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Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake. Vanilla yogurt coffee cake swirled with sweet cinnamon and espresso CRUNCH. This middle layer of CRUNCH throughout the cake creates a perfectly gooey center. Then simply top the cake with the remaining CRUNCH and bake! This is such a delicious, perfectly moist, and light cake. It’s especially delicious when eaten warm! Each soft, sweet slice has a little cinnamon espresso crunch with every bite. It’s easier to make than you’d think! Everyone loves this special yogurt coffee cake!

Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake | halfbakedharvest.com

This might feel like a slightly indulgent recipe for January. But as I’ve been saying, just because the holidays are over doesn’t mean we should ignore winter baking.

These bitter-cold, short winter days are some of the best of the year to cozy up in the kitchen and bake your favorite banana bread or chocolate-filled cookies! Life, especially in January, is a balance. You have to treat yourself too!

And when it snows here, which has been a lot this month, all I crave is a baking day.

I made this loaf cake during those laid-back days between Christmas and New Year’s. I was feeling a little sad that Christmas was over, but the snow was still falling, and I was left with the baking bug.

Something so comforting to me in the winter is the smell of cinnamon baking away in the oven. I just love it so much. So, I decided to start jotting down different ideas with cinnamon. When I read my list over, this cinnamon-heavy cake was just what I wanted to bake.

I decided to make a lighter variation with the thought of the new year and reducing the sugar. I made this cake a little more wholesome, using honey, plain Greek yogurt, and whole wheat flour.

This cake is just a little more special, thanks to the thick cinnamon and espresso crunch swirl. Yes, there’s a pinch of espresso powder in there, too…it actually is a coffee, coffee cake!

Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake | halfbakedharvest.com

Here are the details

Ingredients – for the yogurt coffee cake

  • salted butter
  • honey – or you can use granulated sugar, but I like honey
  • plain Greek yogurt
  • vanilla extract
  • eggs
  • whole wheat flour – you could also use all-purpose flour
  • almond flour – again, you can use all-purpose flour
  • baking powder

Ingredients – for the cinnamon CRUNCH

  • dark brown sugar
  • cinnamon
  • espresso powder
  • salted butter

Special Tools

You need a 9×5-inch loaf pan. Or you can use a 9-inch bundt pan too. You’ll also need a mixing bowl.

Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake | halfbakedharvest.com

Steps

Step 1: make the cake batter

Cream one stick of room-temperature salted butter with the honey. Then add eggs, vanilla, and plain Greek yogurt. Having your ingredients at room temperature allows for the best and most even mixing of ingredients.

The Greek yogurt is the secret here. The yogurt adds delicious flavor and gives the cake moisture. It’s such a wonderful addition to this sweet cinnamon cake. It provides a nice tangy balance!

Once all the wet ingredients have been mixed, simply beat in the whole wheat flour, almond flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. You can use all-purpose flour instead of whole wheat and almond flour, but I love the flavor that both these flours provide. I find that the almond flour keeps the cake from becoming too heavy.

Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake | halfbakedharvest.com

Step 2: make the cinnamon crunch

The cinnamon crunch topping consists of brown sugar, cinnamon, flour, and butter mixed together until clumps form.

Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake | halfbakedharvest.com

Step 3: create the layers.

Layer half of the batter into a loaf pan. Sprinkle a handful of the cinnamon crunch mixture over the batter. Spoon over the remaining batter, then cover the top of the cake with the remaining cinnamon crunch mixture.

1st layer – coffee cake batter.

2nd layer – cinnamon CRUNCH.

3rd layer – another layer of coffee cake batter.

4th layer – a very thick layer of cinnamon CRUNCH on top.

And then you bake – this coffee cake will take about an hour in the oven.

Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake | halfbakedharvest.com

As the cake bakes, the cinnamon melts into the sugar and butter, becoming nice and gooey. At the same time, the cinnamon topping begins to caramelize, becoming crunchy.

So yummy!

I opted out of a glaze for this coffee cake to keep the sweetness down, but an espresso glaze would be over-the-top delicious if you wanted to try that! Yum!

Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake | halfbakedharvest.com

Looking for other winter baking sweets? Here are a few to try:

Iced Grapefruit Yogurt Cake

Iced Lemon Loaf

5 Minute Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread Mug Cake

Dirty Horchata Tres Leches Cake

Lemon Chai Cake

Earl Grey Blueberry Lemon Cake

Bursting Blueberry Cardamom Buckle

Blueberry Basque Cheesecake

Coconut Banana Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting

Lastly, if you make this Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

@halfbakedharvest

Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake – great for winter baking!

♬ original sound – halfbakedharvest

Cinnamon Crunch Swirled Coffee Cake

Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Servings: 8
Calories Per Serving: 403 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Cinnamon Crunch

Instructions

  • 1. Preheat the oven to 375° F. Butter a 9×5 inch loaf pan.
    2. In a bowl, beat together the butter and honey until combined. Add the yogurt and vanilla, beating until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until combined. Add the flour, almond flour, baking powder, and salt.
    3. To make the crunch. Mix the butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and espresso.
    4. Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with a 1/3 cup of the crunch mix, reserve the remaining crunch mix for topping. Evenly spoon the remaining batter over. Sprinkle over the remaining crunch mixture.
    5. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until the center is just set. Remove and let cool for 30 minutes before cutting…or eat it warm with a smear of cinnamon butter. Enjoy!
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Cinnamon Crunch Yogurt Coffee Cake | halfbakedharvest.com

This post was originally published on January 17, 2025
2.81 from 41 votes

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Comments

  1. 1 star
    Not good! I wouldn’t recommend making. Very burnt on the outside and inside is dense and dry. Something must be a typo in the recipe cause we followed it exactly. Very sad it wasn’t good

  2. 3 stars
    After reading comments, I used a 9×9 pan and baked at 350. I checked it at 30 mins and it was overdone and dry. I made a sugar glaze to add moisture back in. It’s still edible and will either be dipped in a latte or be eaten with ice cream. I want to love the recipe because how can you go wrong with coffee cake, but I think there are better recipe options.

    1. Hi Whitney,
      Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear it was not enjoyed.

      If you want to try again, I would try the loaf pan and bake as directed:)

      Have a great weekend!

  3. 5 stars
    We’ve made this twice this week and it was a hit! After reading some of the reviews, we decided to make it in a 9” square pan to help it bake more evenly. It turned out great! Also, didn’t have espresso powder on hand (which actually sounded really good) so we just omitted it. Will definitely make this again!

  4. Was amazing TY! After reading the comments I baked it at 350 for 55 min. It was perfect. Made an espresso glaze for the top. It was a hit. The fam loved it!

  5. 5 stars
    I’ve made this 3 times and it comes out perfect every time.
    After reading the reviews, I lowered the oven temperature for 350 for 55 minutes and it’s perfect. My husband and toddler love, better than the Starbucks cinnamon crunch.

    1. Thanks so much, Nadia! Love to hear you have been enjoying this recipe and thanks for taking the time to comment!

  6. 1 star
    This turned out so bad. The outer portion was really overdone while the inside needed more time, and the cake was sunken in the middle.

  7. Flavor inside is good, but overcooked at 55 minutes and burnt on the edges. The video shows parchment paper in the pan but the recipe doesn’t mention it. I think perhaps mine might have come out better if I had used the parchment paper.

    1. Hey Brandon,
      Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear it was overcooked. I would reduce the bake time slightly next time!

    1. Hey Cassi,
      Awesome! I appreciate you making this recipe, so glad to hear it was a hit! Thanks for your comment!

    1. 2 stars
      After reading this comment, I checked it at 35 minutes and it was fully set and still moist, so the inside is perfect, but the crust is still bordering on burnt toffee. Not great.

      1. I took Kate’s suggestion and removed the loaf from the oven after 35 minutes. Sorry to say that I ate one piece and tossed the rest in the trash. Bummed.