A can of cherry pie filling is the shortcut ingredient for this Cherry Coffee Cake. It’s a decadent breakfast treat that your guests will love.
I love having guests over for brunch. It’s easier than a dinner party, and coffee cakes and breakfast casseroles are always a hit.
This Cherry Coffee Cake with cherry pie filling is always a hit with guests. It tastes a bit like eating cherry pie for breakfast (and I haven’t gotten any complaints about that yet!).
I love that I can make the coffee cake ahead of time. I’ve made it one day in advance, and then cut and served it the next day. Here are a few ideas of what I’d serve it with:
- Praline bacon
- Overnight egg casserole OR a quiche (like this asparagus and gruyere quiche)
- Sausage breakfast pizza
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Tips for making the best cherry coffee cake
- Leave time for the butter to come to room temperature before starting the recipe.
- It takes a little patience to spread the first layer of dough into the pan. I like using an offset spatula to make this easier.
- Love cherries? You can add a (drained) can of cherries to the cherry pie filling for even more cherry flavor.
- If you don’t have an 10×15 inch jellyroll pan, you can make this in a 13×9 inch pan. Increase the cooking time by 6–10 minutes.
Ingredients
You just need a bunch of pantry/refrigerator staples for this, plus cherry pie filling. The almond extract really brings out the cherry flavor nicely. I recommend using it if you can. You can double the vanilla extract if you don’t have it though.
How to Make Cherry Coffee Cake
- Cream the butter and granulated sugar with a hand mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, vanilla extract, and almond extract, and beat until combined.
- Stir in the flour, baking powder, and salt with a spatula until the mixture forms a soft dough. Reserve one cup of dough for the topping.
- Spread the remaining dough into a greased 10×15 inch jellyroll pan. I find that an offset spatula is easiest to spread it into the pan. It takes a bit of patience.
- Spread the cherry pie filling over the dough, and then dollop tablespoons of the reserved dough over the top.
- Bake for 35–40 minutes in the 350°F preheated oven. Once cool, drizzle with a mixture of powdered sugar and milk.
Tips for Drizzling the icing
I rarely have a piping bag sitting around, and drizzling with a fork can make the icing look messy.
So, I take a small resealable plastic bag (like a Ziploc) and stretch the opening around a juice glass. Then, I pour the icing in, and snip a very small corner off the plastic bag with kitchen scissors.
This creates a makeshift piping bag to drizzle the icing on the coffee cake. I drizzle it diagonally across the pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Try these instructions for softening butter in the microwave. Or, to speed up the process on the countertop, cut the butter into small pieces and leave it on the countertop for 30 minutes.
Yes! Use a stand mixer, if you have one, or you can do it by hand. If you’re doing it by hand, make sure that the butter is very soft so that you can combine it thoroughly with the sugar.
You can easily substitute blueberry or strawberry pie filling for the cherry. YUM!
More brunch recipes
Every brunch needs something savory and something sweet! Since this cherry pie filling coffee cake basically tastes like cherry pie, here are a few savory options:
This Alsatian Quiche is made with bacon and caramelized onions, and people LOVE it. And this Asparagus, Ham, and Gruyere Quiche is great for a springtime brunch.
Corn Flake Breakfast Casserole is another great option, as is Overnight Egg Casserole.
I like to serve either bacon or sausage at brunch for the meat eaters. Praline Bacon flies off the table. Or if I’m short on time, frozen sausage is an easy alternative.
And if you’re a cherry lover, don’t miss this Cherry Dump Cake or an Old Fashioned Cherry Delight! Both are a great dessert for brunch.
📖 Recipe
Cherry Coffee Cake
Ingredients
For the coffee cake:
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
- 1¾ cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- ½ teaspoon almond extract
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons baking powder
- 1 (21 oz) can cherry pie filling
For the icing:
- ¾ cup powdered sugar
- 3 teaspoons milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 10×15 inch pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar together until soft and fluffy using a hand mixer. Add eggs, almond extract, and vanilla extract, and beat until combined.
- Stir in the flour, salt, and baking powder just until combined.
- Reserve 1 cup of dough. Spread the remaining dough in an even layer in the greased 10×15 inch pan. I find that an offset spatula helps to do this easily.
- Pour the cherry pie filling on top and spread it evenly over the dough.
- Take tablespoons of the reserved dough and dot it over the top of the pie filling.
- Bake for 35–38 minutes, or until golden brown on the edges and cooked through. Let sit until cool.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and milk. Transfer it to a small plastic storage bag, and snip off a very small corner of the bag with a pair of kitchen scissors to create a makeshift pastry bag.
- Drizzle the icing over the coffee cake using the pastry bag. Serve right away!
This recipe is just what I was looking for. My aunt gave me this recipe 20+ years ago. The ingredients and portions are exactly the same as the ones I have on a very faded recipe card., but was not sure what size pan to use. Very helpful to know the correct pan size. The only thing I did different was I used 2 cans of cherry pie filling.
I love hearing that! I’m glad this recipe was helpful. Thanks for taking the time to leave a review.
I first made this recipe when I was younger, 1970’s. I lost the recipe and I’m happy you have it and will be making it with my grandchildren for Christmas. Thank you also for the cherry bread recipe, perfect
I’m so glad you found it here! Thank you for your kind comment. Merry Christmas!
Thank you for a good base recipe and moreso, THANK YOU for a website that isn’t so littered with ads and pop-ups that I can’t scroll through it.
This is such a perfect recipe for quick pot luck takings, using any fruit filling, additional icing not even needed.
Thanks, Martin, for your kind comment! I’m glad this served as a good base recipe for you. Happy Thanksgiving!
Very tasty, but 11 x 17 pan is way too big –the batter won’t even spread to the edges of the pan. Assuming it is a typo, as another reviewer expressed the same issue with pan size. A 15×10 jelly roll pan is the one I found difficult to locate, it is correct that Amazon has them. Better yet according to my taste testers, is using a 13×9 pan with a lid and carry handle, very easy to transport to parties and work potlucks. Comes out a little thicker and more cake like–everyone loves it and wants the recipe. A keeper.
I’m not sure what I did wrong but this coffee did not cook in 35 minutes. I had to extend it another 15 minutes to assure that it was cooked through. Otherwise, the dough would have been raw. I live at 7000 feet so I’m not sure if the high altitude had anything to do with it. I’m excited to try this when it is done, as it looks yummy!
Yes! Air pressure is lower at high altitudes, so foods can take longer to bake. Hope you enjoy it!
This is a great coffee cake. I had a difficult time spreading in pan. A warm room temperature made dough super soft so I put dough and pan in refrigerator for five minutes and then I was able to spread it.
My mom thought it was great to get cake, cherries, and drizzle in each small bit she took. I enjoyed this very much. I liked the cake-shortbread texture a lot and might use recipe to make cookies.
Will make again.