Buttermilk Pie with Cinnamon Streusel

Butter, sugar, eggs, buttermilk. Heat. Forty-five minutes later you’ve got something that tastes like it took real effort. Doesn’t.

Why You’ll Love This Buttermilk Cake

Coffee in the morning hits different when there’s cake on the plate. Takes 25 minutes to get it in the oven. Fifty-eight minutes baking.

Cinnamon streusel stays crunchy for a few hours — after that, it softens but honestly tastes better. The cake itself keeps getting more tender as it sits.

Buttermilk’s the secret. Greek yogurt too. Together they make it almost impossible to dry out. You’d have to actually try.

Breakfast cake. Not fancy. Just better than what you’d normally grab. Works cold the next day from the fridge.

What You Need for Buttermilk Cake

Softened butter. A full cup. Not melted, not cold — soft enough that your finger leaves an indent.

Two sugars. White and brown. The brown sugar keeps things moist. Doesn’t dry out fast like plain white.

Baking powder. Salt. Vanilla. The obvious stuff.

Greek yogurt and buttermilk — half cup each. This is where the tang comes from. Not aggressive. Just noticeable. Regular milk won’t do the same thing.

Three eggs. All-purpose flour, sifted. One and a quarter cups of whole milk that goes in near the end.

The streusel topping: more flour, more sugar, cinnamon — two teaspoons, which is enough to actually taste it — butter cut into chunks, and a pinch of salt. Cinnamon streusel coffee cake is what this becomes once you bake it.

How to Make Buttermilk Cake

Heat the oven to 345. Middle rack. Grease a 9x13 pan — butter works better than spray. Doesn’t stick the same way.

Cream the butter with both sugars until it’s pale and fluffy. Listen to it change sound. Maybe three to four minutes. Don’t skip this step. The cake’s texture depends on air getting whipped in.

Blend in salt, baking powder, vanilla. Keep the mixer on medium. Avoid going crazy or the crumb gets weird.

Greek yogurt and buttermilk go in together. Mix until it’s shiny and smooth. The tang from the yogurt balances the sweetness. Buttermilk adds tenderness.

Eggs. One at a time. Pause between each one and scrape the bowl. This matters. The eggs are emulsifying. They’re stabilizing the structure.

Now alternate. Flour. Milk. Flour. Milk. End with flour. Low speed or you’ll toughen the whole thing. Stop the second no streaks show.

Spoon half the batter into the pan. Spread it level with a spatula. Doesn’t have to be perfect.

Getting the Cinnamon Streusel Right

Flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt — stir them together in a bowl. Two teaspoons of cinnamon. That’s real. Not a whisper.

Cut cold butter into chunks. Add to the dry. Use a pastry cutter or two forks and break it apart. You want pea-sized lumps. Uneven. Texture should be crumbly. If it feels wet, chill it for 10 minutes.

Scatter half this streusel over the batter. Don’t press. Keep those clumps loose and separate.

Spoon the rest of the batter on top. It won’t cover everything. That’s right. You want patches of batter and streusel showing.

Top with the remaining streusel. Press down just a little. Keep it loose.

Fifty-five to sixty minutes in the oven. Watch it. The top goes golden. The edges pull from the pan. The cinnamon smell deepens — that’s the real cue. Not the clock.

Toothpick test: push one near the center. You should get moist crumbs stuck to it. Not raw batter. Not dry cake either. There’s a middle ground and that’s the goal.

Cool in the pan for 15 to 20 minutes. The aroma gets deeper. The crumb settles.

Buttermilk Cake Tips and Mistakes

Room temperature buttermilk. Cold milk does something different. Not terrible. Different.

Don’t overbeat after the flour goes in. Overmixing makes it tough. You’re not kneading bread.

The streusel tastes best fresh. After a day it goes soft. Still good — just not crunchy. Wrap leftovers tight to keep the cake itself moist.

Reheat slices for 20 seconds in a microwave if you want the butter to warm up. The cake tastes richer hot.

