Son Joe in the Czech Republic wants the recipe or my sour cream coffee cake. He’ll bake it as a birthday treat for Eva – his mother-in-law, who’s an incredible cook herself.
I’ve made this so often over the years that I can’t believe I’ve not shared it with you. The recipe card is so splattered and battered that it looks like a relic. A million years ago I found it in Bon Appetit’s R.S.V.P. section; a reader’s request for the sour cream coffee cake served at the Ramada Inn in Scottsburg, Indiana. This is my favorite thing to bake for a special breakfast.
Rich? Yes, it is rich. But come on, just a little sliver. And if you really want to shave off some calories, you can use non-fat sour cream, and low-fat margarine. <Yawn>
Or, you can make it like this and see what you think. I’m sharing with you exactly as I emailed it to Joe – asides and all. Happy baking, and happy birthday, Eva!
Image: Sour Cream Coffee Cake, a Creative Commons Attribution (2.0) image from kimberlykv’s photostream
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Pecan halves (to place in the bottom of the pan, but this is optional)
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
2 c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 c. sifted cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp. vanilla
Topping
1/2 cup chopped pecans (or walnuts, or almonds, or whatever you have)
1/2 cup sugar
1 T cinnamon
Generously butter and flour (or spray with Pam) a Bundt pan (or any pan, preferable with a hole in the middle … if not, don’t sweat it … you can make this in a round cake pan … you’ll just have more batter and may have multiple, more shallow coffee cakes. Note that this stuff rises quite a bit, so if you use a cake pan, beware of spillage.
Cream the butter with the sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs. Set that bowl aside.
Sift the dry stuff together (I usually sift it onto one of those flexible cutting mats, then you can just make a spout of one end when you need to slowly add it to the wet stuff).
Gradually, with mixer running (or by and with a wooden spoon), add the dry stuff to the wet stuff, mixing well. Now fold in the vanilla and sour cream.
Sprinkle a few spoonfuls of the topping into the bottom of the pan. (Note, sometimes this topping in the bottom of the pan makes the cake stick … so, if I were you, to be safe, I’d leave the topping for the inside and make sure the pan is well-greased so the pan releases well.)
Dollop about 1/3 of the batter in the pan and spread it evenly around the pan. Sprinkle about between 1/3 and 1/2 of the topping over the batter. Carefully dollop more of the batter over the topping, using a spoon to carefully cover the topping without messing it up. Sprinkle almost the rest of the topping over that batter. Dollop the rest of the batter onto the topping. Finish with whatever topping remains (if any). (Note: If this business of too many layers bugs you, just do batter, topping, batter topping, and call it good.)
Bake in 350-degree oven for about 1 hour (but this is only if you have a deep Bundt pan … otherwise, you’ll want to check it sooner, like 25 minutes). Do the toothpick test to make sure the batter’s baked through.
Stand back and bask in the compliments.
Independent online journalist Doni Greenberg founded what’s now known as anewscafe.com in 2007 with her son, Joe Domke of the Czech Republic. Prior to 2007, Greenberg was an award-winning newspaper opinion columnist, feature and food writer recognized by the Associated Press, the California Newspaper Publishers Association and E.W. Scripps. She lives in Redding, CA.
A News Cafe, founded in Shasta County by Redding, CA journalist Doni Greenberg, is the place for people craving local Northern California news, commentary, food, arts and entertainment. Views and opinions expressed here are not necessarily those of anewscafe.com.