable, it's bakery-level delicious! It has everything we know and love from a regular coffee cake: soft and fluffy cake layers with a cinnamon sugar swirl running through the center, alllll topped off with the crispiest streusel! A secret ingredient helps ensure the center swirl really shines through and doesn't get lost in the cake.
I just got a 6 inch cake pan, so you better believe that I've been mini-ing any and all recipes I can think of! Not only is it amazing for feeding smaller groups of people, it's so. freaking. adorable.
My version of a realistic New Year's resolution is mostly making mini versions of my favorite indulgences. Because a girl's gotta live. Soooo that's what brings us to this beauty!
I'm obsessed with bakery-made coffee cakes, and naturally wanted to recreate it at home. While I love a ginormous coffee cake more than the next person, it's not always realistic to make a 9x13 inch cake that's already plenty rich and indulgent!
So let's take a moment to welcome this mini coffee cake. It's got 4 beautiful layers of cake, cinnamon sugar swirl, more cake, and the most crispy streusel topping you could dream of! Truly heavenly!
mini coffee cake ingredients:
If you look at the list of ingredients in the recipe below, it may seem like a lot, but there's a lot of repetition in terms of what you need:
• flour: for the streusel and cake batter
• sugar: brown sugar for the streusel and swirl, and granulated sugar for the cake. You can swap out the brown sugar for granulated sugar in the streusel and swirl, but I wouldn't recommend using brown sugar in the cake. We're not creaming sugar with any wet ingredients, so granulated will mix in much more nicely than brown sugar.
• cinnamon
• salt
• butter: for the streusel and the cake. The best thing about this recipe is there's no need to wait for butter to soften - cold butter works just fine!
• cocoa powder: have you ever make a cake that was SUPPOSED to have a cinnamon swirl in it, but after you bake and slice it.... nothing. Still TASTES amazing! But the swirl is lackluster at best. Wellllll here is my favorite secret ingredient to add to any recipe that involves a cinnamon swirl! The cocoa powder helps darken the swirl so it REALLY stands out! It doesn't taste chocolaty, but it adds a nice bitterness and earthy flavor that is just *peeeerrrrfection*
• baking powder + soda
• buttermilk
• egg
• vanilla
how to make mini coffee cake:
1. Mash together streusel topping ingredients. Set aside.
2. Mix together cinnamon filling ingredients. Set aside.
3. Whisk together dry ingredients for cake.
4. Cut butter into dry ingredients. Mash together until you have a crumbly mixture.
5. Whisk in buttermilk, egg, and vanilla. Your batter's ready, and you're ready to layer the 3 components!
6. Layer!
7. Bake & cool!
8. (Optional) drizzle over some powdered sugar icing before serving!
mini coffee cake storage:
Coffee cake will keep for about 2 days at room temperature or up to 1 week in the fridge. Keep covered with plastic wrap, and try to avoid slicing the cake until you're ready to serve to keep the inside moist for longer.
If you find the crumble topping has softened, you can reheat the cake for about 5 minutes in a preheated 350°F oven to crisp it back up. If you plan on drizzling icing over the cake, it's best to ice the cake right before you plan on serving it to avoid adding unnecessary moisture (and so that you can reheat it, if needed).
Mini coffee cake tips:
• Don't open the oven door before at least 20 minutes of baking. Not only will it cool your oven down and prolong the bake time, the rush of cold air can also interrupt your cake's rise
• The center is going to sink after baking. The cake is super moist and we have a THICK and crunchy streusel on top, so the center is going to sink - that's totally normal! The cake is still unbelievably moist and tender!
• Prevent soggy coffee cake. Avoid icing your cake before you plan on serving it and don't cover the cake until it's fully cooled. Other than that, this recipe is the perfect balance between moist yet sturdy - the key to the BEST coffee cake!
Check out these other recipes!
• Small Batch Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Muffins
• Small Batch Blueberry Crisp
• Small Batch Chocolate Buttercream
• Cinnamon Swirl Quick Bread
• Cinnamon Roll Cookies
Mini Coffee Cake Recipe
Ingredients
For the crumb topping:
- ⅔ cup (80g) all-purpose flour, spoon and leveled
- ⅓ cup (67g) packed brown sugar, light or dark
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (½ stick / 60g) unsalted butter, cold and cubed
For the cinnamon swirl filling:
- ⅓ cup (67g) packed brown sugar, light or dark
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder * see notes
For the cake:
- ¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour, spoon and leveled
- ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup (½ stick / 60g) unsalted butter, cubed
- ⅓ cup (80mL) buttermilk
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 6x2 inch round cake pan, and line the bottom with parchment paper leaving a bit of parchment hanging up the sides to make it easier to pull the cake out. Lightly flour any areas in the pan that aren't covered by parchment paper. Set aside.
- Make the streusel: In a medium bowl, combine all of the streusel ingredients and mash together with a fork until well combined. The mixture will be crumbly. Set aside.⅔ cup (80g) all-purpose flour,, ⅓ cup (67g) packed brown sugar,, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt, ¼ cup (½ stick / 60g) unsalted butter,
- Make the cinnamon swirl filling: In a medium bowl, combine all of the filling ingredients, and mix together until well combined, and you no longer see any large clumps of brown sugar. Set aside.⅓ cup (67g) packed brown sugar,, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
- Make the cake: In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk to combine.¾ cup (90g) all-purpose flour,, ½ cup (100g) granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add your cubed butter to the flour mixture. Using a fork or pastry cutter, cut the butter into the dry ingredients until you have a fine, crumbly mixture.¼ cup (½ stick / 60g) unsalted butter,
- Add your buttermilk, egg, and vanilla, and whisk until well combined and relatively smooth. A few clumps in the batter is normal.⅓ cup (80mL) buttermilk, 1 large egg,, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Layer the coffee cake components in your prepared cake pan. Start by spreading half of the cake batter evenly in the pan. Sprinkle over the cinnamon sugar filling. Spoon over the remaining batter and carefully spread it to cover the filling completely - try not to spread it too much or you won't have a distinct swirl. Top with the crumb topping.
- Bake the cake in the center of your preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean of any batter (it may have some melted sugar on it - that's fine!) If you find the top of the cake is browning too quickly, loosely tent with aluminum foil to slow the browning and continue baking until cooked through.
- Cool the cake in the pan until it reaches room temperature before slicing and serving! (Optional) Drizzle with a simple powdered sugar icing.
Notes
Enjoy!
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