Raspberry Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

by Jillian
A moist and fluffy vanilla cake swirled with brown sugary cinnamon swirls, loaded with juicy raspberries, topped with a buttery streusel topping, and drizzled in a luscious vanilla icing!

A moist and fluffy vanilla cake swirled with brown sugary cinnamon swirls, loaded with juicy raspberries, topped with a buttery streusel topping, and drizzled in a luscious vanilla icing!

As someone who struggles with decision paralysis on a daily basis, it always takes me a while to figure out what kind of treat I’m going to make each week. In the world of sweets, there are so many different flavors and textures to experiment with that it’s difficult for me decide on just one.

So this week, I thought I’d make things easier on myself by combining TWO of my favorite breakfast treats into one…cinnamon rolls AND coffee cake!

This Raspberry Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake allows you to have your cake and eat your cinnamon roll too. With an incredibly moist and fluffy cake swirled with gooey pockets of brown sugar-cinnamon filling, juicy raspberries, and a generous amount of crisp streusel topping AND vanilla icing, this cake definitely takes the…well, cake!

Not only does this cake combine two delicious breakfast classics, but it’s also much easier to make than your standard cinnamon roll. There’s no proofing, no rising, no kneading, and no rolling involved. Everything bakes up in one beautiful baking dish. 

The first component you’ll start on is the streusel topping. Just melt some butter (either in the microwave or on the stove), and toss it with some flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon and chopped pecans. You can also use walnuts or sliced almonds!

The next component is the brown sugar cinnamon swirl. It contains the same exact ingredients as the filling found in cinnamon rolls–butter, brown sugar and cinnamon. Once all three of these ingredients have been combined, it’s time to work on the cake batter.

As with most coffee cake recipes, you’ll start by combining the dry ingredients by whisking the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar together. Then you’ll switch to a wooden spoon, and stir in the sour cream, milk, eggs, and vanilla. The sour cream is what creates that nice supremely moist crumb in this cake! Once the batter is ALMOST combined, stir in the melted butter. Now it’s time to add the raspberries!

Since this batter is pretty thick, I prefer to freeze the raspberries BEFORE folding them into the batter. This will prevent the raspberries from smashing, and it’ll keep them whole. Although you could use store-bought frozen raspberries, I’ve found that they usually contain less whole berries as well as some liquid. The best thing to do is buy fresh raspberries, spread them out onto a rimmed baking sheet, and place them into the freezer until they’re rock hard.

After the raspberries are frozen solid, gently fold them into the cake batter. Although the berries are frozen, try not to stir the batter too much at this point. It doesn’t take long for the berries to begin to defrost, and you’ll start seeing streaks of red throughout the batter if you stir too much.

Now it’s time to assemble everything! Spread half of the batter into a greased baking dish. Then drop spoonfuls of HALF of the brown sugar cinnamon swirl filling evenly over the cake batter. Spread the rest of the cake batter evenly on top, followed by spoonfuls of the remaining swirl filling. Finally, take a skewer or a butterknife and swirl the filling into the batter. 

Oh, and we can’t forget our scrumptious streusel topping! Simply crumble that delectable topping all over the entire surface of the cake. Place it in the oven for 40-50 minutes, and sit back while your whole house is filled with the most heavenly aroma.

Once the cake is baked and out of the oven, I like to let it sit for at least 20 minutes before cutting into it.

While it’s cooling, it’s a great time to make the vanilla icing. All you have to do is whisk some powdered sugar, melted butter, milk and vanilla together until smooth. After the cake has had some time to cool, drizzle away!

Seriously, this beast is basically a coffee cake on steroids. Every single bite is brimming with ooey gooey brown sugary goodness, and the juicy raspberries add the most divine contrasting sweetness to the whole cake.

Without a doubt, this Raspberry Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake would make a heck of a statement at ANY of your upcoming gatherings!

A moist and fluffy vanilla cake swirled with brown sugary cinnamon swirls, loaded with juicy raspberries, topped with a buttery streusel topping, and drizzled in a luscious vanilla icing!

A moist and fluffy vanilla cake swirled with brown sugary cinnamon swirls, loaded with juicy raspberries, topped with a buttery streusel topping, and drizzled in a luscious vanilla icing!

Raspberry Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

A moist and fluffy vanilla cake swirled with brown sugary cinnamon swirls, loaded with juicy raspberries, topped with a buttery streusel topping, and drizzled in a luscious vanilla icing!
Prep Time 1 hour 30 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 10 minutes
Course Breakfast
Cuisine American
Servings 16 Slices

Ingredients
  

Streusel Topping:

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 1 cup chopped pecans
  • 4 teaspoons cinnamon

Brown Sugar Cinnamon Swirl:

  • 12 Tablespoons salted butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 Tablespoon cinnamon

Cake Batter:

  • 2 ⅓ cup all-purpose flour
  • 4 teaspoons baking powder
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 cup sour cream
  • ½ cup milk
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoon vanilla
  • 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
  • 3 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)*

Vanilla Icing:

  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons butter, melted
  • 3-4 Tablespoons milk
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions
 

Make the Streusel Topping:

  • Place the melted butter, flour, brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon in a medium bowl, and stir with a fork until it resembles clumps of sand; set aside.

Make the Brown Sugar Swirl:

  • In a medium bowl combine the butter, brown sugar and cinnamon until smooth and completely combined; set aside.

Make the Cake Batter:

  • Preheat the oven to 350ºF, and spray a 9x13-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
  • In a large bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and sugar together until combined. Add the sour cream, milk, eggs, and vanilla, mixing until batter is almost combined. Pour in the melted butter and continue mixing until smooth. Fold in the raspberries.
  • Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Drop spoonfuls of about half of the swirl mixture over the batter. Pour remaining batter on top, followed by spoonfuls of remaining swirl mixture. Using a skewer or knife, swirl the mixture into the batter.
  • Sprinkle streusel topping evenly on top. Bake in the oven for 40-50 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow cake to cool while you make the icing.

Make the Icing:

  • In a medium bowl, whisk the powdered sugar, melted butter, 3 Tablespoons of milk, and vanilla together until smooth. Add more milk, a teaspoon at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Drizzle icing over the cake.
  • Serve coffee cake immediately or store, covered tightly in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Cake slices can be reheated in the microwave for 15-20 seconds to revive their freshness, if they've been sitting in the refrigerator.

Notes

*If using fresh raspberries, I recommend flash-freezing them first by spreading them out on a baking sheet and chilling them in the freezer until solid. This will prevent them from smashing and breaking when you stir them into the batter.
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