Made By Melissa

This recipe comes from the lovely Ina Garten. Who doesn’t love The Barefoot Contessa? Seriously, especially her baked goods. A lot of her recipes intimidate me, but this one is one I have made several times now, both in cake form and as muffins.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 cups sour cream (I used low fat)
• 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• For the streusel:
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional (I did not use this time)
• For the glaze:
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. 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. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, 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 walnuts, if desired.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.

To make 12 muffins, I halved the recipe- everything divides evenly except the eggs, I used 2 large. Using my Pampered Chef medium scoop, I put one scoop of batter in the bottom of the muffin cup, sprinkled 1/2 teaspoon of streusel and topped with another scoop of batter and 1 teaspoon of streusel. If you like a lot of streusel, don’t half the recipe for that and use more, but the maple glaze is very sweet.