Cake made with buttermilk recipe variations: could probably work with sour cream instead of Greek yogurt. Haven’t tried it. Might change the flavor slightly.

Buttermilk Pie with Cinnamon Streusel

By Emma

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Prep:

25 min

Cook:

58 min

Total:

83 min

Servings:

16 servings

Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup plain full-fat Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk room temperature
• 3 large eggs
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour sifted
• 1 1/4 cups milk whole or 2%
• Cinnamon Streusel Topping
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup chilled unsalted butter cut into small cubes
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Method

1. Batter Preparation
2. 1 Preheat oven to 345°F with rack in middle position. Butter or grease a 9x13 pan generously; no scraping corners later.
3. 2 Cream softened butter with sugars in stand mixer on medium until light, pale, and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Listen for change in sound as air gets whipped in.
4. 3 Blend in salt, baking powder, and vanilla extract; mix well but avoid overbeating to keep tender crumb.
5. 4 Add Greek yogurt and buttermilk, blending until smooth and shiny. Tang from yogurt is key here; buttermilk adds balance and tenderness.
6. 5 Add eggs one by one, pausing to scrape bowl edges. Each fully mixed before next. Don’t rush; eggs emulsify and stabilize batter structure.
7. 6 Alternate flour and milk additions, starting and ending with flour. Mix low and slow or flour will toughen the cake. Stop as soon as no streaks remain.
8. Streusel Assembly
9. 7 Combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, salt in bowl. Cut cold butter into chunks adding to dry mix. Use pastry cutter or two forks to break butter into crumbly mix. Should be uneven clumps about pea-size, no butter melting. If topping feels wet, chill 10 minutes.
10. Layering and Baking
11. 8 Spoon half the batter into the pan; spread evenly with offset spatula. Cramping or lumpy surface fine, just level-ish.
12. 9 Scatter half the streusel over batter. Don’t press down; keep airy clumps.
13. 10 Spoon remaining batter on streusel carefully—won’t fully cover, best left patchy for contrast.
14. 11 Top with rest of streusel generously. Slight pressing is okay but keep crumbs loose for texture contrast.
15. 12 Bake 55-60 minutes. Watch color: golden atop, edges pulling from pan, streusel deepening in cinnamon aroma.
16. 13 Insert toothpick near center; expect moist crumbs attached, not raw batter. Resist overbaking; dry cake no fun.
17. 14 Let cool in pan 15-20 minutes. Aroma will deepen, crumb settle. Cool further before slicing to avoid crumble falling apart.
18. Storage & Serving Tips
19. 15 Wrap leftovers tightly to preserve moist crumb; streusel loses crunch after 24 hours, so best fresh.
20. 16 Reheat slices briefly for softer butter notes and fresh aroma.
21. 17 Great with coffee or tea; yogurt makes it hold up well as breakfast or snack.

Nutritional information

Calories

320

Protein

5g

Carbs

42g

Fat

15g

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Frequently Asked Questions About Buttermilk Cake

Can I use regular milk instead of buttermilk? Not really. Buttermilk’s acidic. It reacts with the baking powder and makes the crumb tender. Regular milk doesn’t do that. You’d get something denser.

Why does this need Greek yogurt if it already has buttermilk? They do different things. Buttermilk adds tang and helps with rise. Yogurt adds moisture and keeps it from drying out. Together they’re better.

How do I know when it’s done baking? Toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached. Not wet batter. Not bone dry. And the kitchen smells like cinnamon — that’s your real timer.

Can I make this the night before? Yeah. Wrap it tight. The cake stays moist for two days easy. The streusel gets soft but the cake itself is fine cold or reheated.

What if the top is browning too fast? Lower the oven temp by 10 degrees next time. Or tent it loosely with foil halfway through. The inside needs 55-60 minutes. If the top’s burning, slow everything down.

Does the buttermilk need to be room temperature? Kind of. Cold buttermilk takes longer to blend in smoothly. Room temp mixes cleaner and faster. Not a huge deal either way.