Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Who doesn’t love a good pound cake or coffee cake?!
This one was served pretty regularly in our household growing up,
especially when company was coming or there was a church event.
I’m sure it was also because the ingredients were always on hand.
It required no icing or fancy ingredients -
we always had flour, sugar, eggs and of course sour cream,
it was a staple!  (Growing up, we had homemade burritos once a week,
but that'll be another post).
 
This yummy stand-by spreads the most amazing cinnamon aroma
throughout your abode!  You can hardly wait for it to cool off enough to
take that first bite.  The cinnamon crunch on the bottom of the cake
has always been my favorite part.  I only wish the cake could be ALL bottom!
BUT, the cinnamon layer in the middle
of the cake always fascinated me while growing up.
How did it get there? 
Floating in the middle of the cake like that?! 
I can remember the day I learned how it was done.
I think I heard angels singing or something! 
Ahhh, THAT’S how it’s done!!!!

This cake is so good with coffee, obviously.  It’s also good with no coffee.
It’s good with a tall glass of cold milk.  It's good with just water.
It's just good all by itself.  It’s good for a snack.  It’s good for breakfast.  

 It’s good at midnight. It gets better everyday.
You gotta try it!
(My mom's handwritten recipe below!)

WHAT YOU NEED:

1 cup butter - 2 sticks (room temperature)

2 cups sugar

2 eggs (room temperature)

1 -16 oz. container sour cream
(even though my mom's recipe says 1 cup)

1 teaspoon good vanilla

2 cup flour

¼ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 cup brown sugar – packed

2 teaspoons cinnamon
(wayyy more cinnamon and brown sugar
than my mom EVER used!)

A good *Bundt pan
(*said in ‘My Big Fat Greek Wedding’ voice)

1 heaping tablespoon shortening (to coat pan)

¼ cup flour (to coat pan)

WHAT TO DO:

First things first.  Preheat oven to 350. 
Prepare *Bundt (or tube) pan with shortening/flour.
I do this by dipping a clean paper towel into my shortening can
and swiping about 1 tablespoon of shortening onto the paper towel.
Next, completely cover the inside of the Bundt pan with the shortening.

This can be a little tricky with an ornate pan, but just work the
shortening into each crevice.  For most baking I can usually get by
with spraying my pan with non-stick spray, but for a Bundt cake,
I only trust the cake coming out in one piece if I use the shortening method.

Now, after covering the inside of your Bundt pan with shortening,
sprinkle the ¼ cup of flour into the pan and while holding it over your sink
(for less mess), beat and turn your pan around so that the flour will stick to
every surface you covered with shortening.
Flip the pan over and tap against your faucet to remove excess flour.

Set pan aside.
**(Scroll to the bottom of this post for a
 substitute method/recipe for this messy step!)

Next, prepare cinnamon mixture.  In a separate little bowl,
combine 1 cup packed brown sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon.

Set aside.

Now, on to some cake making.
In a medium size mixing bowl, cream together your butter and sugar
until it lightens in color and is fluffy.  Add your eggs, one at a time,
beating and scraping down your bowl between each addition. 
Next, add in your sour cream and vanilla.
Lastly, add in your flour, salt and baking powder.

Mix until incorporated. No need to over-mix.
Scrape half of your cake mixture into your prepared Bundt pan.
Sprinkle appx. 1/3 of the cinnamon mixture all over top of your cake batter.
(This is that mystery swirly layer that floats in the middle of the cake!)

Scrape remaining cake batter into Bundt pan and pour
your remaining cinnamon mixture evenly on top of that.
This final cinnamon-y topping will actually be your yummy crust.

Bake for 45-60 minutes.  Mine usually takes 50-55 minutes.
I do a first check for done-ness at about 45 minutes. 
I actually use an ice pick for this.  I quickly insert it into the tallest point on the cake,
if it comes out with batter on it, bingo, it’s not done. 
I reset the timer for about 5-10 more minutes and my ice pick
usually comes out clean the second time.

THE FUN PART:
When your cake is done, remove from the oven
and place on a cooling rack.  Cover with a sheet of wax paper
(to retain moisture) or simply lay a paper towel across your pan.
Let the cake sit for 5 minutes or so.
Now take a butter knife and gently scrape around the sides of the cake,
even the center edges, to release any stuck on parts from the pan.
Place a large dinner or serving plate upside down on your Bundt pan.
With two thick hand towels (to protect your hands) or large oven mitts,
hold onto the plate and Bundt pan at the same time (scary, I know)
and quickly flip the two over and set on the counter.
After you exhale, remove the Bundt pan and pray
the cake came out in one piece.  

If not, I promise, it’s no big deal.  Just quickly and gently
scrape any stuck on chunks of cake out of the pan and place them
where they need to go on the cake.  It’s like a puzzle piece.
It’ll be fine.  Really.  Once they take a bite of this cake,
no one will care WHAT it looks like!

This cake is really better once cooled (in my opinion) or even the next day.
(if you can keep everyone’s paws off of it)
Make sure you keep it well covered and sealed so it won't dry out.
Enjoy this yummy coffee cake…from our kitchen to yours.

***Alternate Shortening/Flour Coating

In a medium bowl, mix together 1 cup of flour
and 1 cup of shortening.  Mix well.
Keep mixture in a good sealed up container
in a cool place - maybe where you keep your shortening.
Use this mixture to coat pans with when baking.
It will keep a very long time and is much less messy.
(And much cheaper than those non stick sprays!)


ENJOY!