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Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake, the perfect fall Comfort Cake. Full of the taste of Cinnamon and Walnuts. Eat it for Breakfast, Snack or even Dessert. This is a Cake everyone will love.

Walnut cake on a white cake stand.


 

I love the combination of nuts and cinnamon and it really is moist and don’t you just love when a cake rises so high that you need to take two bites from one fork full of cake. Don’t forget the yummy centre filling and streusel topping. I have to say this is the queen of Coffee Cakes!

Recipe Ingredients

For the Topping

  • Sugar
  • Cinnamon
  • Walnuts – roasted and coarsely chopped

For the Cake

  • Flour – cake/pastry flour
  • Baking powder
  • Baking soda
  • Salt – a pinch
  • Butter – softened
  • Sugar – granulated
  • Eggs – room temperature
  • Greek yogurt – room temperature
  • Vanilla

How to roast nuts

Place nuts in a single layer on an ungreased baking / cookie sheet. Bake 5 to 8 minutes in a pre-heated 350F (180C) oven or until they are golden brown, remove immediately from pan to cool. Then coarsely chop.

Coffee cake on a white plate with a slice on a small white plate.

How to make homemade cake flour

For every cup of all purpose flour, remove two tablespoons and replace with two tablespoons of corn starch. Be sure to sift the flour and cornstarch together a couple of times, this way it is sure to be properly combined and lump free. Cake flour in cakes will give you a very tender texture and fine crumb, it will also help the cake to rise.

Why use room temperature ingredients?

With cakes and other baking, it’s always better to use room temperature ingredients. So, take any cold ingredients out of the refrigerator an hour ahead of time or sooner if it’s cool in your kitchen. Room temperature ingredients blend easier, creating a silky batter, which will help to create a light tender baked good.

How to make the Walnut Cake

Pre-heat oven to 350° (180° celsius), grease & flour a 10″ (4 liter) tube/bundt pan.

For the topping

In a small bowl combine the sugar, cinnamon and walnuts.

Topping mixed in a white bowl.

For the cake

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Dry ingredients whisked together.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy 2-3 minutes, add the eggs, one at a time, beating until light and creamy, 2 minutes.

Wet ingredients creamed in a glass bowl.

Add the dry ingredients alternately with the greek yogurt and vanilla to the creamed mixture, beat until smooth.

Batter made in a glass bowl.

Spread half the batter in the prepared tube pan, spoon ⅔ of the topping over batter. Cover with remaining batter and top with remaining topping.

Batter in the pan with the topping on top.

Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. After 45-50 minutes if it is not done but is becoming too brown cover with foil until baked. Cool in the pan, then remove to a plate.

Cake baked on a glass dish.

What are Coffee Cakes?

Coffee Cakes are meant to be served with coffee and are usually flavored with fruit, cinnamon or nuts. And quite often they have a streusel topping. They can be baked in a round, square or even in a bundt pan.

Why does my cake fall?

  • There are a lot a reasons a cake may fall, but the most common ones are, your oven temperature is off, you can always check it with an oven  thermometer to check this.
  • You open the oven door too early. Never open the oven door before 25-30 minutes of baking.
  • Once the batter is mixed it should be baked, letting a cake batter sit too long can cause it to fall. The baking powder or baking soda usually start acting immediately and will only last for a very short period of time, therefore if the cake batter is left to stand before baking then there is always a risk that the baking powder or soda will have expired by the time that the cake goes into the oven.
  • Your baking powder or soda has expired and is no long active.
  • Use room temperature ingredients.
  • The pan size might not be the correct size, sometimes using a bundt pan will help.
Cake with 2 slices cut on white plates.

FAQs

What can I use instead of greek yogurt?

I would probably substitute with regular yogurt or sour cream. Both with a 1-1 substitution.

How to store the cake

As long as the cake is unfrosted it should be kept at room temperature. Keep it in a cake container or well wrapped. It will keep for up to 3 days. If you store it in the fridge, wrap tightly to keep it from drying out. It will keep for up to 5-6 days in the fridge.

How to freeze the cake

Be sure to cool the cake completely then wrap it tightly in either plastic wrap or foil, place it in a freeze safe bag. The cake will keep for  up to 2 months. When ready to thaw place the wrapped cake in the refrigerator to thaw before serving.

