Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Have you ever had days that you're just not "feeling it." Well, that's where I am with blogging right at this very moment. I think I'm just tired. Sundae is going through a phase where she doesn't want to be more than a few feet away from me at any time. This has resulted in her jumping up and down on me at 4 AM. Although, I'm pretty sure that from her perspective, I'm the one with the problem. After all, by that time of the morning I've been sleeping, not paying attention to her, for hours. What's my problem, right? There's a reason I'm not mom material, because I love to sleep. That's why I got a cat. I thought we shared the same interests. Sundae's really throwing me for a loop with this perpetual toddler routine of hers. She's just lucky I love her insanely ridiculous amounts and that's she so freaking adorable, even at 4 in the morning.

So, basically what I'm saying, as long winded as possible, is that I don't have much to say today about this coffee cake. It's delicious. It stays moist. It's a recipe I've tried many times with no fail. It cooks in a bundt pan, which I love. It has a delicious cinnamon and pecan filling. But that's all I can think to write about it.

I need a nap. I'll kick it into gear for next week, promise!


SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

for the filling:
1 c chopped pecans
1 tsp cinnamon
4 tsp sugar

for the cake:
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2 c sugar
2 large eggs
1 c sour cream
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

2. In a small bowl, combine the filling ingredients and set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

4. Cream together butter and sugar with an electric mixer, beating until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Fold in sour cream and vanilla. Gently fold in the flour mixture.

5. Pour about 1/3 of the batter into prepared bundt pan. Sprinkle 3/4 of the filling mixture into the pan. Top with remaining batter and then sprinkle with remaining filling.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool in pan on a wire rack before removing from pan. When removing, keep in mind that the top of the coffee cake is facing up in the bundt pan, so you'll need to flip the cake twice when unmolding.

Source: The Essential New York Times Cookbook

This recipe is shared with Melt in Your Mouth Monday, On the Menu Monday, Recipe Sharing Monday, Made by You Monday, Tuesday Talent Show, This Chick Cooks, Full Plate Thursday, It's a Keeper Thursday

New York Crumb Cake

I grew up eating a cake similar to this one. We called it coffee cake, but the creators of this recipe have decreed that term verboten, so crumb cake it is. The beauty of this cake is the layer of delicious brown sugar crumbs on top, mercifully almost as thick as the cake itself. There's no better way to begin the morning.


NEW YORK CRUMB CAKE

1 c. dark brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
1 c. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour

2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/4 c. sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

Note: the first set of ingredients is for the crumb topping and the second is for the cake base

1. Preheat the oven for 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9 x 13 glass baking pan.

2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the brown sugar, sugar, salt and cinnamon. Pour in the melted butter and stir until combined. Fold in flour until incorporated. Set bowl aside.

3. In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

4. Using an electric mixer, cream the softened butter. Gradually add in sugar, beating well. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Add sour cream and then vanilla, mixing until just combined. Incorporate dry ingredients into batter in three batches, mixing between each addition. Pour batter into prepared baking pan.

5. Crumble brown sugar mixture over the batter, trying to get an even top layer.

6. Bake in preheated oven for 45-55 minutes. Allow to cool overnight.

Source: Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented