Cherry Coffee Cake with Glaze Topping

Recipe updated: July 13th, 2024

This is a delightfully moist, yet crunchy cherry coffee cake with a glaze topping, made with a hot roll mix from Pillsbury®. And it is so unbelievably good! We give it an A++!

The cherry coffee cake recipe we are making uses a boxed hot roll mix, then we add a cherry preserves filling on the inside of the cake, with a crunchy brown sugar topping mixture sprinkled on top of the cake before baking. Our homemade powdered sugar icing is drizzled on the top of the coffee cake after baking. For sure, you get a sweet treat sensation in every bite!

❔ What’s in this Cherry Coffee Cake?

For this cherry coffee cake recipe, Pillsbury hot roll mix is used with basic ingredients of warm water that is mixed with yeast for rising. Then we add sugar, butter, one egg, almond extract, and cherry preserves. You can use other fruit filling if you prefer. The crumbly topping we make is a simple combination mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. And, the basic glaze ingredients are powdered sugar and milk. Cherry coffee cake is a very easy and simple recipe to make.

🍒 Key Ingredients

Cherry Coffee Cake Mixture

• 1 box of Pillsbury hot roll mix – the box includes a yeast packet inside
• 1 cup of warm water 120 degrees to 130 degrees Fahrenheit to prepare yeast packet
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter (softened)
• 1/2 cup cherry pie filling – cherry preserves – can use other fruit preserves if you prefer
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract

Crumb Topping

• 1/3 cup light brown sugar (firmly packed) you can use dark brown sugar if you prefer
• 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg

Glaze Icing

• 1 cup of powdered sugar
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk – 1%, 2%, or whole milk is fine

👩‍🍳 How to Make Cherry Coffee Cake

These step-by-step instructions are accompanied by detailed photos for enhanced clarity and guidance.

Step 1. Soften the Butter

Put 1/2 cup of butter in a small bowl that is safe for the microwave, then, microwave it for about 10 to 20 seconds, just until the butter is softened. Please keep an eye on the butter while it is in the microwave.

If you don’t have a microwave, take the cold butter out of the refrigerator and let it sit on the countertop at room temperature for about 15 minutes or so, until soft.

Tip: One half cup butter equals one stick of butter.

Step 2. Prepare the Crumble Mixture

In a large mixing bowl, add the dry ingredients – the flour mixture packet from the Pillsbury hot roll mix box, and 1/4 cup of sugar, together with the wet ingredients, which is the melted butter.

Step 3. Combine the Crumble Mixture

Stir the hot roll mix in the large bowl with a spoon or spatula, together with the melted butter and sugar, just until it forms a crumbly mixture. Do not blend so much that it is not crumbly. Medium to large crumbs is a perfect size.

Step 4. Reserve a Third Cup of the Crumble Mixture

Scoop out 1/3 cup of the crumbly mixture we just made, and set it aside for now. This will be used later for the crumble topping on the top of the cake.

Step 5. Prepare the Yeast

In the meantime, pour the yeast packet that is inside the box of Pillsbury hot roll mix into a medium bowl together with 1 cup of very warm water. Stir to let the yeast dissolve into the water.

Note: The temperature of the warm water should be between 120 degrees to 130 degrees Fahrenheit. We did 125 degrees for the warm water temperature and that worked good for us.

Step 6. Mix Yeast and Egg with Remaining Crumble Mixture

Immediately add the yeast mixture and 1 egg together with the crumbly mixture we set aside in the large bowl.

Step 7. Make the Crumble Cake Batter

Mix the yeast mixture and egg thoroughly together with the crumbly mixture until blended well into a smooth coffee cake-like batter.

Step 8. Prepare the Baking Dish

In a 9×13-inch baking dish, spray non-stick cooking spray on the bottom of the pan, and up the sides of the pan, too. Then pour the coffee cake batter mixture evenly into the baking dish.

Step 9. Add the Almond Extract and Cherry Preserves

In a small bowl, add and mix the almond extract together with the cherry preserves. Then pour it on top of the batter, as you swirl it slightly in the baking dish at the same time.

