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Square side shot of hands slicing an easy cinnamon coffee cake with cake mix.
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5 from 11 votes

Easy Cinnamon Coffee Cake with Cake Mix

An easy make-ahead breakfast treat that starts with a box of cake mix!
Course Breakfast, Brunch, Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword cinnamon coffee cake, cinnamon coffee cake with cake mix, cinnamon streusel coffee cake, cinnamon swirl coffee cake
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 50 minutes
Cooling Time 2 hours
Total Time 3 hours 10 minutes
Servings 16 slices
Calories 407kcal
Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

FOR THE STREUSEL:

  • 1 cup finely chopped pecans
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup light brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small cubes and chilled (I use salted butter, but unsalted butter is fine too)

FOR THE CAKE:

FOR THE GLAZE:

Instructions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a Bundt pan; set aside.

PREPARE THE STREUSEL:

  • In a medium bowl, combine the chopped pecans, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Add chilled butter and mix together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. It should have the texture of wet sand, and you shouldn’t see any dry pockets of flour. Set aside while you prepare the cake batter.
    Making streusel in a white bowl

PREPARE THE CAKE:

  • Combine cake mix, dry pudding mix, oil, water and eggs in a large bowl. Use an electric mixer to beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 2 more minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl if necessary.
    Mixing cake batter in a white bowl
  • Sprinkle half of the streusel mixture in the prepared pan (this will be the top of your cake when it’s later inverted after baking). Top with half of the batter. Add remaining streusel, and then remaining batter.
    Pouring batter into a bundt pan

BAKE THE CAKE:

  • Bake for 50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; invert cake onto wire rack, and let cool completely before glazing (about 2 hours).

GLAZE THE CAKE:

  • Once the cake is cool, prepare the glaze. In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla extract until smooth. Drizzle glaze over top of the cake.
    Glazing a coffee cake

Video

Notes

  • Chop the nuts very fine so that they blend into the streusel easily. You don't want them ground into a powder, but small bits are ideal. I like to buy chopped pecans and then pulse them a couple of times in a mini food processor to create slightly smaller pieces, or purchase a package of "chipped pecans."
  • A light-colored or gold Bundt pan is always best to ensure even baking and color. Dark metal pans tend to cause the exterior of the cake to burn before the center is cooked through.
  • Grease the Bundt pan really well by coating with butter and then dusting with flour. Alternatively, you can use a cooking spray that's specifically made for baking (like this one). These options will ensure that your cake pops right out of the pan when it's done!
  • Don't leave the cake in the pan for too long after baking -- about 10-15 minutes is plenty. After that, condensation will start to form and the moisture will negatively impact the crust.
  • The cake gets better as it sits, so this is a nice option to prepare the day before you plan to serve it.

Nutrition

Serving: 1/16 of the cake | Calories: 407kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 19g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 6g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 56mg | Sodium: 380mg | Potassium: 90mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 38g | Vitamin A: 243IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 88mg | Iron: 1mg