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This cake mix coffee cake is so easy and yummy! You are going to love this moist cake with a buttery cinnamon and sugar crumb topping.
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This coffee cake is light and fluffy, yet moist and delicious. It starts with a box mix, making it simple! It is so easy to do and I almost always have all the ingredients on hand. This is a pretty versatile dish, too, you can add things or take them away as you like.
You can add chopped-up apples to the crumb topping. Blueberries or shredded coconut make great additions, too! My favorite substitution is using coconut oil instead of vegetable or canola oil. It adds a slight coconut-y flavor which I love, plus it is better for you!
Works Well For A Crowd
This cake mix coffee cake is a great dish if you are having guests over and a staple for brunch. It is relatively cheap to make and it serves up to 15 people. It is a winner for kids and adults alike! For a breakfast spread that rivals any B&B, serve with eggs, bacon, fruit, and yogurt.
For more breakfast ideas, check out our post 35+ Easy Breakfast Ideas.
Cake Mix Coffee Cake Ingredients
Cake mix and coffee cake are made in layers! It has a cake mix base with a sweet and savory streusel crumble topping. It is the perfect combination!
- Yellow cake mix – Serves as the base of the coffee cake. Make this even easier with a box cake mix. It will still taste like it is made from scratch! You can also use our homemade cake mix in place of the cake mix and oil in this recipe.
- Vanilla pudding mix – Adding pudding mix to your cakes makes them so rich and moist!
- Water – Adds moisture to the cake mix coffee cake.
- Buttermilk – This gives your coffee cake a bright, tangy flavor and adds to the moisture. You can substitute regular milk with 1 teaspoon of lemon juice if needed.
- Oil – I like to use coconut oil, but you can use vegetable oil or canola oil.
- Eggs – Large eggs help bind the ingredients together giving it moisture and a fluffy texture.
- Sour cream – This will truly take your cake to the next level. Don’t leave it out!
Streusel Crumble Topping
The streusel topping is easily combined with a few pantry staple ingredients that are easy to mix. This streusel crumble topping will need to be mixed and will have a light and grainy-sandy texture. It is delicious on the top of the coffee cake with the best texture!
- Sugar – You will use both light brown sugar and white granulated sugar for this streusel crumble topping.
- Flour – All-purpose flour thickens the crumble and helps separate the wet and dry ingredients.
- Cinnamon – Savory seasoning with a warm flavor!
- Salt – Adds flavor but also balances out the sweet and savory.
- Unsalted butter – The butter needs to be very cold, not at room temperature or melted butter. Pop it in the freezer for a few minutes if needed. If the butter is too warm, then you won’t get that delicious crumbly texture.
- Walnuts – The nuts are optional. You could also use pecans! Chop the walnuts up into the
Steps for Making Cake Mix Coffee Cake
Making cake mix coffee cake is so simple and makes it even better when using a cake mix! The dry ingredients are whisked together with the wet ingredients forming the cake batter. The smell of this cake mix coffee cake baking is going to make you have all the feels!
- Whisk – In a large bowl, whisk together all the dry and wet cake batter ingredients, except for the sour cream. Then, fold in the sour cream using a spatula or large spoon. Pour into a 9×13 baking dish.
- Mix – Then a separate medium bowl, combine all topping ingredients except butter and walnuts.
- Combine – Cut the butter into small cubes and add to the flour mixture. Mix with a fork, a pastry cutter, or your hands until crumbly. Stir in the walnuts. Optional: sprinkle in a little vanilla extract.
- Prepare and bake – Sprinkle half of the topping onto the cake and use a knife to swirl the cinnamon mixture into the cake batter. Pour the rest of the mixture evenly over the top. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean.
- Serve – Finally, cut and serve! This coffee cake is delicious warm or cooled. Store any leftovers in an airtight container or cover the pan with plastic wrap.
- Drizzle – For some added sweetness drizzle a little cream cheese frosting glaze or sprinkle on some powdered sugar over the top.
Tips for Cake Mix Coffee Cake
These are great ways to help make the best cake mix coffee cake! Try another type of cake mix, add in seasoning, or make it look decadent for that special occasion. Follow these helpful tips when making this cake mix coffee cake!
- Cake mix – Choose a high-end, high-quality type of cake mix. You can also use a yellow cake mix, butter pecan mix cake, or cinnamon swirl cake mix.
- Cooking spray – Before adding the cake mix coffee cake batter, spray the outside of the baking dish with cooking spray. This will help the cake slice and serve easily.
- Seasoning – Spice it up a little more with allspice, nutmeg, or cardamom.
- Moist cake – For a more moist cake you can use yogurt or sour cream. It adds richness and a soft texture. Greek yogurt usually is best because it is thicker.
- Nut options – Try different variations of nuts for your cake mix coffee cake like pecans.