Oh how I love cinnamon,  as far as I am concerned nothing beats cinnamon, ok maybe Chocolate. So if you are looking for a tasty cake to make you won’t be disappointed with this Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake. Enjoy!

A slice on a white plate.

More delicious Coffee Cakes

Walnut cake on a white cake stand.

Cinnamon Walnut Coffee Cake

Rosemary Molloy
The delicious combination of walnuts and cinnamon make this the perfect coffee cake.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Course Breakfast, Dessert, Snack
Cuisine American
Servings 18 slices
Calories 285 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

TOPPING

  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts*

*Approximately 1¼ whole walnuts equal ¾ cup coarsely chopped. You might want to roast them before chopping.

    FOR THE CAKE

    • 3 cups cake flour*
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
    • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
    • ¼ teaspoon salt**
    • 3/4 cup butter (softened)**
    • cups sugar
    • 3 large eggs (room temperature)
    • cups greek yogurt (room temperature)
    • teaspoons vanilla

    *To make your own cake flour, for every cup of all purpose remove 2 tablespoons and substitute with corn starch, whisk together to remove any lumps.

      **If you use unsalted butter then add ½ teaspoon of salt.

        Instructions
         

        • Pre-heat oven to 350° (180° celsius), grease & flour a 10" (4 liter) tube/bundt pan.

        FOR THE TOPPING

        • In a small bowl combine the sugar, cinnamon and walnuts.

        FOR THE CAKE

        • In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
        • In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar at medium speed until fluffy 2-3 minutes, add the eggs, one at a time, beating until light and creamy, 2 minutes.
        • Add the dry ingredients alternately with the greek yogurt and vanilla to the creamed mixture, beat until smooth.
        • Spread half the batter in the prepared tube/bundt pan, spoon ⅔ of the topping over batter. Cover with remaining batter and top with remaining topping.
        • Bake for approximately 50-60 minutes or until inserted toothpick comes out clean or a few crumbs attached. After 45-50 minutes if it is not done but is becoming too brown cover with foil and continue to bake. Cool in the pan, then remove to a clean plate. Enjoy!

        Notes

        To roast the nuts, place them in a single layer on an ungreased baking / cookie sheet. Bake 5 to 8 minutes in a pre-heated 350F (180C) oven or until they are golden brown, remove immediately from pan to cool. Then coarsely chop.
        With cakes and other baking, it’s always better to use room temperature ingredients. So, take any cold ingredients out of the refrigerator an hour ahead of time or sooner if it’s cool in your kitchen. Room temperature ingredients blend easier, creating a silky batter, which will help to create a light tender baked good.
        Instead of greek yogurt  you could substitute with regular yogurt or sour cream both with a 1-1 substitution.
        As long as the cake is unfrosted it should be kept at room temperature. Keep it in a cake container or well wrapped. It will keep for up to 3 days. If you store it in the fridge, wrap tightly to keep it from drying out. It will keep for up to 5-6 days in the fridge.
        To freeze the cake, be sure to cool it completely then wrap it tightly in either plastic wrap or foil, place it in a freeze safe bag. The cake will keep for  up to 2 months. When ready to thaw place the wrapped cake in the refrigerator to thaw before serving.

        Nutrition

        Calories: 285kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 12g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.3g | Cholesterol: 52mg | Sodium: 203mg | Potassium: 116mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 285IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 53mg | Iron: 1mg
        Did You Make This Recipe?Please leave a comment below or pin it to your Pinterest account!

        Re published from December 2014.

        133 Comments

        1. 5 stars
          I tried this cake day before yesterday and had to bake it again today as well because my family LOVED it! It’s the perfect coffee cake. Easy to make with very detailed instructions. The only problem is that it’s gone within seconds of it cooling. It’s just THAT good. Five stars, without a doubt!!!

        2. 5 stars
          Thank you for the recipe
          I tried it and it turned out great😍
          But i was wondering if i can substitue white sugar with brown sugar?

          Thanks again😊😊

          1. Hi Areen, thanks so much, I might do half and half, because of the molasses in brown sugar it could change the texture of the cake. Let me know how it goes.

