This Bisquick Coffee Cake is moist, tender, and incredibly easy to make.
Topped with a crunchy cinnamon crumble, you’ll wonder if it’s straight from the bakery!
Its heavenly aroma is the perfect scent to wake up to on a cold Saturday morning. And, thanks to Bisquick, you need not be an expert in the kitchen.
With a few basic pantry ingredients, you can whip up this timeless coffee cake in no time.
Pair it with a cup of coffee and you’ve got the perfect breakfast!
Bisquick Coffee Cake
For those who have never had this cake before, you might be surprised to learn that it does not contain coffee. At all.
So, why is it called “coffee cake” then?
Simple! Because most people enjoy it for breakfast, pairing it with their morning cup of coffee.
Of course, a nice hot cup of cocoa or a warm mug of tea also tastes great with this cake!
How to Make Bisquick Coffee Cake
Making this yummy cake couldn’t be simpler. It’s an easy way to start your day off right.
1. Preheat and prepare. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then, grease a 9-inch baking pan with butter.
2. Make the batter. Combine the Bisquick, sugar, cinnamon, milk, and egg in a large bowl. Mix well.
Pour the mixture into the greased pie pan.
3. Make the topping. Mix the Bisquick, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter in a second bowl. Combine with a fork or a blender.
It’s ready once it becomes crumbly. Spread the crumbly topping over the cake batter in the pan.
4. Bake. Bake for 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Then, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool for a few minutes.
Slice, serve with warm tea or coffee, and enjoy!
Tips & Tricks for Making the Best Coffee Cake
- Don’t skimp on the butter. Butter is very important in this recipe. It makes the topping extra crumbly and rich. Be sure to use high-quality butter, such as Kerrygold, to yield a better-tasting cake with bolder flavors.
- Pair it with fruit. Coffee cake is wonderful on its own, but it tastes even better with fruit. Serve it with your favorite fresh fruit and a dollop of whipped cream with cinnamon.
- Mix berries in the batter. Add one cup of blueberries to the batter, and voila! You’ve got yourself a beautiful blueberry coffee cake.
- Make it nutty. Add some chopped pecans to the coffee crumble topping to give it even more crunch.
- Experiment with add-ins. Try toasted almonds, chocolate chips, or toasted coconut in the batter. Or try your own favorite add-ins!
- Serve warm. While you can serve coffee cake straight from the fridge, it tastes best warm. Microwave it for 10 to 15 seconds to give it that fresh-from-the-oven feel.
- Ensure you measure ingredients accurately. When measuring Bisquick (or any dry ingredient, for that matter), spoon it into the measuring cup rather than dipping and packing. The latter will cause you to use too much Bisquick, which will then yield a dry cake.
- Make it a bit more decadent. One of the things that make this cake incredibly irresistible is its topping. Double the topping for double the goodness!
- Use an offset spatula to spread the batter in the pan. Using a rubber spatula will be way too messy.
- Add frosting. This cake is already sweet, but frosting will make it even sweeter. A combination of whipped cream and Nutella is perfect for this!
- Add vanilla. Give the cake more flavor by adding 2 tablespoons of vanilla to the batter.
- Add a little salt. Sprinkle a pinch of salt over the batter before baking to help balance out the sweetness of the cake.
- Don’t overbake. Coffee cake is dense, so you want to make sure it’s not dry. To ensure you don’t overbake the batter, check it 5 minutes before the end of the suggested cooking time.
- Let the cake cool to room temperature before slicing. Use a serrated knife to cut the cake to make smooth neat slices.
Storing & Freezing
Store leftover coffee cake in an airtight container. It should remain fresh for 2 days at room temperature. You can also refrigerate it for up to a week.
If you want to extend the cake’s life to up to 3 months, follow these instructions to freeze it:
- Slice the cake into individual slices for easier thawing later.
- Wrap each slice tightly with plastic wrap.
- Place the individually wrapped pieces in a freezer-safe bag.
- Press out as much air as possible from the bag.
- Seal, date, and label the bag.
You can freeze the slices for up to 3 months.
To reheat chilled cake, nuke it in the microwave on high, using 10-second intervals. Let frozen coffee cake thaw in the fridge overnight. Then, reheat it the same way.
These are super yummy!!
Such a creative way to use Bisquick. Looks delicious!
Bisquik stopped printing this on the box years ago. Thanks for posting it online. It was a favorite thing of mine to make when I was ultra poor and couldn’t spend money for ‘premade’ at the grocery store. Still just as good.
My ONLY coffee cake recipe!
This recipe is SO moist & delicious! For me, I divided the topping and put half in the middle and remaining on top and still seemed like too much… just a personal preference. I also added the vanilla as suggested. This coffee cake is as good as any I’ve tried. Will definitely keep in my recipe rotation. Thanks! 🙂
How much vanilla?
2 tablespoons! 🙂
I have been looking for this recipe. It’s not on the box anymore. I just love it and so quick to fix; thank you.
I’ve tried many coffee cake recipes; this is the best. The grandkids love it, but they ask me to double the crumb recipe!
Gene
I love this recipe!! with cake mixes so expensive now, this is perfect!
I remember this also, it was simple to make and quick and had that homeade taste. Lost track of it when they took it off the box. Finally run across it today.
Hi Arlene, it’s a classic that stands the test of time! I’m so happy you like it.
My dad used to make this recipe many moons ago, and it was one of my favorites. Made it today and man did it bring back memories! I did the vanilla option and it was delicious!
When I made this cake, I used rhubarb and apples in it. Delicious!
Did you really mean to say to use a 9″ pie pan, or did you mean a 9×9 square pan? The picture shows square pieces which don’t look like they came out of round pan. Obviously, we can use any pan we like, but the recipe is presumably sized for a specific size of pan.
Hi Dr. Work, yes, you use a 9″ pie pan for this recipe. This coffee cake is round instead of square.
I cant seem to get topping to crumble, it gets to mixed? Any suggestions?
Hi Deborah, my guess is the temperature of the butter is affecting it. For a crumbly topping, the butter should be cold. Room temperature or melted butter can cause the mixture to become more paste-like than crumbly. The cold butter, when mixed with the dry ingredients, should form small, pea-sized clumps that create a crumbly texture when baked.
My younger brother used to make this when we were teenagers. He nicknamed it Moon Cake due to the small craters and rough texture of the topping. Very delicious!
Hi Raul, that’s such a funny yet totally fitting nickname for it! It’s one of my favorites.
is the cake batter mix suppose to be really thick?
Hi Dawn! Yes, this batter is quite thick. It’s kind of like banana bread batter, so you’ll need to spread it in the pan with a spatula to make it even.
Oh, thank you Kim. I grew up with this. Smelled it from my bed back in the 50’s. Momma always made it Sunday morning. Had grape juice with it. As there were 10 kids and 2 adults, it didn’t always stretch too far.
Hi Josephine! What a fun memory 🙂
Wow 10 kids – you’d need double the recipe (at least!)
I see 400 F at the top, and 350 F lower down, which is best?
Hi Craig!
Sorry about that – you’ll want to bake this at 350°F 🙂
I’ve clarified that in the recipe!