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Listen, roasted sweet potatoes aren’t just for pies and casseroles, and this Sweet Potato Coffee Cake is proof! It’s incredibly moist, full of that rich, caramel-like sweet potato flavor, and has a cinnamon sugar swirl running right through the middle. And that thick layer of buttery cinnamon streusel on top? Baby, grab your coffee!
For more recipes using sweet potatoes, make my sweet potato pie bars and cinnamon crunch sweet potato biscuits!
I love coffee cake in the fall. The minute it drops below 70 degrees and I can enjoy a slice with hot coffee on the balcony? I’m a happy camper! My maple pumpkin coffee cake is always a crowd favorite, so I figured it was time to give sweet potatoes their moment to shine!
There’s something about that rich flavor of roasted sweet potatoes. If you’ve tried my sweet potato pound cake, you know exactly what I mean! This sweet potato coffee cake has that same goodness, with an incredibly moist crumb, warm spices, and a cinnamon sugar swirl through the middle. And that thick, buttery streusel on top? My goodness. You’ll be coming back for seconds!
Sweet Potato Coffee Cake Overview
- ⭐ Difficulty: Easy
- 🕒 Prep Time: 25 minutes
- 🍰 Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- 🧑🍳 Total Time: 1 hour 40 minutes (excluding roasting and cooling)
- 👪 Serves: About 10–12 slices
- 🍠 Made With: Roasted sweet potatoes, brown sugar, maple syrup, sour cream, cinnamon, nutmeg, and buttery brown sugar streusel
- 🍰 Why This Recipe is the Best: This sweet potato coffee cake is made with roasted sweet potatoes, a sweet cinnamon sugar ribbon running through the middle, and a thick layer of buttery streusel on top. Every bite is perfectly spiced, tender, and loaded with crumbly goodness!
- ☕ Best For: Fall baking, holiday breakfasts, weekend brunch, Thanksgiving morning, and enjoying with a hot cup of coffee
Table of Contents
Main Ingredients
The full list of ingredients and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
- Sweet Potatoes – the star of the recipe! Use smaller sweet potatoes, they tend to be sweeter than the larger ones and cook faster too! My tip: Roast your sweet potatoes whole instead of boiling them! This concentrates their natural sweetness without introducing extra water, giving your coffee cake a richer flavor and better texture.
- Brown sugar and Maple Syrup add a rich, caramel-like sweetness and helps keep the cake moist.
- Full-Fat Sour Cream adds richness and moisture while helping create a tender crumb.
- Vegetable oil keeps the cake soft and moist, even after it has cooled. Unlike butter-based cakes, oil-based cakes tend to stay tender when refrigerated.
- Cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice aka Sweet Potato Pie Spice. This combination adds warmth to the cake and gives it that delicious, cozy spice flavor.
- Salted butter is the key to a rich, crumbly streusel topping. It brings everything together and helps create those buttery clusters that make coffee cake irresistible.
How to Roast Sweet Potatoes
- Preheat the oven to 425°F. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes with a paper towel.
- Roast until tender. Place the sweet potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 40-60 minutes, depending on their size. They’re ready when the skins look wrinkled and the flesh is soft and tender.
- Scoop and puree. Let the sweet potatoes cool slightly, then remove the skins and blend the flesh until smooth. Let it cool completely before using it in the cake batter. Measure out 1 1/2 cups (340g) of sweet potato puree for this recipe and save leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
How to Make Sweet Potato Coffee Cake
The full recipe and detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
Step 1: Make the cinnamon sugar filling by mixing together brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, and allspice in a small bowl. Set aside.
Step 2: Make the streusel topping. In a separate bowl, combine the streusel ingredients and mix until large, buttery crumbs form. Place into the refrigerator to cool until we’re ready to use.
Step 3: Prepare the cake batter. Whisk together the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Gently fold them together until just combined. The batter should be thick, smooth, and spreadable.
Step 4: Assemble the coffee cake. Spread half the batter into a prepared 9-inch springform pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling evenly over the batter, then carefully spread the remaining batter on top.
Step 5: Top with the streusel and bake. Finish with a generous layer of streusel. Bake at 350°F for approximately 70–75 minutes, or until the center is set and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out without wet batter. Allow it to cool before slicing.
Britney’s Pro Tips
- Don’t overmix the cake batter. Once you add the dry ingredients, mix only until the flour disappears. Overmixing develops gluten, which can make your coffee cake tough instead of soft and tender.
- Spread the second layer gently. The batter is thick, so don’t pour it all into the center and try to spread it at once. Instead, add small dollops across the cinnamon filling and gently connect them with an offset spatula. This helps preserve the cinnamon ribbon rather than mixing it into the batter.
- Let the cake cool before slicing. The crumb continues to set as it cools. Cutting into it too early can make the center appear gummy and cause the cinnamon filling to crumble or pull apart.
Sweet Potato Coffee Cake Recipe FAQs
I don’t recommend using canned sweet potatoes for this recipe. The canned sweet potatoes have a lot more water and the flavor is a bit bland.