        3. This looks lovely. I was thinking of making the batter and prepping it the night before, putting it in the fridge, then the next morning letting it return to room temp and baking it for breakfast. Is there any reason why this would not be recommended?

          1. Hi Alida, no that wouldn’t work with cake batter. Because of the baking powder and baking soda ingredients a cake needs to be baked as soon as the batter has been mixed. Or it probably won’t rise properly and the taste could be off. You could bake it and cover it for the day after.

        4. 5 stars
          This is such a great recipe to have with your morning coffee. It reminds me a lot of cakes my mom used to make when I was a kid. The combination of cinnamon and walnuts with the lightness of the yoghurt is just great. Will be adding this one to the collection.

          1. Hi Rachel, thanks so much so glad you enjoyed it. And yes I love it in the morning also. Have a great week.

        5. Hi Rosemary
          My yogurt went bad in the fridge, I have everything ready to go except the yogurt, I read other posts about using sour cream instead, I realized I have light sour cream in the fridge, could I use that?
          I also have something in my fridge..lol
          Organic coconut milk kefir, it’s like yogurt, there is no sugar added and it says in the back of the jar..use in place of yogurt, sour cream or whipping cream.
          Any thoughts or should I go and get some yogurt from the store?

          Thanks

          1. Hi L, I would try the organic coconut milk kefir, since it most resembles yogurt and it’s a one for one substitution, no need to go to the store. Let me know how it goes.

        6. Hi,

          Great recipe! My husband and I loved it but I have a question. The middle layer of cinnamon, sugar, and walnuts sank to bottom while baking. Do you know why this would happen?

          Thanks, Annie

        7. 5 stars
          Rosemary
          Is Greek yogurt and plain yogurt interchangeable in this recior? I realize Greek yogurt is much thicker. Can the same amount be used if using regular yogurt instead ? Thank you!

          1. Hi Stephanie I think you could substitute regular for greek, what you should do is strain it first to remove the extra liquid. Overnight works best so 8-10 hours. Although you may try (I haven’t made it this way though) is add 1 – 1 1/4 cups of regular yogurt instead of greek. Start with 1 cup and add the extra if you need to, check the video, because the batter is very thick. Hope this helps.

        8. 5 stars
          I made this by the weight and it was excellent. My only changes where 2 reduce vanilla to one teaspoon and I added 1/4 teaspoon of black walnut extract. I didn’t have any Greek yogurt so I used half the weight in sour cream and the rest in plain kefir milk. Mine also cooked in 50 minutes So I was glad that you had suggested we check at this point. Thanks for this.

          1. Hi Kitty, thanks so much and so glad you enjoyed it. The black walnut extract sounds amazing. Have a great weekend.

        9. 5 stars
          I just baked your wonderful coffee cake and it’s coolimg now but I noticed you didn’t say how long to let it cool in the pan and when to invert it onto a platter Help please

          1. Hi Debby to tell the truth, I always let a cake cool completely before removing it from the pan. As long as you greased and floured the pan it will come out fine. Just run your knife along the edge to loosen it. Hope this helps.

        10. Hello, could i use vegetable oil instead of butter for the batter and if so what would the measurements be please

          1. Hi Sarah, yes you can use vegetable oil instead of butter. Use 2/3 cup vegetable oil for the 3/4 cup butter. Hope that helps.

          1. 5 stars
            I decided to look up a cake recipe according to the ingredients I have (walnuts, cinnamon) and this was the first to pop up and oh I’m glad it did !!! It’s so easy to follow and it was absolutely Delicious, everyone loved it was gone before it cooled down ! Will be my go to revoke for a fall/ winter or maybe all year long cake!

            1. Hi Serin, thanks so much, so glad you and everyone enjoyed. I actually make this cake year round. Have a great week.

        11. 5 stars
          Rosemary, I’m another Rosemary and let me compliment you on this beautiful cake. It took 50 minutes in a fan-forced oven at 170 C, for anybody who is interested. We ate it with double cream. Well done, literally. Thanks, Rose.

          1. Hi Rosemary, thanks so much and thanks for letting me know the baking time. And so glad you all enjoyed it. Have a great weekend.

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