4-Ingredient Coffee Cake: Simple, Buttery, and Perfect

Reserving the Topping

After you cut the butter into the flour, pull out exactly 1/2 cup of the mixture. This is your streusel. Don’t press it together — leave it loose and crumbly. The rest becomes the cake base once you add the milk.

Mixing the Batter: Less Is More

Pour the milk into the remaining crumb mixture. Stir with a spatula in broad strokes, scraping the bottom and folding the dry bits into the wet. Stop as soon as no dry flour remains. The batter will look thick and bumpy. That’s exactly right. If you keep stirring, you’ll develop the gluten in the flour, and the cake will turn out tough and dense.

Baking to Golden Perfection

Spread the batter into a greased 8x8-inch pan. An even layer is important — use a spatula to nudge it into the corners. Sprinkle the reserved crumb topping evenly over the surface. Don’t press it down.

Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 30 to 35 minutes. At 30 minutes, insert a toothpick into the center. It should come out with a few moist crumbs clinging to it, not wet batter. The top should be deep golden, and the edges will have pulled away slightly from the pan. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes before slicing. This rest allows the crumb to set so it doesn’t fall off when you cut.

What to Serve With It

This coffee cake is excellent on its own, but a cup of black coffee or a tall glass of cold milk balances the sweetness. If you want to dress it up, a light dusting of powdered sugar or a dollop of lightly sweetened whipped cream works beautifully. For breakfast, I’ll sometimes serve it alongside a bowl of fresh berries.