No, you’ll need a springform pan as a regular 9-inch cake pan isn’t tall enough to accomodate all of the batter and streusel on top.
No, it’s simply meant to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee.
Yes! You can make this recipe up to 3 days in advance, just store in an airtight container at room temperature.
If you have homemade roasted pumpkin puree that’s cooked until thickened and isn’t watery, you can!
More Recipes Using Sweet Potato Puree
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If you make this Sweet Potato Coffee Cake, please leave a star rating on the recipe card and comment below! You can also tag @BritneyBreaksBread on Instagram and hashtag #britneybreaksbread so I can celebrate your beautiful creations!
Sweet Potato Coffee Cake
Equipment
Ingredients
Cinnamon Streusel Topping
- 1 1/4 cups (157 g) All Purpose Flour
- 3/4 cup (155 g) Brown Sugar
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 1/2 cup (113 g) Salted Butter, (melted)
Cinnamon Swirl Filling
- 1/2 cup (110 g) Brown Sugar
- 2 tbsp (16 g) All Purpose Flour
- 1 tbsp Cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp Allspice
- 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
Sweet Potato Coffee Cake
- 2 1/2 cups (313 g) All Purpose Flour
- 2 tsp Baking Powder
- 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
- 2 tsp Cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp Nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp Allspice
- 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- 1/2 cup (112 g) Vegetable Oil
- 1 cup (220 g) Brown Sugar
- 1/4 cup (60 g) Maple Syrup
- 1 1/2 cup (240 g) Roasted Sweet Potatoes , (pureed)
- 3 large (150 g) Eggs, (room temperature)
- 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- 1/2 cup (120 g) Sour Cream, (room temperature)
Instructions
- Roast the sweet potatoes. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Wash and dry the sweet potatoes. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and roast for 35-45 minutes, until fork-tender. Allow to cool, then remove the skins and blend until smooth. Measure out 1 1/2 cups (340g) of sweet potato puree and let it cool completely. This can be done up to 3 days in advance. (Pro Tip: use smaller sweet potatoes, they have better flavor and cook faster)
- Prepare the streusel topping. In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 1/4 cups flour, 3/4 cup brown sugar, and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Pour in 1/2 cup melted salted butter and mix with a fork until large, crumbly clusters form. Refrigerate while preparing the cake batter. 1 1/4 cups All Purpose Flour 3/4 cup Brown Sugar 2 tsp Cinnamon 1/2 cup Salted Butter
- Prepare the cinnamon sugar filling. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, 1 tablespoon cinnamon, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, and 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg. Whisk until combined and set aside. 1/2 cup Brown Sugar 2 tbsp All Purpose Flour 1 tbsp Cinnamon 1/4 tsp Allspice 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a deep 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Place the pan on a baking sheet to catch any potential leaks.
- Combine the dry ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk together 2 1/2 cups flour, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 3/4 teaspoon nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon allspice, and 1 teaspoon kosher salt. Set aside. 2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour 2 tsp Baking Powder 1/4 tsp Baking Soda 2 tsp Cinnamon 3/4 tsp Nutmeg 1/4 tsp Allspice 1 tsp Kosher Salt
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a separate large bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup vegetable oil, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 cup maple syrup until combined. Add 3 large eggs, one at a time, whisking after each addition. Mix in the sweet potato puree, 1/2 cup sour cream, and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract until smooth. 1/2 cup Vegetable Oil 1 cup Brown Sugar 1/4 cup Maple Syrup 3 large Eggs 1 1/2 cup Roasted Sweet Potatoes 1/2 cup Sour Cream 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and gently fold together with a rubber spatula until just combined. Be careful not to overmix. The batter should be thick, smooth, and spreadable.
- Spread half of the sweet potato cake batter evenly into the prepared springform pan. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar filling over the batter, leaving a small border around the edges. Dollop the remaining batter over the filling and gently spread it into an even layer using an offset spatula.
- Remove the streusel from the refrigerator and generously sprinkle it over the cake batter, breaking up any extra-large clumps with your fingers. Make sure the entire surface is covered.
- Bake at 350°F for 70–75 minutes, or until the streusel is golden brown and a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out without wet cake batter. If the topping begins to brown too quickly, loosely cover the cake with aluminum foil during the last 15–20 minutes of baking.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool in the springform pan for 20–30 minutes. Carefully release the sides of the pan and transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely. Slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Don’t overmix the cake batter. Once you add the dry ingredients, mix only until the flour disappears. Overmixing develops gluten, which can make your coffee cake tough instead of soft and tender.
- Spread the second layer gently. The batter is thick, so don’t pour it all into the center and try to spread it at once. Instead, add small dollops across the cinnamon filling and gently connect them with an offset spatula. This helps preserve the cinnamon ribbon rather than mixing it into the batter.
- Let the cake cool before slicing. The crumb continues to set as it cools. Cutting into it too early can make the center appear gummy and cause the cinnamon filling to crumble or pull apart.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Britney, this coffee cake is epic. I can’t stop eating it!