Light and fluffy coffee cake, made small batch in a loaf pan!
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small batch coffee cake
If you love coffee cake but don’t have an excuse to make a big batch, this recipe is perfect for you! This coffee cake is made in a loaf pan and makes 8 small squares of delicious, light and fluffy cake. It also comes together in just 1 hour! So ultimately, if you’re a fan of fluffy vanilla cake and cinnamon streusel, then you’ll love this small batch coffee cake.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before starting the recipe.
Mix the cake batter carefully:
It is super important to not overmix the cake batter or you end up with a tough and chewy cake rather than a light and moist cake. When alternating between adding the wet and dry ingredients, be sure to only mix just until the ingredient is fully combined and no more.
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for small batch coffee cake:
coffee cake:
- All purpose flour: gives the cake structure.
- Baking powder: for helping the cake rise.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the batter.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the cake. You can substitute in salted butter, just be sure to omit the extra salt in the batter.
- Granulated sugar: for adding sweetness and for locking in moisture.
- Egg: for binding the batter together and adding moisture.
- Vanilla: for flavor. I use and love this vanilla extract!
- Whole milk & sour cream: for moisture and for tenderizing the cake. I recommend whole milk & full-fat sour cream for the best results! You could also substitute greek yogurt or kefir for the sour cream.
cinnamon streusel:
- Unsalted butter: the base of the streusel, really what makes it buttery and delicious. You can use salted butter here as well!
- Light brown sugar: sweetens and adds flavor to the streusel. In a pinch granulated sugar will work here as well, just note that the streusel will be lighter in color.
- All purpose flour: adds structure to the streusel.
- Cinnamon: for flavor!
(Optional) glaze:
- Powdered sugar: the base of the glaze.
- Milk: use your favorite milk here.
how to make small batch coffee cake
Here are a few images of the process of making this mini crumb cake. You can find the full recipe at the end of this blog post!
- Combine all the streusel ingredients together.
- Beat together the butter and sugar, followed by the egg and vanilla.
- Alternate folding in the dry ingredients with the sour cream & milk.
- Layer the batter and streusel in your loaf pan. Bake, serve, and enjoy!
small batch coffee cake recipe q&a
is there coffee in coffee cake?
Nope! I know the name is a bit contradictory, but coffee cake is referred to as coffee cake because it’s meant to be enjoyed WITH coffee!
can I double this recipe?
Of course! I even more strongly recommend measuring by weight if you are going to double the recipe for the best results. Once you’ve doubled the batter, simply divide it up into two loaf pans to bake – or pour it into an 8″ square or 8″ circle pan.
what size loaf pan do I need?
I used an 8×4″ loaf pan for this cake. If all you have on hand is a 9×5″ pan then you can definitely use it – just note that the cake will be a tad bit shorter and will probably bake a bit faster. Also please note that I always use and recommend metal baking pans, and if you choose to use ceramic or glass, the baking time will likely be much longer.
How to store this cake
Keep the cake stored in an airtight container at room temperature. It will taste the best on the day it’s baked, but will keep well for up to 3 days.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
Small Batch Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cinnamon Streusel
- 62 g unsalted butter (4 ½ tbsp.)
- 100 g light brown sugar (½ c.)
- 120 g all purpose flour (1 c.)
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
Coffee Cake
- 120 g all purpose flour (1 c.)
- 1 ¼ tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- 75 g unsalted butter (5 ⅓ tbsp.) room temperature
- 100 g granulated sugar (½ c.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 60 g sour cream (¼ c.) room temperature
- 42 g whole milk (3 tbsp.)
(Optional) Glaze
- 40 g powdered sugar (⅓ c.)
- 1 tbsp. milk
Instructions
- Butter an 8×4" loaf pan, then line it with parchment paper to form a sort of hammock, where there are two sides with parchment paper sticking up. This will make it easy to pull the loaf out of the pan when it's done baking.
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C.
Cinnamon Streusel
- In a medium sized bowl, melt the butter. Add in the flour, sugar, and cinnamon. Use a fork to mix the ingredients together until you have formed little clumps of dough. Set aside.
Coffee Cake
- In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- In a medium sized mixing bowl, with a hand mixer (or stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment) beat together the softened butter and sugar for 3-4 minutes, until the mixture is light and fluffy.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then beat in the egg and vanilla until well combined.
- Pour half of the flour mixture into the bowl, then use a rubber spatula to gently fold the ingredients together just until no flour streaks remain. Add in all of the sour cream and milk, fold, then gently fold in the rest of the dry ingredients.
- Add half of the cake batter to the prepared loaf pan, and top it with ~1/3 of the streusel. Top the streusel with the remaining batter, then top that with the remaining streusel.
- Bake for 35-45 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the coffee cake comes out with just a few moist crumbs.
Glaze
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. If you'd like a thicker glaze, add more powdered sugar. If you'd like a thinner glaze, add more milk.
- Once the cake has cooled to room temperature, top it off with the glaze, serve, and enjoy!