Ina Garten's Sour-Cream Coffee Cake Recipe For Beginners Is Comfort Food at Its Sweetest

Ina Garten's Sour-Cream Coffee Cake

Barefoot Contessa

If you don’t have cake flour, you can substitute 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour plus 1/4 cup cornstarch.

If the eggs are cold, place the whole eggs in a bowl of warm water for 5 minutes before cracking them.

For the Cake:
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups cake flour (see note)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the Streusel:
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, diced
3/4 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Grease and flour a 10-inch tube (bundt cake) pan.
Using an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar in a large bowl for 4 to 5 minutes, or until light and fluffy.
Beat in the eggs one at a time before adding in the vanilla and sour cream.
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Mixing at a low setting, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. To make sure the batter is well mixed, fold the mixture gently with a spatula until any remaining clumps are gone.
For the streusel, add the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter into a large bowl. Pinch the ingredients together with your fingers until they form a loose crumble. Using a spatula, mix in the walnuts.
Spoon half of the cake batter into the greased and floured pan and spread it out with a butter knife.
Sprinkle the batter with 3/4 cups of the streusel.
Spoon the rest of the batter over the streusel in the pan and spread it out with a butter knife. Scatter the remaining streusel on top.
Bake for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick comes out of the cake clean.
Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes before carefully transferring, streusel-side up, onto a serving plate.
In a small bowl, whisk together the confectioner's sugar and maple syrup until thick and runny. If necessary, add a few drops of water to thin the glaze slightly. Drizzle the glaze over the finished coffee cake and enjoy!