- Drizzle – Make a glaze to drizzle over top of the cake mix coffee cake. This adds a special touch that makes it stand out above the rest.
“I followed this to a T and used Duncin Hines Super Moist mix and it came out great! Will definitely be doing this again! Thanks for the recipe!”
-Dori
Frequently Asked Questions
Because it is typically served with coffee. While common in the United States, coffee cake is thought to have originated from Germany, where people would eat a similar type of sweet bread with coffee in informal social gatherings.
No, the coffee in the name refers to a cake eaten with coffee. It is great as a breakfast dish, a side, or a dessert, and can be enjoyed any time of the day!
Stick a toothpick in the center of the baked cake. If it comes out dry the cake is done cooking. If it comes out wet or has batter on it, the cake needs a little more time to bake.
Storing and Reheating Cake Mix Coffee Cake
This cake mix coffee cake is so easy to store and reheat for another dessert date! Simply bake your cake and let it cool before storing. You will be thanking yourself for keeping at least a slice for the next day!
- Leftovers – Keep any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They will last about four to five days.
- Reheat – You can eat it cold but if you like it warm just do 10 to 15 seconds in the microwave per slice. This will warm it through just enough!
READ NEXT: 33+ Breakfast Ideas
More Recipes Like This
If you love this recipe, you should also try our other yummy flavors of coffee cake recipes! Our Blueberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake is one of my all-time favorites! Although I think it is a pretty close tie with our Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Coffee Cake. Both are so good, you can’t go wrong! It works out fine because I can make the pumpkin during the fall and the blueberry in the spring. And you want to try our Cranberry Almond Coffee Cake during the Holidays!
How to Make Cake Mix Coffee Cake
Cake Mix Coffee Cake
Video
Equipment
- Hand Mixer
- Mixing Bowls
Ingredients
For the Cake:
- 1 yellow cake mix (15 to 18 ounce mix)
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup buttermilk
- ⅓ cup oil (coconut oil works great)
- 3 large eggs
- 3.4 ounces vanilla instant pudding mix
- 1 cup sour cream
For the topping:
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup flour
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ cup butter
- 1 cup walnuts chopped
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine cake mix, water, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and pudding mix. Beat with a mixer for about 2 minutes. Fold in sour cream.
- In a smaller bowl, combine sugars, flour, cinnamon, and salt. Cut butter into small pieces and add to the sugar mixture. Mix together with a fork or pastry blender until crumbly. Stir in walnuts.
- Pour batter into a greased 9×13 glass baking dish. Sprinkle half of the topping over the batter. Use a knife to swirl the mixture throughout the cake.
- Top evenly with the remaining topping.
- Bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
This is a terrific recipe! I omitted the nuts because I wasn’t sure if anyone in the crowd had allergies. This cake is so moist and tender and you can really taste the sour cream which is a nice counter to the sweetness of the two sugars. I am definitely pinning this and making again. Thanks for sharing!
Excellent flavor in this moist cake. I added 1/2 teaspoon baking powder to the topping (as recommended in a cookbook I have) and it may have boosted the rise. I’ll make this again, thank you!
So so moist and so yummy! This will be a new favorite for breakfast at our house!
Really enjoyed your blog. Thank you for sharing. You’ve found a new fan.
Very delicious! It kept very well in my covered dish and didn’t dry out after a few days. My kids couldn’t get enough. The only substitution I made was pecans instead of walnuts. I will definitely make it again!
This coffee cake is delicious. I make it using a butter pecan cake mix and substitute pecans for the walnuts. Love this!
I tried your recipe for the coffee cake and it’s in the oven I’m sure it will turn out delicious I’ll let you know.im a beginner at this so i hope it turns out great!!!! Like I’ve read about we will see in about 15
Really good flavor, but I’ll leave out the pudding mix next time. I added a teaspoon of baking powder to give it a boost, which worked well.
This coffee cake is delicious! It’s a keeper.
I noticed that there is sour cream listed in the ingredients but not mentioned in the directions. Is it just mixed in with the batter? Or maybe I missed it??
Oops, never mind. I see it. 😊
Do you have to use buttermilk?
You should be able to use whole milk instead. It might not be quite as moist, but it will turn out well.
I followed this to a T and used Duncin Hines Super Moist mix and it came out great! Will definitely be doing this again! Thanks for the recipe!
I am so glad you loved it! Thanks for the 5-star rating!!
I used Duncan Hines Super Moist cake mix and also followed the recipe to a T (I did swirl some of the topping thru the cake). The cake fell during the baking. I think it was the swirling that caused this because I personally thought a stick of butter was too much. Cake was good but looked terrible.
Oh no! I am so sorry this didn’t turn out well for you. It could have been the swirling, I’m not sure what else could have caused it to fall like that. Let us know if it works out for you next time!
