Sour Cream Coffee Cake – The Only Recipe You’ll Need for the Rest of Your Life

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Just in case you wanted to make the Sausage & Rice Casserole AND the Coffee cake, I thought I’d give you the recipe.  This was my grandmother’s.  I am the luckiest grand-daughter.   I received my Grandma’s recipe box full of her recipes after she passed away.  There is not a week that I don’t pull out one of these treasures.

This is her recipe.  Her handwriting.  Her spills and splatters.  I love it.  

This is the only coffee cake recipe you will ever need for the rest of your life.  It has it all.  It’s moist.  It’s got cinnamon.  It has layers of pecans.  It has butter-cream icing. It is an excellent addition to your morning cup of Joe.  It’s perfect.  The best part about this recipe is that it can be adapted into other coffee cakes.  I use this recipe to make a blueberry-lemon cake that my youngest begs me for.  I also make it into a berry coffee-cake, also delicious.

I am going to have to give you the step-by-step instructions without pictures.  Last week was a bit busy & somehow I made the coffee cake without taking a single picture.  Sorry.  I’ll take some pictures next time I make it.  Today, all I have is this:

Oh Yes!  You want this in your life.

This recipe is not hard at all once you have made it once.  We love to make it.  There are 3 components to this cake.

1. The cake batter – duh
2. The nut mixture – this creates a cinnamon/nut layer on the top of the bundt cake and through the center of the cake – yum
3. The Buttercream icing – to drizzle on top

There are also 3 secrets to hitting a home-run every time.

1. Never beat this batter.
2. You must grease & flour the bundt (parchment paper or foil help too) or the coffee cake won’t come out.
3. If your cake gets stuck in the bundt pan – never fear…. use my secret to getting a coffee cake perfectly out of a bundt pan (at the bottom of this post).

Remember these 3 things & you’ll have a perfect cake every time.

Start by making the cake batter.

Here’s the ingredients:

• Flour (I use organic)
• Baking Powder
• Sugar (I use Cane juice crystals)
• Butter
• Salt (real)
• Vanilla
• Sour cream (I’m using the stuff from the giant pet in my front yard, but Daisy will work in a pinch)

First melt the butter.  Add the sugar.  Whip the sugar and the butter together with a whisk.  Then add the eggs and whisk again.  Add the sour cream and vanilla and whisk again.  Never beat.

In a separate bowl combine baking powder, flour and salt.

Pour the dry ingredients in with the others & mix again.  Remember – never beat this one.

After the batter is finished you can set it aside and put together the nut/ cinnamon mixture.

See the layer of cinnamon & nuts through the cake?  There is also a “layer” of nuts on the top of the cake (just under the icing).

We need to put this glorious filling inside the coffee cake before we bake it.

Begin by making the nut mixture.  Combine:

• 4 Tbsp Brown Sugar
• 4 Tbsp chopped Pecans
• 1 Tsp Cinnamon

Stir it up.

Prepare the bundt pan.  Bundt pans are beautiful, yet a pain in the butt.  I cover mine with a non-stick oil, and then throw in a circle of parchment paper for good measure.  Please feel free to use flour, sprays and foil as deemed necessary in order to get your cake to come out of pan after baking.

Once your bundt pan is ready to except the cake, sprinkle half of the nut mixture into the bottom of the pan.  It will land right on top of the parchment paper (if you are using some).

Next dollop half of the batter on top of the nut mixture.  Smooth it around a bit with a spoon so you have a semi-flat surface to sprinkle the other half of the nut mix onto.  Sprinkle on the rest of the nut mixture.  Top with remaining batter.

Now your cake is ready to bake.

At this point you can’t see the wonderful cinnamon, brown sugar or pecans – they are hiding under the batter.  When your coffee cake comes out of the bundt pan all that goodness will be right on top.  Mmmm.

Pop in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Unless you are using my oven, then you’ll want to bake it at 340 degrees for 1 hour.

When it comes out of the oven you will have a beautiful coffee-cake.  Except it’s stuck inside a bundt pan.  If you turn it over on it’s head and bang it on the floor it MAY come out.  But it might be in 60 pieces.  Or it may be in 12 pieces.  Or it may not come out at all.  It may just stick there in the pan like super-glue.   Or half of it may come out and the remainder will be stuck in the pan.  Or it may be scrambled by the time you dig the entire thing out with a knife.

Stupid bundt pan.

Here’s how I get the cake out of the pan… in one piece.

Use parchment paper.  This works like a dream and your cake will fall out of the pan.  Just trace the bundt shape on your parchment paper and cut it out.  Then cut the hole for the center.  Now you will have a “ring” you can place in the bottom of your bundt pan.

If you blanked out on the parchment paper, or don’t have any and don’t want to go to the store, there is still hope.

Let the cake cool completely.  Heat your oven to 250 degrees.  Put the cooked coffee cake (that is still stuck in the bundt pan) into the 250 degree oven.  Cook 3 minutes.  Take it out and flip upside down onto a platter.  Plop!  Perfect bundt shaped coffee cake.   Amazing.

After you get the gorgeous cake out of the bundt pan it is time to drizzle it with some butter cream icing.  Oh Baby.

To make the icing:

Butter Cream Icing

• 1 stick Butter
• 1 tsp Vanilla
• 2 Tbsp Milk
• pinch of salt
• 1 Cup Powdered Sugar (more if too thin)

You want the icing to be thin enough so it will pour on the cake and gently drape down the sides, but not too thin.  Too thick and it just sits on top.  Too thin and it all runs off.  Be sure you pour the icing on a cool cake.  If the cake is still warm all the icing will melt.  And I will be sad.

Serve for breakfast, dessert or anytime in between.

Enjoy!

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XO,

Candi

Print Recipe

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This is the only coffee cake recipe you will ever need for the rest of your life. It's moist. It's got cinnamon. It has layers of pecans. It has butter-cream icing. It's perfect.

Course

Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine

Dessert

Cook Time

1 hour

Servings

people

Ingredients

Cake

• 1 cup butter
• 1 3/4 cups cane sugar
• 2 eggs
• 8 oz sour cream
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 cups fresh milled flour

Nut Filling

• 4 tbsp brown sugar
• 4 tbsp nuts I prefer pecans
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Butter Cream Glaze/ Icing

• 1 stick butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp milk
• pinch Salt
• powdered sugar

Course Breakfast, Dessert Cuisine Dessert Cook Time 1 hour Servings people Ingredients Cake 1 cup butter 1 3/4 cups cane sugar 2 eggs 8 oz sour cream 1 tsp vanilla 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp Salt 2 cups fresh milled flour Nut Filling 4 tbsp brown sugar 4 tbsp nuts I prefer pecans 1 tsp cinnamon Butter Cream Glaze/ Icing 1 stick butter 1 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp milk pinch Salt powdered sugar

Recipe Notes

Cake Batter:

First soften the butter.  Add the sugar and whip it together with a whisk.  Then add the eggs. Mix well.  Add the sour cream & vanilla.  Stir well.   Never beat.  Combine dry ingredients in separate bowl: baking powder, salt and flour.  Add dry ingredients to butter mixture & whisk again.  Remember – never beat this one.

For the nut filling:

In a small bowl combine: brown sugar, nuts & cinnamon.

Assemble the Cake:

Spray the heck out of the inside of the bundt pan with some non-stick spray.  Then flour the entire inside.  Shake out excess flour. Once your bundt pan is sufficiently greased, floured and non-stuck it is time to fill it with the nut topping and cake batter (alternating).

First, Sprinkle 1/2 of the “nut topping” mixture into the bottom of the bundt pan.  Spoon 1/2 of the batter onto the “topping” mixture.  Sprinkle the other 1/2 of the topping on top of the batter.  Spoon on the other 1/2 of the batter.

This will result in a lovely bundt cake that has nuts on the top as well as running through the center of your coffee cake.

Bake 340 degrees for 1 hour, or until done in center (toothpick comes out clean).

Butter Cream Icing:

Combine softened butter, vanilla, milk & salt.  Add powdered sugar until icing has the consistency of cake batter.  This icing should be a bit runny so that it will run down the sides of your cake.

Once cake is cool drizzle with butter cream icing.

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