Sour Cream Coffee Cake

There is something so warm and inviting about the sweet smell of cinnamon baking. Perhaps it is because its one of the favorite spices which is used in so many delicious bakes which we have enjoyed throughout our lives. It is both familiar, and simply so hard to resist. Accompany this coffee cake with a warm slice of Quiche Lorraine, and you have a perfect breakfast before a busy day. You see, both the savory quiche and the moist coffee cake can be baked the day before, and enjoyed the next morning.

In our café, we served a variety of tempting, tasty bakes. And this coffee cake was a mainstay. Friends would come in for some coffee and a chat, and they would order a wild berry scone and a slice of coffee cake to share. Hard to pick just one, so they’d pick two and split them. Today, you can bake this favorite in your own home. It will warm your kitchen, and it will make it easy to gather the family around, as the cinnamon scent waifs throughout the home.

Ingredients

3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup milk, room temperature

1-1/4 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

Sugar-Nut Filling

1/3 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix these ingredients together in a small bowl.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, using a standing mixer, beat together butter and sugars until fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the milk, sour cream and vanilla extract.

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add this mixture to the butter mixture, mixing well, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed to incorporate fully.

Pour half of the batter into a lightly sprayed 9-inch X 13-inch baking pan, or a Bundt pan. Sprinkle half of the Sugar-Nut Filing over the batter. Cover with the remaining batter, then top with the second half of the Sugar-Nut Filling.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before cutting to serve.

Optional Glaze

2 Tablespoons milk

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine these ingredients until smooth. Drizzle decoratively on the top of the coffee cake.