Step 10. Let the Coffee Cake Batter Rise

Loosely cover the baking dish with some plastic wrap or a towel, then let it sit in a warm place. The warm place should be 80 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit until the coffee cake batter rises double in size. This will take about 75 minutes.

Tip: Turn your oven on at the lowest temperature. Ours is 170 degrees Fahrenheit. Then wait about 1 to 2 minutes while the oven heats up, but it doesn’t need to heat up to 170 degrees. Then, after 1 to 2 minutes, turn the oven off. Wait about 1 minute, then test the temperature at 80 – 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the covered baking dish in the oven until the coffee cake batter has doubled in size. The coffee cake batter may not completely double in size, but close to it.

Step 11. Prepare Dry Mixture Crumble Topping

While the coffee cake batter is rising in a warm place, in a medium-sized bowl, add the 1/3 cup of the reserved crumbly mixture we saved earlier together with 1/3 cup of brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, and 1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg.

Step 12. Mix the Crumble Topping

Stir the ingredients until it becomes a crumbly mixture that will be used for the topping on the coffee cake batter later. Do not mix too much so that it isn’t crumbly anymore.

Step 13. Spread Crumble Topping on the Coffee Cake Batter

After the coffee cake batter has been in a warm place for about 75 minutes, unwrap it. Then, sprinkle the crumble topping on top of the coffee cake batter.

Step 14. Preheat the Oven

Set the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Put the baking dish in the preheated oven and bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes until golden brown.

Tip: Above 3500 feet, bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 35 minutes. Do the toothpick test – a toothpick inserted into the center of the cherry coffee cake should come out clean when done.

Step 15. Make the Glaze Icing

In the meantime, while the cherry coffee cake is baking in the oven, add 1 cup of powdered sugar together with 1 to 2 tablespoons of milk. Stir the powdered sugar and milk until nice and smooth. The icing should drizzle in a steady stream off the spoon or spatula when lifted. You can add 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract, if you prefer.

Tip: Start with one tablespoon of milk, then stir the milk and powdered sugar together. After that, test to see if the glaze icing drizzles off of the utensil you are using. If it doesn’t have a nice drizzle to it, slowly add the other tablespoon of milk until it does.

Step 16. Drizzle the Icing on the Baked Cherry Coffee Cake

After the cherry coffee cake is done baking in the oven, use heat-resistant oven mitts to take it out of the oven. Set it on a wire rack to cool, then drizzle the glaze icing across the top of it. That’s it. It is now ready to serve. This delicious cherry coffee cake tastes great warm from the oven, or after it has cooled.

Tip: You can drizzle the glaze icing while the cherry coffee cake is still hot from the oven, or wait a few minutes until it has cooled down a bit.

🛒 Recipe Variations

• Use different fruit fillings of your choice to make the best coffee cake ever.
• If you love lots of icing on your coffee cake, you can double the icing recipe.
• Want thinner or thicker icing? Use less milk in the icing recipe for thicker icing, and more milk in the recipe for thinner icing.
• For easy clean-up of the baking dish, put a sheet of parchment paper in the baking dish first before adding the coffee cake batter. No need to spray the baking dish with non-stick cooking spray, either.

☝️ FAQs for Cherry Coffee Cake with Glaze Topping

💡 Final Thoughts

This cherry coffee cake is a moist cake that deliciously melts in your mouth. It’s very simple to make with just a few steps. You can change out the cherry preserves and use other choices of fruit in the mix.

The next time you are craving a sweet cake, whether it be in the morning, afternoon, or as an after dinner dessert, this is the perfect cake recipe to fill that craving. An extra special treat is a scoop of vanilla ice cream added to your bowl.

This is also a delicious cake to take to potlucks, baby showers, picnics, and the like.

Recipe Card

✨ More Recipes You Will Love

For more delicious dessert recipes, try these:

• Mississippi mud pie – loaded with chocolate and more chocolate. Just can’t get enough chocolate, right? Yum!
• Ranger cookies – the best cookies with rolled oats, raisins, and rice crispies. These cookies are soft and chewy and so good!