Copycat Sara Lee Butter Streusel Coffee Cake.
My mom and I used to love to buy the frozen Sara Lee Butter Streusel Coffee Cake from the grocery store when I was growing up. I haven’t had one in forever. I have spent years though trying to make a copycat recipe and this is seriously the closest thing I have ever tasted to it.
I am thrilled to have this recipe. I have made it several times now. I even keep it in the fridge and microwave slices for a few seconds to heat it up when I eat it just like I used to with the boxed Sara Lee Streusel Coffee Cake from the store. I remember the instructions on the box were to microwave it for a few seconds so every slice was warm like it was fresh from the oven.
The dough is very buttery, soft and easy to work with. I didn’t need much flour to roll it out.
Above photos show how you fold in the dough.
Photo above on left shows before rise and photo on the right shows after rise right before you bake it.
Photo below shows the bowl of crumb topping.
I double the recipe below and make two 9″ pie plates of this coffee cake because I love this recipe but I realize most people don’t want two coffee cakes. I use my bread machine (affiliate link) to knead the dough or sometimes my stand mixer with the dough hook.
You bake for 25-28 minutes or until dough is cooked and top is golden brown. I have a hard time telling when it is done. If you are in doubt I would bake it a few more minutes, you don’t want it gooey in the middle.
- Dough:
- 1½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon quick rise yeast (instant yeast)
- ⅓ cup + 1 Tablespoons milk
- 6 Tablespoon salted butter, melted
- 2 Tablespoons sugar
- 1 large egg
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- Filling:
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 Tablespoon all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Crumb Topping:
- ¾ cup flour
- 4 T. butter
- ¼ cup + 1 T. sugar
- In the order listed above add ingredients for the dough to your bread machine or mixing bowl. You can knead the dough by hand, with a stand mixer fitted with dough hook, or bread machine.
- Knead dough for about 10 minutes. Dough will be very wet when kneading, you may need to add up to ¼ cup extra flour, the dough won't form a solid dough ball but close. Dough should be smooth and shiny and not sticky.
- Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
- Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half.
- Roll each half into a 12x4" rectangle strip.
- Mix the filling together in a small bowl. Sprinkle half of mix down the middle of each rectangle strip of dough.
- Fold the dough over the cinnamon/sugar mix just enough to cover it on one side and pinch it down then take the other side and fold that over and pinch it down.
- Twist the dough piece into a rope and circle it around the 9" pie plate on the inside. Take the second piece and also circle it around.
- Let rise for 30 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. degrees.
- Prepare the topping by mixing all the topping ingredients together in a small bowl and sprinkle over the top of the dough, use your fingers if needed to break up the crumbs.
- Bake for 25-28 minutes or until dough is cooked and top is golden brown.
I loved this coffee cake as a kid and this recipe is it! Tastes just like Sara Lee. Yum!
Hi, So glad you like the recipe. Thanks for taking the time to comment, we appreciate it.
can this be frozen?
Yes, you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
Just made this and it’s delicious. My streusel was very crumbly so next time I’m going to work on having big chunks of streusel like in the original. I don’t think the original has cinnamon in it; hubby commented on it and I looked at Sara Lee’s ingredients list and didn’t see it. Do you know if you can make this, let it rise, then put it in the fridge to bake in the morning?
Adrienne, I’m so glad you liked the recipe. Yes, you can make it the day before and put it in the fridge just make sure to bring it to room temperature before baking it in the morning. I’m not sure if the original has cinnamon in it, the ingredient list only says natural flavor added which could mean anything, you can omit it if you believe no cinnamon is added. Thanks for taking the time to comment, we appreciate it.