Made this cake exactly as directed, but it did not rise. Very dense and wet. I think way too much ingredients for a box cake. I make cakes weekly and this did not work. Texture was like a pudding cake.
That is so strange! It definitely should have raised. What kind of cake mix did you use? I’m trying to figure out what could have happened to make it not rise. I will have to make this soon and see if I can figure out the problem. Thanks for letting us know!
My husband had a heart attack last November and his cardiologist informed us that coconut oil is not in fact better for you it’s worse!!! Worse for you than butter!!! Seems impossible but check out the back of your jar next time you’re in your kitchen! I was shocked and very sad as we love to use coconut oil and everything! Can’t wait to try this recipe. I’ve been looking for one that incorporates sour cream as I plan to try yogurt!
Yes, Dr. Furhman says all oil is bad for you actually. Eat to Live is a great book to get some interesting food health insight.
will it mess up this recipe if I use a already moist boxed cake mix then add buttermilk to it? what should I do different so that this turns out well ?
It should turn out fine if you use a moist cake mix with the buttermilk. Thanks for asking!
Can we put apples in the cake mix. If so, how much? Thanking you in advance.
We haven’t done that before but I don’t see why not! I am sure you can add as many as you would like. It might be a good idea to use dehydrated apples that are chopped small so you don’t alter the texture of the Coffee Cake. Hope this helps!
This coffee cake as a big hit!Everyone loved it, the best remark came from my husband, Wow, tastes like a bakery made this!
Nice! What a great compliment! Thank you to both you and your husband 🙂
OMG I made it exactly as recipe says and It’s a hit!!! Gave some to my son and he took the container to work gave 3 pieces away He said one of the guys on the crew said his parents use to own a bakery yrs ago and this tops it! He asked my son to please have me make him one he will pay lol Soooooo GOOD!
Thank you so much for this amazing comment and compliment! So glad your son was able to share the love 😀 Thank you for coming back to share your experience!
I would imagine if you get a cake mix that already has ‘pudding in the mix’ that you wouldn’t add the extra pudding mix??
This came out, Perfect!
Is was so moist and tasty.. thank you for sharing ♥️
i THINK COCONUT PUDDING MIX WOULD BE GREAT IN THIS CAKE! SORRY CAPS LOCK WAS ON AND DID NOT NOTICE IT! LOL
i THINK COCONUT PUDDING MIX WOULD BE GREAT IN THIS CAKE!
I have made the blueberry cream cheese coffee cake numerous times to take to different events and they are always the big hit. Everyone wants the recipe.
This is the first time I have ever tried the cake mix coffee cake but I’m sure it will be wonderful!
Thank you! Let us know how you like the coffee cake.
I made this and I don’t know if I didn’t bake it long enough or I had bought DuncanHines cake mix and it said on box extra moist and combined with the pudding I added it seemed too moist. The taste was excellent though and it was gone in no time.It just didn’t look like the picture. I was wondering if I just could buy the cake mix with the pudding in it already?
You definitely could if you think it is too moist– we haven’t really had that issue before :S
I just made this for the second time and used Betty Crocker moist yellow cake. The first time I followed the recipe exactly and my cake turned out way too moist, but it did have great flavor. The second time I made the cake, I looked at the Betty Crocker cake box and it said pudding was already in the mix. I left out adding the additional pudding and the cake was delicious!
This is in the oven as I sit and type! I noted where you could add apples or blueberries….I don’t have any apples (but in a couple of months I will be making loads of apple stuff!) – have blueberries but promised DH another blueberry cheesecake with them. But, I had mistakenly bought a larger can of fruit cocktail instead of peaches, so I thought “why not?”! Drained it well and added to the cake. I also doubled the topping as suggested and oh my! What a lot of topping but can you ever have enough crunchy topping??? It is starting to smell amazing – can’t wait for it to come out of the oven and cool so we can taste this masterpiece!! PS – I made this all sugar free as DH is a diabetic – I do this with all my recipes and I am expecting that there will be no difference in taste, as usual.
Wow! I can’t wait to find out how it turned out. Kudos to you for baking sugar free. It takes extra work and some trial and error, but it’s wonderful that you do it and DH gets to eat delicious baked goods and not feel deprived because of diabetes. Thank you for sharing these ideas with us!
***** Turned out great just a little on the dry side, because I was being creative as I tried to use what was on hand! I used the basic Betty Crocker Super Moist Yellow cake mix, added 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, substituted olive oil (for coconut)and pecans (for walnuts) omitted: buttermilk, pudding and sour cream as I had none. Next time I will try Brandy’s suggestion of yogurt for sour cream! Also I needed to Swirl my sugar mixture through the batter a little better because most of it ended up on just the top!