This Cherry Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping comes together quickly and is the perfect cake to serve to company or enjoy with your morning cup of coffee! It is loaded with fresh chopped cherries and topped with a cinnamon streusel crumble.
Have I ever got a real treat to share with you guys today! I had a bunch of fresh cherries left over the other week and didn’t know what to do with them, I mean there are only so many handfuls of cherries I can eat.
So I decided why not up my cake game? That’s how I came up with this scrumptious Cherry Coffee Cake and it is a GAME CHANGER!
Cherries and Cake? Yes Please!
The thing I love most about this cake is that is comes together in an hour, start to finish, which means it is great for last minute company too! The cake itself is not too sweet and it has hints of cinnamon to compliment the Cherry Crumb top.
I love how the fresh cherries on the top mix perfectly with the sweet crumb, making it a wonderful addition to your cup of morning coffee (or tea in my case). If you don’t have fresh cherries you can still make it using frozen, see below for tips to make sure it doesn’t turn out runny.
Be sure to PIN THIS COFFEE CAKE RECIPE so you have it for later!
FAQs for Coffee Cake
Here are some commonly asked questions people have when making a coffee cake at home. If you have a question that isn’t here you can comment below or email us and we will respond as soon as we can!
Storing your cake is important to keep it fresh. I recommend that once it has cooled completely you transfer it to a container with a tight seal, or you can cover it tightly with plastic wrap. We leave our coffee cake on the counter for up to 5 days – you can also choose to freeze it if you won’t be eating it all at once!
While there are a few different ways to make your crumb topping we prefer our method as it is EASY and doesn’t require cutting the butter into the dry ingredients. All you have to do is melt the required amount of butter and mix with the other topping ingredients using a fork until it forms a wet crumble. This also makes sure your topping doesn’t burn when baking (like so many streusels do)!
Yes! Freezing your coffee cake is a great idea if you want to make it in advance, or know you won’t eat it all before it starts to lose its freshness. Once your cake has cooled completely you will want to wrap it tightly in plastic wrap, and then wrap it again with foil. This will ensure it holds its moisture and freshness while it’s in the freezer. When you’re ready to enjoy it you can remove it from the freezer and put it at room temperature a couple of hours prior, or remove and microwave on low until desired temperature.
Using Frozen Cherries? Read this!
If you don’t have fresh cherries on hand don’t stress!! You can easily use frozen cherries instead, just allow them to thaw and then toss with 1 tbsp flour to soak up any excess liquid that may cause the topping of your Cherry Coffee Cake to become runny.
More like this:
- Caramel Apple Coffee Cake
- Double Chocolate Cherry Muffin
- Glazed Lemon Bundt Cake
- Moist Applesauce Cake
Cherry Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping
A simple and delicious coffee cake recipe using fresh cherries that's finished with a cinnamon crumb topping.
Ingredients
Cake
- 1/2 c Butter, melted
- 2 Eggs
- 3 c Flour, All Purpose
- 1 c Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 cup Cherries, pitted and halved
- 2 tsp Vanilla
- 4 tsp Baking Powder
- 1.5 c Milk
- pinch of salt
Cinnamon Swirl
- 1/2 c Butter, melted
- 1/2 c Brown Sugar
- 1 tbsp Flour
- 1.5 tbsp Cinnamon
Topping
- 1.5 c Fresh Cherries, pitted and halved (see below for frozen)
- 1 c Flour, AP
- 3/4 c Granulated Sugar
- 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
- 6 tbsp Butter, melted
Instructions
Cake
- Preheat oven to 350 F, grease one 9x13 pan or 3 small loaf pans (approx. 9x5).
- Combine all cake ingredients (except cherries) in a stand mixer and beat on medium low speed until well mixed. Stir in your 1/2 cup cherries until combined.
- Pour into your prepared pan(s), be sure to divide evenly if using multiple.
Cinnamon Swirl
- Mix all ingredients in your stand mixer (or hand mixer) until well combined, the butter and brown sugar will melt together.
- Spread evenly on top of cake batter and swirl with a knife to gently push throughout cake (see photos)
Topping
- Top cake with your cherries after you have swirled the cinnamon butter mixture.
- In a small bowl combine all topping ingredients, mix with a fork until butter coats the flour and begins to form small pea size crumbles.
- Sprinkle over the top of your cake and gently press into cherries.
- Bake cake for 30-40 minutes (this will vary based off of your pans and oven so PLEASE set a timer and check for toothpick to come out clean after 30 mins)
Notes
Other than your melted butter you want to try and ensure your ingredients are at room temperature, this will prevent your cake from being heavy.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
24Serving Size:
1 sliceAmount Per Serving: Calories: 265Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 45mgSodium: 196mgCarbohydrates: 38gFiber: 1gSugar: 20gProtein: 3g
*Please note that nutritional values are not always 100% accurate and are to be used as a guide.
Variations
The cake can also be prepared as one larger one (9″x 13″ pan) or how I did it this time, which was 3 smaller loaf pans, just pay attention to your cooking times! Doing it as the 3 smaller ones allowed me to gift one to my mom and one to my amazing neighbor too…who wouldn’t want their own Cherry Coffee Cake with Crumb Topping to indulge in without having to share?!
Aimee
Saturday 14th of June 2025
Easy to make, used a 13 x 19 glass dish, have Kitchen aid professional series oven and it took 45-50min.
Oliv Blogger
Tuesday 17th of June 2025
Thanks so much for sharing Aimee - it is such a yummy and easy to make treat, I am so happy you enjoyed it!
rose333
Sunday 16th of July 2023
What size springform pan can I use instead of a 9 x 13 pan?
Oliv Blogger
Monday 17th of July 2023
I would probably do it in a 9" one, just be sure to watch your baking time.
Gwenn
Sunday 25th of June 2023
So delicious! I used dark chocolate almond milk instead of dairy milk and it turned out perfectly
Oliv Blogger
Tuesday 27th of June 2023
I'm so happy you enjoyed it, it's always good to know that milk alternatives worked as well. Thanks for sharing!
Mar
Tuesday 20th of September 2022
Can you use cherry pie filling
Oliv Blogger
Friday 23rd of September 2022
I've never used it for this before- the only thing I would be concerned with is the liquid it would add to the recipe. It would likely require a longer cook time. Let me know if you try it!
Chocolate Cherry Muffin - THE OLIVE BLOGGER - Recipes your family will love!
Wednesday 24th of July 2019
[…] I am obsessed with using them any way I can and then sharing tasty recipes like this one and my Cherry Coffee Cake with ya’ll … you’re […]