Barefoot Contessa Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel and Maple Glaze

When a coworker's birthday coincides with a week of staff inservice, there's really not that much to celebrate. Unless, of course, you like to bake and therefore make the case for a birthday breakfast cake! I've been looking forward to making Ina Garten's Sour Cream Coffee Cake for some time and was not disappointed.


You can make the cake in a tube pan or - like me - a bundt pan. Following the advice of some of other reviewers, I doubled the streusel topping so that I have streusel on the top of the cake (add about 1 cup to the bundt pan before putting in half the batter) and in the middle (add the remaining streusel and top with the rest of the batter). I also doubled the maple glaze - shocking, I know. 


As we sit down to hours of meetings today, I'm satisfied knowing that no one's stomach should be growling. How can you go wrong when you start the day with the Barefoot Contessa?

Here's the recipe - which you can also find over on the Food Network:


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
2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt


STREUSEL: (I doubled for the bundt cake)
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional


GLAZE:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons real maple syrup


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan (or bundt pan).



Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla 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. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.


Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. 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.