RECIPE: Sour Cream Coffee Cake by Ina Garten

I love anything and everything Ina Garten has made on her Food Network show, Barefoot Contessa.  She is an amazing chef.  So when Sarah said we'd be emulating a recipe of hers for FNCCC, I was so excited.  But that's where the trouble started -- I had to actually narrow down to just one recipe.  Originally I had intended to make Ina's Shortbread cookies dipped in chocolate.  Then I decided since I had purchased 3 containers of sour cream at Publix yesterday, I should make a sour cream cake.  I found this Sour Cream Coffee Cake by Ina.  It looks delicious doesn't?

So here's how I tweaked it:

Sour Cream Coffee Cake:

12 tablespoons softened butter

1-1/2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups sour cream

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the streusel:

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3 tablespoons cold butter

For the glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour a bundt cake pan.  Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl with an electric mixer for 4-5 minutes until it's really light in color and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla extract 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.

Spoon the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with streusel. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

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.

Now, for the best part.  Do any of you watch The Worst Cooks in America on the Food Network?  Chef Anne Burrell is a stickler about reading the recipe completely.  I mean COMPLETELY-- Before starting the recipe.  And I thought I was pretty good at this, until I spooned the entire cake batter into the Bundt pan and sprinkling ALL of the streusel on top.  Yes, Chef Anne would be very disappointed in me.  However, the cake turned out pretty good even though I messed up the recipe.  

I couldn't resist showing the underside of the cake...it came out perfectly.  Here's a secret on greasing the pan so the pound cake releases.  Make sure you use Crisco or other shortening.  I've tried substituting butter, but it sticks every time.  And make sure you flour it really well.  Shake the excess into the trash or sink.

This post has been linked to:

• FNCCC at I Blame My Mother