Sour Cream Streusel Coffee Cake

Though baking is my passion, I'm feeling a little exhausted with all this baking I have been doing for the last few months since Swara was born. With each passing day, she is becoming more demanding and requires our full attention when at home. So I usually pursue my baking/ cake decorating hobby at night after I put her to bed. Although I am exhausted by then, the idea of whipping up new and creative confections puts me back in high gear. Believe me, its really very rewarding to bake your own cakes & nothing tastes sweeter than fruits of your own labor.

Anyways, so continuing with the tradition of celebrating her monthly B'days, I decided to bake this Sour Cream Streusel Coffee Cake from my "The Cook's Encyclopedia of Baking" book for her 11th month B'day. I like the fact that the recipe calls for brown sugar, making it a little different than the other cakes I have baked so far. The layer of brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts on top of the cake was a little too sweet for us, but nevertheless, the cake turned out to be very moist and delicious.

Time just flies….can't believe my little princess will be 1 year old next month. We have already started planning for her first B'day. Although it's a big challenge, I'm planning to bake and decorate the cake at home.



Ingredients -
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs, at room temperature
1½ cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 cup sour cream

FOR THE TOPPING -
1 cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed
2 tsps ground cinnamon
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
4 tbsp cold butter, cut in pieces

Method -
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9- inch square cake pan with wax paper and grease.
2. For the topping, place the brown sugar, cinnamon and walnuts in a bowl. Mix with your fingertips, then add the butter and continue working with your fingertips until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. To make the cake, cream the butter with an electric mixer until soft. Add the sugar and continue beating until the mixture is light and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
5. In another bowl, sift the flour, baking soda and baking powder together 3 times
6. Fold the dry ingredients into the butter mixture in 3 batches, alternating with the sour cream. Fold until blended after each addition.
7. Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle over half of the walnut topping mixture.
8. Pour the remaining batter on top and sprinkle over the remaining walnut mixture.
9. Bake until browned, 60 -70 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes, then unmold and transfer to a cooling rack.