Recipe: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

In my world one of the most satisfying things is finding a blog that inspires me. Shutterbean has easily been at the top of my inspiration list for years – her photographs are lovely, she has an artistic eye similar to mine, her recipes are killer, and she hits that blogging sweet spot of seeming both like a total rockstar and real person. I just love her.

When she posted the recipe for her mom’s sour cream coffee cake I bookmarked it immediately. I’m not a huge fan of coffee cake but this recipe looked like it had the potential to convert me. Plus, John loves coffee cake and since I’ve never made it, I wanted to surprise him.

Shutterbean’s Mom’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake (original recipe here)
1.5 cups butter
1.5 cups sugar
1.5 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1.5 cups sour cream
3 cups AP flour
1.5 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup chopped walnuts
1.5 tsp. cinnamon (I use King Arthur’s Vietnamese cinnamon)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp. of vanilla & water, mixed together

For the maple glaze:
1.25 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the vanilla and eggs, then the dry ingredients. Isn’t this the most beautiful batter you’ve ever seen?

Finally, mix in the sour cream. Don’t worry, this coffee cake isn’t going to taste like seven layer dip. The sour cream adds a wonderful creaminess, richness, and smoothness to the batter. Sour cream creates a light and super moist cake. It’s subtle, but powerful – trust me. And if you’re still skeptical, use greek yogurt. It’s the perfect substitute.

Mix it good.

While the batter is mixing, create the nut filling. Combine walnuts, cinnamon, and sugar in a separate bowl and combine thoroughly.

When the batter and filling are done, it’s time to make cake! Liberally grease a bundt pan. Pour in one third of the batter and top with one third of the nut mixture. Make sure each layer is even.

In a separate bowl mix the water and vanilla. Top each batter/nut layer with one third of the vanilla water. Shutterbean advises that this step is key and she’s totally right.

Repeat the layers – batter, nut mixture, vanilla water – twice more. Bake on 325 degrees for roughly 90 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 20 minutes. Turn the cake out on to a wire rack and cool completely.