Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This Sour Cream Coffee Cake is made in the classic style with a moist, tender and slightly dense golden crumb, rich flavor and buttery crumb topping. It is simple enough to make weekly as a snacking cake, and perfect to serve at brunch or enjoy it at breakfast with a cup of coffee. It isn't too sweet and is fragrant with cinnamon. There's a thick ribbon of cinnamon filling through the middle and a moreish crumb topping that are made from the same mixture. If you love coffee cake, then try my Sour Cream Coffee Cake Muffins and this classic Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

• Easy to make - this recipe comes together quickly and uses basic pantry ingredients that you likely have on hand already.
• Moist coffee cake - the cake is perfectly moist and has soft and slightly dense texture as is typical with classic coffee cakes that are meant to be substantial.
• Perfectly sweet - since coffee cake is something meant to be served at brunch and suitable for any time of day (not just dessert), it isn't overly sweet.
• Rich flavor - sour cream adds rich dairy notes that makes this cake taste so delicious and it pairs well with a cup of coffee or tea.
• Brown sugar streusel - like every good coffee cake, there's a buttery brown sugar crumb topping that makes it so moreish.
• Cinnamon filling - a ribbon of moist cinnamon spiced crumbs is between two layers of batter and it adds another layer of flavor and texture. The topping and filling are made from the same mixture so it doesn't require extra steps.
• Sugar glaze - this is optional, but I promise it is so worth it! It gives the topping a melting quality as the icing dissolves on your tongue instantly.

INGREDIENTS FOR SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

• All purpose flour - regular unbleached all-purpose flour works great for coffee cakes. Do not pack it down when measuring or use a scale to get the right amount.
• Baking powder - you'll need equal amounts of baking powder and baking soda to help this batter rise.
• Baking soda - baking soda gives this cake golden crumb color and also reacts with the sour cream to help leaven the batter.
• Butter - you will need unsalted or salted butter for this recipe. If you use salted, then you can reduce the salt a bit in the cake batter. If you use salted butter for the streusel, then you don't need to add any salt to it.

• Brown sugar - light brown sugar works great in this recipe. It adds a lovely hint of molasses flavor and also keeps it extra moist.
• Sour cream - it's the main flavor in the cake batter. Sour cream contributes rich cultured dairy notes and also creates a moist open crumb.
• Milk - a bit of milk helps loosen the dense batter so it stays moist and has some movement to rise.

STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS: HOW TO MAKE SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

• STEP 1). Make the filling/topping. Combine flour, brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl and mix together until evenly blended. Add the melted butter and stir it in until it evenly combined and the mixture forms clumps.
• STEP 2). To make the filling, take about ¾ cup of this crumb mixture and place in a separate bowl. Stir in the remaining 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cover the bowls and set them aside until needed so they don't dry out.
• STEP 3). Make the cake batter. Blend dry ingredients. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into another medium bowl and whisk to blend evenly.
• STEP 4). Blend wet ingredients. Combine softened butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl and mix with an electric hand mixer on medium speed (or "cream" by hand using a wide spatula) until smooth and a bit fluffy - the butter should be really soft to do this since there is not a lot of butter compared to sugar. The mixture will look more like a smooth paste rather than very pale and whipped. Add one egg and mix well until combined. Add the second egg and mix until evenly blended. Mix in sour cream and vanilla until smooth and creamy.
• STEP 5). Blend wet and dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the butter/egg mixture and fold it in with a spatula just until mostly combined but before all of the flour is incorporated. Add milk and fold it in until the batter is homogeneous.
• STEP 6). Assemble the cake. Spread half of the batter evenly into the prepared pan. It will be a thin layer and that is exactly right. Sprinkle the filling mixture evenly over top. Spoon the remaining batter in dollops over the crumbs and then gently spread it out evenly. The batter will want to puck up the crumbs beneath as you spread, so I find it is easiest done with an offset spatula and use it to connect the dollops of batter first so they have some anchor, then drag it out to the edges of the pan to continue to even it out. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the batter.
• STEP 7). Bake 35-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cover with foil and set aside to cool. The foil will help it steam slightly so that the crumbs soften and stay moist instead of drying out. Let the cake cool for at least 30 minutes in the pan before removing the sides of the springform.
• STEP 8). Make the icing. Whisk all of the icing ingredients together and drizzle over the slightly warm cake. Serve cake warm or at room temperature.

EXPERT BAKING TIPS

• Measure flour correctly. Adding too much flour to the batter can result in an overly dense cake. This batter is thick from the sour cream, and too much flour will make it dry.
• Use full fat sour cream. Full fat sour cream as 14% milkfat compared to 5% for "light sour cream". That's almost 3 times more fat so it will make a difference in the texture of the cake.
• Do not over-mix - this is a thick and dense batter and doesn't need to be perfectly smooth to turn out wonderfully. Just gently fold the flour in until evenly incorporated so there aren't any large dry streaks, but no need to mix excessively. Over-mixing will lead to a drier, tougher crumb texture instead of soft and tender.
• Steam the cake as it cools. This is one of my secret tricks. When the cake comes out of the oven, I cover it with foil to let the top steam a little. The crumbs are still crunchy on top, and then underneath they become soft and fudgy as they settle into the cake.

RECIPE FAQ

If you love cake and fruit, check out these recipes!

Brown Butter Peach Crumb Cake Strawberry Crumb Cake Caramel Apple Cake

Dark Chocolate Cherry Almond Cake Copycat Starbucks Lemon Loaf recipe Raspberry Almond Cake ULTIMATE Moist Chocolate Fudge Cake Lemon Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Lemon Curd Frosting Creamy Raspberry Cheesecake Sticky Toffee Date Cake Moist Lemon Blueberry Bread Olive Oil Chocolate Bundt Cake Blueberry Peach Upside Down Cake Blueberry Swirl Lemon Loaf Cake

Brunch bakes

Looking for more delicious recipes like this? Try these:

More easy cakes

Do you enjoy baking simple cakes? Here are more cake recipes: