Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This week, I seem to be a roll with recipes by Ina Garten. Her baking recipes don’t scrimp on sugar or butter, but as I might have said before, her recipes are spot on, and rarely have errors.

An American coffee cake is what the English would refer to as “teacake”. The idea being that it should be wolfed down with some tea (or coffee). This sour cream cake is a beautifully moist cake, thanks to the addition of the cream, and is layered with a crunchy cinnamon streusel which provides a nice textural contrast.

The origins of the coffee cake are Dutch / German, and they knew a thing or two about baking. It keeps very well, doesn’t need refrigeration, and is, in fact, perfect with an English cuppa.

I have made very few changes to the original recipe, other than cutting back some sugar and converting her recipe to metric measurements. I also used pecan instead of walnuts, as I had a new supply of pecans given to me by a kind American friend. I think the combination of pecan and cinnamon is one made in heaven. If you want to skip the nuts, it will still be very good.

A reminder that you can make your own vanilla extract.

See notes before you start.

Print Recipe
Sour cream coffee cake
You will need a 10” ring mould (see photo below) to bake this cake. It’s good to have the eggs at room temperature, so that the mixture doesn’t curdle when you add the eggs. It’s not essential, but makes for a smoother batter. If you don’t stock cake flour (I don’t) see notes below on how to substitute.
Cuisine Modern British
Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 1 hour
Passive Time 30 min
Servings
Ingredients
For the cake batter:
For the streusel:
For the drizzle:
Cuisine Modern British
Prep Time 10 min
Cook Time 1 hour
Passive Time 30 min
Servings
Ingredients
For the cake batter:
For the streusel:
For the drizzle:
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 175C (you can use 160C fan, but for cakes, I don’t advise using the fan setting as it tends to dry out the cake). Place a baking tray in the middle shelf.
  2. Grease and flour a 10-inch ring mould.
  3. Make the streusel first. Place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the nuts. Set aside.
  4. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Alternatively use a hand held beater. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream.
  5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Don’t over mix, as you don’t want gluten in the flour to toughen.
  6. Give a final stir a spatula to be ensure the batter is completely mixed.
  7. Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with about half the streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top.
  8. Place the cake in the preheated oven and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.
  9. Whilst the cake is baking, make the drizzle. If the icing sugar is lumpy sieve it first before using. Add enough maple syrup to make a runny glaze.
  10. Once the cake is done, let it cool in the cake tin a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, but place it streusel side up. Drizzle over the glaze, ensuring that there's a tray or plate below to catch the drips.
Recipe Notes

DIY Cake flour - Once you have measured out the plain flour, remove 2 level tablespoons of it, and replace with 2 level tablespoons of cornflour.

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