Sour Cream Streusel Coffee Cake
Sour Cream Streusel Coffee Cake
I have made many, many coffee cakes. My better half likes to take them in his lunch for a “breakfast” break a little while after he gets to work. He likes coffee cakes because they’re easy for him to eat at work. Apples in almost anything are a bonus for him, so I always have an apple cinnamon coffee cake on standby.
The great thing about these is, if you do it right, they freeze very well and are every bit as good as when they came out of the oven, even the crunchy streusel. Everyone has their favorites, his being apple. The kids all love blueberry buckle (we’ll get to that later). I generally make them as a 9×13 cake style. They are easy to cut into serving size pieces, wrap them individually, and freeze. Take one out, drop it in the lunchbox, Voila!
I haven’t had much call for a “plain” coffee cake. There is usually some sort of fruit involved just because that’s what we all like. But recently, we were helping some friends with a roofing project, and they were starting early in the morning. So, it was decided we would have a breakfast for them a few hours later. I was asked if I could bring a “plain” coffee cake. But of course! Then I started thinking about how I didn’t really feel anything in my current aresenal would be great without the addition of fruit, so I started surfing (can anyone say “Google Queen”?). What I decided on was inspired by Ina Garten. I have very much liked almost everything I have tried from her, and this one did NOT disappoint. It is wicked good! I did make some changes to suit our tastes.
Understand that I am a person who, when I make something, I have certain expectations of myself and the food I make. If it isn’t exactly what I had envisioned, I tend to obsess about what is wrong with it, especially if I am serving it to a crowd. NOT SO with this one, it was perfection. HOWEVER, I did make a few changes based on preference. I did not put nuts in the streusel that went in the middle of the cake, due to their moisture content. I used pecans and added them to the streusel just before I spread it on the top. I used part plain greek yogurt in place of part of the sour cream, just to reduce the fat content. Trust me, it was plenty moist and delicious! My other change was to the glaze, using a little more powdered sugar, adding some Mexican Vanilla and a dash of whipping cream. I did change a few other minor things like mixing times, etc. This cake mixes together easily and is very moist and delicious.
Here it is , in my version:
- 12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- 1½ teaspoons good Mexican vanilla extract
- ½ cup sour cream
- ¾ cup plain greek yogurt
- 2½ cups cake flour (not self-rising)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- For the streusel:
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- ½ cup chopped pecans – to be added AFTER the first half is in the middle of the cake
- For the glaze:
- ¾ cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons cream
- 1 teaspoon good Mexican vanilla
- Directions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. (angel food cake pan works)
- Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for about 1 minute. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and greek yogurt. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.
- For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble.
- Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with ¾ cup streusel. NOW add the nuts to the streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
- Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Gently flip the cake out onto a plate or cutting board, then lay your final serving plate on the bottom of the cake and flip it over so the streusel side is up and the cake is centered on your serving plate. Whisk the glaze ingredients together, adding a few additional drops of cream or water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.
