I hope that good intentions are worth something because my initial plan to bring a warm coffee cake to a new neighbor really was a good idea.
It went a little something like this… A month or so ago, my visiting mom picked up some new neighbors in front of our house. The neighbor lady and her mother were out for a walk and were equally as open to communicate with friendly strangers as my mother always is. Within the first five minutes, we knew that they had just moved back into the city from the suburbs with their three kids and that our parents were both from Michigan. (Hailing from Michigan is common for Chicagoans. Discovery of this common geographic origin often results in a showing of “the hand” and occasionally the name game to find connections.)
I was reminded that when I moved into the neighborhood, I was welcomed with a warm apple, rhubarb cake by my next door neighbor. It made my week and softened the blow of unpacking all the boxes. So, I decided to pass along the good will to our neighbor and bake her a coffee cake.
I chose a new recipe from my Grand Central Baking Book. My plan was to split the recipe usually intended for a 9 x 13 pan into two smaller square pans so I could keep one at home and bring one to her. But, the day I started baking I discovered that my ingredients were short and I was forced to halve the recipe. The list of ingredients, fresh blueberries and soft, thick crumble atop the cake seemed to promise a sure thing. But, as the cake was cooling and the aroma filled the house, I gained a sliver of doubt.
What if is was dry? What if it isn’t a very good recipe? I would hate to welcome the new neighbors with a subpar performance. I better sample… just a nibble. Oh wait, I can’t bring over a cake with a piece cut out. I might as well just eat a small square. Wow. This is good cake. I bet it would taste even more perfect alongside a cup of hot coffee. [brew coffee] Why yes… yes it does taste unbelievable. This must be the best sour cream coffee cake recipe I have ever made.
Not a morsel of that cake made it past my threshold. In my head it felt wrong but for my taste buds and tummy it felt oh so right. She will never miss what she didn’t know she was getting? *Sigh*
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
from The Grand Central Bakery
Streusel
1/2 cup cold unsalted butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup (7 ounces) packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of slat
3/4 cup rolled oats
Coffee Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 Tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups sour cream
2 cups diced fresh fruit, berries or rhubarb
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.
Make the streusel: Dice the butter into 1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes, then combine it with the granulated and brown sugars, flour and salt. Use two knives, a pastry blender, or your fingers to mix the ingredients until crumbly, then mix in the oats. If you’re making the streusel ahead of time, cover and store in fridge until ready to proceed.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl with high sides. Make a well in the center. In another bowl, lightly whisk the eggs, butter and vanilla together. Pour the mixture into the well, then add the sour cream by evenly distributing large spoonfuls around the edges of the dry ingredients. Gently mix the batter using a large spatula to fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Use big, slow, circular strokes that scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl with each motion. Don’t worry if the batter appears slightly lumpy, or if there are streaks of sour cream. The delicate texture of this batter is achieved through minimal mixing. (Some small patches of flour may still be visible, that is okay. It will be absorbed during the baking process.)
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Distribute the fruit in an even layer over the batter, then sprinkle evenly with the streusel. Bake for 45 minutes rotating the pan halfway through the baking time. The streusel should be crunchy and brown and a skewer inserted in the center should come out clean. Serve straight from the oven with plenty of fresh, piping hot coffee.
PRINT RECIPE
August 4th, 2010 at 8:32 am
We’re suckers for anything with a streusel topping…and anything that pairs well with a cup of coffee…and anything that tastes too good to let it out of your house! We will definitely have to give this a try…baked breakfast treats are a weakness of ours!
August 4th, 2010 at 2:13 pm
This looks and sounds fabulous! I always want to bake stuff like this, but know I’ll be in trouble if I do. I need to start planning some brunch gatherings :) Then again, maybe I’d eat it all before my guests arrived!
August 4th, 2010 at 11:53 pm
You might as well invite the neighbours over next time. :) The coffee cake looks as delicious as you make it sound. I’m going to try it
August 5th, 2010 at 9:52 am
“A” for effort! You are certainly not alone in those sorts of intentions, and now you know it was a great recipe!
August 5th, 2010 at 11:06 pm
I would like to add your blog to my new blog network! Come and visit Mama’s Little Nestwork! I am looking for featured recipe bloggers. Your blog is great!
Mama Hen
http://www.mamaslittlenestwork.com
August 6th, 2010 at 5:45 am
[...] Sour Cream Coffee Cake :: Whipped [...]
August 6th, 2010 at 6:38 am
[...] Sour Cream Coffee Cake :: Whipped [...]
August 6th, 2010 at 8:17 am
hey so it’s 6:15AM here in SF and I just made my first blue bottle drip coffee. Would you mind beaming me a slice of that magical delicious looking cake? double dutch yum!
August 6th, 2010 at 9:55 am
[...] Sour Cream Coffee Cake :: Whipped [...]
August 8th, 2010 at 7:19 pm
How neighborly of you! I can only hope that my new neighbors next week will be as kind as you were.
I’m going to have to file away this recipe, my cake pans are all packed!
August 9th, 2010 at 9:56 pm
This is soooo funny and I can see why you didn’t bring it to your neighbors…though you really must try again so that you can get to know them better! Yum!
August 11th, 2010 at 9:57 am
You crack me up. This is SO something I would have done – I think we were separated at birth. And it’s another reason in a long long list of why you’re my friend. And I had some of that rhubarb apple cake! It was good … and still warm if I remember correctly.
August 15th, 2010 at 6:27 am
Tried this last weekend (what’s a weekend without home-made coffee cake) and it was phenomenal! It bubbled over my 9×13 a bit, but other than that it was perfect (hooray for oven liners). Thanks for sharing!
September 1st, 2010 at 12:33 am
Oh my gosh, this look delicious! And so beautiful!
I’ve recently launched my own blog, I’d love for you to check it out and let me know what you think :) http://www.prettygoodfood.com
Thanks, and Happy Cooking!!!
October 14th, 2010 at 9:39 pm
Made this with strawberries in two round cake pans for my castmates at 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and it disappeared amongst many raves and thumbs ups! This recipe is magic! (And you’re right; saving one cake for home means one will make it out the door … :-)
January 9th, 2011 at 10:23 am
Wow! I made two coffee cakes last night to kill a couple of containers of sour cream that were expiring soon and this was definitely the better one. Moist, tender cake, nice fresh fruit flavor (I used a mix of blueberries, raspberries and blackberries from my freezer), and wonderful topping. The other cake (a Barefoot Contessa) was rather dry and bland by comparison. Thanks for posting this, it is definitely a keeper!
February 10th, 2012 at 6:19 pm
logo online…
[...]Sour Cream Coffee Cake :: Whipped[...]…
September 21st, 2012 at 10:13 am
That’s an inventive answer to an interesting qeusiton