Store-Bought Coffee Cakes Ranked Worst To Best

In an era of Starbucks egg bites and coffeehouse cake pops, it could be easy for classic treats like the humble coffee cake to get lost in the shuffle. But while danishes and scones might litter the bakery showcase of your local coffee shop, the truth is that coffee cakes remain a morning staple for a reason.

Coffee cake comes in a variety of styles and forms. It is typically characterized by its yellow cake base with a cinnamon flavor throughout, either from a crumbled streusel on top, a swirl within the batter, or a tasty combination of both. The cakes aren't overly sweet but do pair perfectly with, you guessed it, your morning cup of coffee.

While most coffee cake recipes have simple ingredients that you probably have in your pantry already, there's not always time to whip up a fresh cake for breakfast. Numerous store-bought coffee cakes can fill in the gap, but not all of them are created equal. I purchased eight coffee cakes and taste-tested them to find out which ones will help you start your morning on the right foot — and which ones I'd leave on store shelves.

Tastykake began selling its snack cakes in the Philadelphia area over a century ago, and now they are distributed throughout much of the East Coast and South. I can certainly appreciate that the company created an on-the-go coffee cake for when sitting in your kitchen to enjoy your first cup of joe just isn't an option. Since coffee cakes can be on the dry side, it's also handy that the individually wrapped cakes won't go stale before you have a chance to eat the entire box.

That said, there wasn't any discernable difference between the spongy cake base for these Koffee Kakes and any other snack cake that Tastykake offers. While that base works perfectly for butterscotch krimpets and other popular Tastykake products, this iteration just doesn't deliver on the texture or flavor that I specifically look for in a coffee cake.

The topping for these cakes was also somewhat off-putting. The streusel can only be described as small pellets of sweetened cinnamon scattered over the top. When I tried some by itself, it lacked flavor and didn't deliver the punch of cinnamon I hoped for. A box of four cakes normally retails for $4.69 but was on sale for $3, bringing the cost to just 75 cents per cake. If you're looking for a deal and enjoy the classic flavors Tastykake delivers, these could be a good option for you. That said, I don't see a repeat purchase in my future.

Drake's might be better known for its iconic Devil Dogs and Yankee Doodles snack cakes, which were the first individually wrapped cakes the company sold in the 1920s. But the individually portioned coffee cakes came along in 1930 and made the brand famous for its breakfast cakes, too. One early advertisement shared on the company's website claims the coffee cakes are "crusty and spicy like grandma made."

I don't think the version I tasted would be Grandma-approved. These grab-and-go options have a generous streusel topping that actually tasted pretty good: It was crumbly and sweet without tasting like flour (which is often the binding ingredient for a streusel topping).

Unfortunately, the cake base itself for the Drake's version was the driest of the ones I sampled. It didn't have much flavor and teetered on the edge of crumbling apart before I could take a bite. If you're actually eating these alongside a cup of coffee, you might not mind the texture. But if you're eating it as a standalone snack, you're likely to go searching for something else instead. These cost $4.28 for a box of eight at my local Walmart, or about 54 cents per cake. That's not outrageous, but also not the best value compared to others on this list.

This brand of snack cakes might be better known for its Twinkies and honey buns, but Hostess also has a robust rotation of breakfast treats, including the individual coffee cakes. In fact, in the past we've ranked these Hostess coffee cakes in the top three options that the company offers. I bought a two-pack for just $1.50, or 75 cents per cake, and was pleasantly surprised by how soft and moist the cake was.

That said, while the brand does its best to deliver on a sweet cake with a robust cinnamon flavor, it doesn't have the signature streusel topping that I'd expect from a true coffee cake. The cinnamon sugar sprinkled on top tasted delicious, but wasn't an authentic streusel topping, with the crumbed texture you can only get from mixing flour and butter with the other flavorings. I missed that textural element compared to other cakes on the list. Other recent customers had the same concern, with several noting they believed the recipe changed sometime in 2025 and negatively affected the topping texture and flavor.

These coffee cakes carried by Aldi stores were almost identical in taste and texture to the Hostess cakes, with some minor differences. The cake I tried looked like it was going to be dry and crumbly at first glance, but it was surprisingly moist with a good cinnamon flavor throughout. These cakes weren't quite as tall as the Hostess version, but they clearly took cues from the larger brand for the other signature aspect of the recipe.

If you like Hostess cakes but are trying to save some money, this option from Baker's Treat might become one of the best foods to buy at Aldi instead. The main reason these cakes rank higher than the Hostess version is the price point. This box retailed in my area for $2.59 for a box of eight, or about 32 cents per cake. Even though the cakes are a little smaller than the Hostess version, each one is less than half the cost for a very similar product. Even if you grab two on your way out the door, you'll still be saving money without sacrificing flavor.

Entenmann's is about as classic as it gets in the coffee cake biz, but I stand by my ranking. There really are multiple better store-bought coffee cakes out there. This version is known for having a dense cake (more dense than a sheet cake, but not as heavy as pound cake) and a generous layer of streusel topping. It's then dusted with confectioners' sugar to top it all off.

I didn't grow up eating Entenmann's desserts very often, so it's possible I lack the nostalgia necessary to enjoy this variety to the fullest extent. The cake was a bit dry but overall had a good texture, and it paired well with the coffee I was drinking (naturally) during the taste testing. My largest issue was with the streusel — the part of the coffee cake that I normally look forward to the most. While it did have some cinnamon flavor present, it wasn't as vibrant as I was hoping for. It also tasted a bit like raw flour, like when it's not cooked out enough in a recipe. That wasn't the case since Entenmann's cakes come fully baked and ready to eat, but the ratio of streusel ingredients seemed out of balance to me. If I were to have a version like this again, I'd bake an Entenmann's copycat coffee cake recipe on my own to see if the floury taste was less of an issue. It would likely also be cheaper: The Entenmann's 17-ounce box cost $8.49.

I was pleasantly surprised that my neighborhood Giant in Pennsylvania had such a delicious coffee cake option available. Giant stores are concentrated in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C., and Delaware. While the selection of certain products might vary within the chain, there's a good possibility that the coffee cake I tried is the same product in most Giant stores. Most grocery stores don't actually make their cakes in-house, which means that if you're looking for a solid coffee crumb cake for breakfast this weekend, your local Giant store probably has a good one.

I appreciated that this coffee cake had the typical dense texture that goes well with your morning brew. The cinnamon flavor in the streusel was pronounced without being overwhelming, and it was a good balance of cake and topping. (In other words, there was plenty of topping.) It didn't taste too much like flour and seemed to have a generous amount of butter in the streusel. This is always a good thing in my book. I enjoyed the flavor and texture of this cake more than the Entenmann's version. At 18.5 ounces, the Giant version was also slightly larger than the Entenmann's coffee cake but sold for $6.49. Saving $2 while getting a better-tasting cake is a win if you ask me.

These mini coffee cakes earn big points for appearance. The adorably bite-sized muffins are layered with cake, cinnamon, crumbly streusel, and a touch of cheesecake mixture for good measure. If you take them out of the container and put them on a plate they look like they came from a specialty coffee shop, not your local grocery store.

I was curious to try this variety from Cafe Valley, which is available in my local Giant for $6.19 but is also sold at various supermarkets across the country including Vons, Safeway, Acme, and more. I was most interested to see whether the cheesecake added anything to the traditional coffee cake flavors. The cheesecake flavor wasn't overly obvious, but it did add a slight tang to the overall taste of the cake. I also think it helped the cake from becoming overly sweet. It satisfied my sweet tooth without being a sugar bomb first thing in the morning.

The streusel in this cake was otherwise pretty standard, and I thought the cinnamon flavor could have been more robust. It did stay perfectly moist, though, likely due to the addition of the cheesecake. This muffin version of a coffee cake was a great accompaniment to my morning coffee. If I were hosting guests for breakfast, I would pick these up again.

The saying goes that you eat with your eyes first. Based on appearances alone, I was ready to dig into this coffee cake from Wegmans store bakery. I bought half of a coffee cake ring, which even in the box looked like the perfect density. The visible cinnamon swirl inside the cake itself was also appealing. Taste backed up aesthetics in this case, as this was by far the best coffee cake I sampled in the group.

The cake had a good crumb factor while remaining moist. It avoided a sandy texture or flour-like flavors, which were the downfall of other varieties. The cinnamon swirl within the cake, along with the dusting of cinnamon sugar on top, gave this version the freshest, most vibrant spiced flavor of any cakes in the bunch. While this coffee cake lacked the traditional streusel topping, I didn't miss it. Wegmans incorporates cinnamon-dusted whole oats in a small layer throughout the top of the cake and in its cinnamon swirl, which creates a welcome texture variation without becoming overly dry. My husband, who grew up eating the Entenmann's version, quietly claimed this entire half ring for breakfast over the course of a few days.

Wegmans is a regional grocer in the Northeast with more than 100 stores in nine states. This half ring sold for $7, but given the impressive appearance and taste, I would absolutely buy this again, either for guests or to hoard for my own breakfast.

To sample and rank this array of coffee cakes, I selected an assortment that would be available at least at a regional level, which to me means in stores across multiple states in 100 locations or more. Though some coffee cake definitions can vary, especially for whether it is a coffee cake or a regular cake, I went by the store or brand's packaging. If they called it a coffee cake, it was eligible in my roundup. 

I taste-tested all of the cakes at the same time, with the focus on taste and texture. The initial appearance also played a minor role, since these can be served for brunch or other occasions where you might want to impress guests. If some cakes were very similar (such as the Hostess and Aldi versions), I also took price into account to determine the better value. (Keep in mind that prices may vary by location.) Though individually packaged cakes did not automatically score lower, it turned out that most versions baked as one large cake tended to rank better, given the likelihood that they would taste fresher and remain more true to the essence of a quality coffee cake.