LAUSD, our public school district in Los Angeles, the 2nd largest one in the US, has a recipe for Coffee Cake that is legendary, it’s so delicious. It’s from 1954, and has been served in Los Angeles schools ever since that day.
Los Angeles Unified School District is responsible for feeding hundreds of thousands of children each day, and this Coffee Cake recipe has been one of their staples for over 60 years. Want to delight your family and friends? Give it a try!

This article contains affiliate links.
I don’t want to overstate how delicious this Coffee Cake is, but let me just say this: My then-10-year-old son decided what Middle School he wanted to attend because they served him this Coffee Cake when he visited as a 5th grader. (Middle School Administrators and Food Service workers, please take note.)
The LAUSD 1954 “Old Fashioned” Coffee Cake Recipe
One day, as I was scrolling on Twitter, I saw that Austin Buetner, the Superintendent of LAUSD, had tweeted out the original 1954 recipe. Someday it would be awesome to see how they’ve adapted it to make enough to serve 350,000 at a time, but for now, we have this.
Here’s the 1954 recipe of the famous @LASchools coffee cake. Enjoy! pic.twitter.com/I3DbjPScqH
— Austin Beutner (@AustinLASchools) August 16, 2018
The original, likely mimeographed*, version of the recipe is attached below. (*Look it up.)
The ingredients are simple, although not all of us may have nutmeg or buttermilk on hand. But they are worth getting! Delicious.

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups Baker’s Flour (we used all-purpose flour)
1 cup Brown Sugar, packed
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon Granulated Sugar
1 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
3/4 cup Salad Oil (we used Canola Oil)
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
1 Large Egg
1 cup Buttermilk
Steps
1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9″ X 13″ pan.
2. Combine first 6 ingredients, meaning: flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg and salad oil – and mix with a fork or spatula until crumbly.

2A. Reserve 1/2 cup of this mixture for the topping, and add the cinnamon to it. Mix with a fork and set aside.

3. Combine the last 4 ingredients, meaning baking soda, baking powder, egg and buttermilk and mix, using a fork to break up the egg.
4. Add the buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture and blend until well combined, but not over-mixed, using a spatula.

5. Pour into the prepared 9″ x 13″ pan and smooth out to make it even. Sprinkle the cinnamon mixture by hand evenly over the top of the batter.

6. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, depending on your oven. Look for a golden brown color and for a toothpick to come out clean from the center.


7. Serve immediately for best enjoyment, but can last several days.

Our notes about this recipe:
The Coffee Cake is really good! It’s got a little bit of a salty taste in the crumble on top, and of course it’s sweet, so the two things help to balance it. It’s not too “cakey,” either – it’s got a lightness in texture. Can we ascribe that to the oil? Maybe.

We used whole nutmeg and we think it makes a big difference in the flavor. You’ll need a grater like this microplane one. (Affiliate link)
We don’t have any idea what they mean by the terms “Baker’s Flour” or “Salad Oil”, but we used All-Purpose Flour and Canola Oil and they worked fine. We have used Canola oil for other baking, so it was what we chose. We are certain you could use some other oil – and you may want to try other oils. Or even Butter as an alternative. Let us know what worked for you in the comments.
Also, we love the word “crumbly” and hope to use it again some day.
We’d like express our gratitude to the LAUSD food service team from 1954 that came up with this recipe – and to the Superintendent for sharing it.
If you make it, let us know how it goes and how you like it.
Related: The Best Birthday Cake Shops in Los Angeles


Sarah Auerswald is the co-Founder and Managing Editor of MomsLA.com.
Liz
Wednesday 6th of October 2021
Recipe is easy to follow - cake is in the oven in no time flat. Thank you for posting this, my husband is from LA and has has fond memories of this treat! I may wake him up heehee!
Sarah Auerswald
Wednesday 6th of October 2021
So glad you're liking it! Thanks for reading!
Sarah
Tuesday 18th of May 2021
I work with a bunch of ladies that went to LAUSD schools so I made this recipe for them to see if it's as good as they remembered. It was not. I made it as directed and used oil. Everyone wanted a butter taste that is common in other coffee cake recipes. Their memories were much better than this.
Sarah Auerswald
Tuesday 18th of May 2021
I'm sorry to hear that. All I can say is: it's the original recipe.
Elizabeth Delgadillo
Thursday 9th of April 2020
I will be making this today! I’ve always wanted to have this recipe available to me because it definitely brings back childhood memories. I will forward pics once ready :-)
B Honda
Monday 30th of March 2020
thank you, Sarah!...going back further: Canfield Avenue Elementary, circa early 1960s...fast-forward to Fairfax HS, circa early 1970s...very same, very delicious...during my senior year, I was a TA for marvelous English teacher, Mr. Schoenman (z'l)...he had written a note, "coffee -- coffee cake," that I carried around in my wallet for years...long ago, lost note...memories shine on!
Patty
Sunday 18th of April 2021
@B Honda, I remember getting this at Fairfax high also. And I too had Mr Schoenman for English (in the 80’s). Great teacher!
Sarah Auerswald
Monday 30th of March 2020
Awww! Thank you for sharing these memories with us!
Roni Rawlins
Wednesday 25th of March 2020
I have everything but buttermilk! Since I have to go to the store to get buttermilk, I'm going to get muffin liners and make coffee cake breakfast muffins ty for the recipe
Sarah Auerswald
Thursday 26th of March 2020
That sounds great! Let us know how it works - it would be a great way to portion it out (says the woman who needs portion control LOL). Thanks!