When you've got a hankering for cinnamon rolls yet you're short on time, this Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake is just the thing. Easy, delicious, and perfect for holiday brunches.
Preheat oven to 350F, with rack on lower middle position. Grease a 9x13 pan and set aside.
In a bowl, whisk together the milk, eggs, vanilla extract, and sugar. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, salt, and baking powder. Using a rubber spatula, fold the milk mixture together with the flour mixture just until no dry flour streaks remain; do not overmix. Drizzle in the melted butter, gently folding to fully combine. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.
In a bowl, mix together all the topping ingredients, except for nuts, until well combined (the paddle attachment of a stand mixer works well here, but whisking by hand will work.) Mixture will be soft. Stir in the nuts. Drop topping in small spoonfuls evenly over entire top of batter, including corners and edges. Bake 33-37 minutes. Cake will appear wet in certain spots due to the melted topping; be sure to insert toothpick into a cake-only portion when testing for doneness (avoid testing parts of cake that are coated with melty topping.) When toothpick comes out almost clean, with a few moist crumbs attached, it's done. Do not overbake or your cake may become dry.
Let cake cool on wire rack while you make the cream cheese icing. Use an electric mixer or stand mixer to blend softened cream cheese with melted butter until smooth. Gently mix in powdered sugar and up to 3TB milk, until a thick drizzle consistency is reached. Drizzle cream cheese icing over warm or cooled cake. Leftovers keep very well in airtight container at room temp.
Notes
Cake can be baked the night before, covered airtight at room temp, and drizzled with cream cheese icing the next morning. If desired, warm cake up before serving. Cake is even better a day after it's been baked!If you enjoyed this recipe, please come back and give it a rating :)