For many years we lived next door to a lovely woman who used to baby sit my son while I was working at the local hospital. Her name was Mabel and we always enjoyed spending time with her - she was like part of our family and we called her Maw Maw. One of our favorite treats was this coffee cake that Mabel would serve at her home or send over to us on special occasions. This is my take on a mid-century classic recipe. 

Enjoy it for breakfast, Sunday brunch, high-tea, an after work snack or really just about anytime.  Serve it with a fresh-brewed cup of coffee or a glass of cold milk. It’s delicious!

Mabel’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

• 12 pecans (whole)

• 2 cups sugar

• 2 large eggs

• 2 cups sifted cake flour

• 1 teaspoon baking powder

• ⅛ teaspoon salt

• ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• 1 cup sour cream

Streusel Topping Ingredients:

• ½ cup pecans (chopped)

• 2 teaspoons granulated sugar

• 1 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

Mix the Streusel Topping ingredients together and set aside.

Grease a Bundt or tube pan generously with butter.  Place the 12 whole pecans in the bottom of the buttered pan.

Mix the softened butter until fluffy. Add sugar and mix until well combined. Sift the cake flour, baking power and salt together, then set aside.

Mix in eggs one at a time, then vanilla until well incorporated. Add in sifted dry ingredients in three parts, scraping down the bowl between additions and being careful not to over mix. Fold in sour cream until mixed.

Sprinkle two tablespoons of Streusel Topping mixture into the bottom of the Bundt cake pan. Cover with a third of the cake batter and spread around to even the batter. Sprinkle two additional tablespoons of Streusel Topping (reserve some for garnish), then the rest of the batter and spread around to make an even layer.

Bake in a 350°F oven for 45-50 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Allow cake to completely cool in the pan before removing.

Tips and Tricks:

If you do not have cake flour on hand, you can make it yourself; you’ll need all purpose flour and corn starch. Remove two tablespoons of all purpose flour from each cup, then and add two tablespoons of corn starch to each cup.  Be sure to sift this together twice so it is well mixed.

Once the cake has cooled, place on serving plate and garnish with some cinnamon, sugar and chopped pecans.

Tools:

Here are a few items I think you might find useful.

Let’s talk about a Kitchenaid mixer. I realize they’re expensive, but it’s something you’ll buy hopefully only need to buy once in a lifetime and keep it forever. I use mine constantly and think they’re worth the money. They come in many colors and a couple of different sizes. I’ve placed a link to one that’s very similar to mine, but there many to choose from.

Good pans make the cake - quality matters! I like Nordic Ware and this is a good pan. They do make one in their Pro Cast line that’s even better, but it doesn’t have handles. The handles make it a bit easier when you’re moving the cake to and from the oven and especially when you’re trying to release the cake after baking.