February 10, 2025

Laskitchen

Food Errific

Ridiculously Easy Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake

Ridiculously Easy Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake

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This ridiculously easy Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake takes less than 15 minutes to throw together but tastes like a fabulously delicious labor of love. 

No one will believe that this Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake is ridiculously easy and no one has to know. On the other hand, everyone will know that the amazing aroma, as it bakes is enough to entice family and guests to the breakfast/brunch table without you having to say a word. They’ll also know to enjoy every little crumb because there won’t be any leftovers.

Everyone needs a super easy breakfast treat recipe in their back pocket to celebrate a special occasion or to make an ordinary day special. This Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake is about to become your best friend! It comes together in faster than it takes to preheat the oven and can be prepped the night before.

This recipe is an adaptation of our Ridiculously Easy Biscuit Focaccia (pictured below) .

If you haven’t tried that recipe yet, you’re missing out on a delicious bread recipe that’s fabulous for breakfast, lunch or dinner. We love it served warm with butter and jam, as a side to soups and salads, as a sandwich bread (sliced horizontally) and it’s a wonderful treat to tuck in the bread basket for dinner.

How to make this Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake

Back to the Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake – here are the simple steps:

  • Preheat the oven. Spray a round cake pan with non-stick cooking spray then line it with a round of parchment paper
  • Melt a stick of butter in the oven in the prepared pan.
  • Combine flour, sugar, raisins, baking powder, soda, and salt in a bowl.
  • Add buttermilk to the dry ingredients and stir till combined.
  • Make a cinnamon swirl with sugar, cinnamon, butter and a splash of water and add it to the dough in the bowl.
  • Transfer the dough to the pan with the melted butter and bake.
  • Wait for the fabulous aromas to waft through the kitchen.
  • Drizzle the coffee cake with a simple powdered sugar icing.
  • Serve and bask in the rave reviews!

See what I mean? Easy! Ridiculously easy!

Ridiculously Easy

If you’re new to The Café you might not be familiar with our Ridiculously Easy category of recipes. There are tons more in addition to this Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake. You can read more about these recipes in this post and check out the entire collection here but, in a nutshell, these are the recipes that make you look like a kitchen rock star with minimal effort on your part.

The crowning glory

Although this Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake would be delicious on its own, there’s a three-ingredient drizzle that takes things over the top, literally!

Make the drizzle while the Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake bakes and you’ll be all set to have fun when it emerges all gloriously golden from the oven. I like to drizzle in a back-and-forth motion but you can also do a random swirl.

Next time you or a family member or friend or wanna-be-friend (this will seal the deal) is in the mood for something sweet and delicious, whip up one of these Ridiculously Easy Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cakes. Then make a pot of coffee or pour tall glasses of cold milk. Once you try it, I’m quite certain this delightful, super easy breakfast/brunch treat will go on your frequent flier list. ENJOY!

Café Tips for making this Ridiculously Easy Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake

  • This recipe works best in a round 9-inch cake pan with sides that are at least 2 inches tall. Most cake pans made these days have 2-inch sides. If your pan is older though and is lower than 2 inches, I would suggest placing your pan on a sheet pan to prevent a mess in the oven if any butter bubbles over the edge.
  • I love these OXO Good Grips Pans. I’ve had mine for years and they look like new, despite FREQUENT use. (I also put mine in the dishwasher.)
  • To make things even easier, you can prep this coffee cake the night before. Simply combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and cover it with plastic wrap. Measure out the buttermilk, cover and refrigerate. Then stir together the cinnamon swirl and cover. In the morning, simply preheat the oven, melt the butter as directed in the pan, combine the buttermilk with the dry ingredients then add the cinnamon swirl and proceed with the directions as written. (If the cinnamon swirl has gotten stiff, you can rewarm it for 10 seconds in the microwave.)
  • This Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake calls for buttermilk. I like to use whole milk buttermilk but the low-fat variety will also work for this recipe.
  • No buttermilk? No problem! Just put 2 tablespoons white vinegar in a 2-cup measuring container. Fill it with milk to the 1¾ make, give it a stir and wait 5 minutes. Then use as directed in the recipe.
  • Don’t skip the pan prep instructions. It might seem like overkill to spray the pan, line it with parchment and then melt butter in the same pan but the crisp bottom crust of this bread is “to die for” and you don’t want it sticking to the pan. I learned that the hard way.
  • To make things easy, I like to use these pre-cut circles of parchment paper. They come in a flat package so they’re easy to store and they last a long time!
  • Every oven is a little different so the baking time for this Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake may vary a bit. Bake it until the top is a pretty golden brown then cover it with a piece of foil and bake another 2 minutes.
  • Be sure to flip the bread out of the pan immediately to keep that bottom crust crisp. If you let it sit in the pan, it will get soggy. I use two dinner plates for this. I place the first plate on top of the pan. Then, using two pot holders, I flip the pan over and the bread will release onto the plate. Then I place the second plate onto of the bread and flip one more time. Lastly, I slide the Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake onto a cooling rack.
  • This Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake is best on the day that it’s made. To serve it a day later, warm each piece for 8-10 seonds in the microwave.
  • This coffee cake freezes well. I like to freeze it without the icing then thaw, wrap it in foil and warm briefly (10 minutes) in the oven at 300˚F (150˚C). Drizzle with the icing and serve.

Thought for the  day:

I am the Alpha and the Omega,”
says the Lord God,
“Who is and Who was and Who is to come,
the Almighty.”
Revelation 1:8

What we’re listening to for inspiration:

1,000 Names

If you enjoy this recipe, please come back and leave a star rating and review! It’s so helpful to other readers to hear your results, adaptations, and ideas for variations.

Ridiculously Easy Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake

This ridiculously easy Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake takes less than 15 minutes to throw together but tastes like a fabulously delicious labor of love.

Author: Chris Scheuer

Prep Time:
15 mins

Cook Time:
22 mins

Total Time:
37 mins

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 301 kcal

Ingredients

For the cinnamon swirl:

  • 1
    tablespoon
    butter
  • ¼
    cup
    granulated sugar
  • 2
    teaspoons
    ground cinnamon
  • 2
    teaspoons
    hot tap water

For the coffee cake

  • 4
    ounces
    butter
    1 stick
  • 2 ½
    cups
    all-purpose flour
  • ¾
    cup
    raisins

  • cup
    granulated sugar
  • 4
    teaspoons
    baking powder
  • 1
    teaspoon
    kosher salt
  • ¼
    teaspoon
    baking soda
  • 1 ¾
    cups
    buttermilk

For the glaze:

  • 1
    cup
    powdered sugar
  • 2
    tablespoons
    half-and-half or milk
  • ½
    teaspoon
    vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste

Instructions

For the prep:

  1. Preheat the oven to 425˚F (218˚C).

  2. Spray a 9-inch round cake pan (with at least 2-inch tall sides) with non-stick baking spray. Line the pan with a round of parchment paper.

  3. While the oven is preheating, make the cinnamon swirl and the coffee cake batter.

For the cinnamon swirl:

  1. In a small microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter on high power, for about 15-20 seconds. Add sugar, cinnamon and water and stir to combine. Set aside.

For the coffee cake :

  1. Place the butter in the prepared pan. Set aside.

  2. Combine the flour, raisins, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium-sized bowl. Stir well to combine then make a well in the center.

  3. When the oven is preheated, place the prepared pan with the butter into the oven and set a timer for 3 minutes.

  4. While the butter is melting in the oven, add the buttermilk to the well in the center of the flour mixture. Stir just until all of the flour is incorporated, making sure there isn’t any flour remaining at the bottom of the bowl.

  5. Drop the cinnamon swirl mixture over the top of the dough in the bowl. Stir the dough from the bottom of the bowl up a few times to distribute the cinnamon swirl through the dough. Don’t stir too much, you don’t want ti completely mixed in just swirled a bit through the dough.

  6. Check the butter, if it’s not completely melted, give it another 30-45 seconds then remove the pan from the oven. Remove approximately two tablespoons of the melted butter to a small bowl and set aside.

  7. Transfer the cinnamon raisin dough to the center of the prepared pan with the butter. Using clean buttered fingers (I just dip my fingers in the reserved butter), press the dough out to the edges of the pan in an even layer, creating small dimples in the dough. It’s fine if some of the butter creeps up over the top of the dough. Drizzle the reserved butter over the top of the dough.

  8. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until the top of the coffee cake is a medium golden brown. Cover the pan with a piece of foil and bake for another 2 minutes. (Baking times may vary from oven to oven so check your bread towards the end and look for that pretty medium golden brown color before covering it with the foil and baking an additional 2 minutes.)

  9. Remove the coffee cake from the oven and immediately flip it out of the pan onto a cooling rack. I use two dinner plates for this. I place the first plate on top of the pan. Then, using two pot holders, I flip the pan over, releasing the bread onto the plate. Then I place the second plate onto the coffee cake and flip one more time. Lastly, I slide the round onto a cooling rack. You could also flip the coffee cake right onto a cooling rack the use a large spatula to flip it right side up. Either way works!

  10. Let it cool for 5 minutes then drizzle with the icing. Serve and enjoy!

For the drizzle:

  1. While the coffee cake is baking, make the drizzle by combining the powdered sugar, and half-and-half (or milk) in a medium size bowl. Stir well until smooth. It will be fairly thick.

Calories 301kcal

Fat 10g

Saturated fat 6g

Trans fat 0.4g

Polyunsaturated fat 0.5g

Monounsaturated fat 3g

Cholesterol 27mg

Sodium 330mg

Potassium 245mg

Carbohydrates 50g

Fiber 2g

Sugar 21g

Protein 4g

Vitamin A 304%

Vitamin C 1%

Calcium 78%

Iron 2%

Ridiculously Easy Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake

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