classic sour cream coffee cake
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Breakfast dreams are made of classic sour cream coffee cake! Golden, buttery, and so delicious, this coffee cake is piled high with buttery streusel topping and drizzled with vanilla glaze.
The Best Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Streusel – Made with melted butter, the brown sugar pecan streusel is simply irresistible! Half the streusel is layered with the cake batter to form a ribbon running throughout the coffee cake. The remaining streusel is sprinkled over the top of the cake batter and bakes up beautifully golden.
Cake – Sour cream, buttermilk, and two large eggs plus one egg yolk ensure a golden and tender crumb for this coffee cake. Full fat Greek yogurt can also be used as an equal swap for the sour cream. Pure vanilla extract adds rich flavor to the buttery cake!
Glaze – A drizzle of vanilla butter glaze makes the perfect finish to this classic brunch recipe.
Coffee Cake Success
Room Temperature Ingredients – Bring all of the cake ingredients (butter, eggs, egg yolk, sour cream, and buttermilk) to room temperature before beginning to ensure that they mix together uniformly.
Springform Pan – Use a 9-inch springform pan for this recipe. To prepare the pan, spread a thin layer of softened butter across the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
Add a small amount of flour to the pan (about a tablespoon) and gently shake the pan to coat the bottom and up the sides evenly with flour. Invert the pan and tap out any excess flour.
Baking Time – Bake coffee cake for 65 minutes to 75 minutes, or until the top is golden and springs back to the touch, and a tester inserted in the center comes out with a few crumbs attached. To prevent cake from over-browning, tent with foil after 40 minutes of baking.
Cooling Time – Transfer coffee cake to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes before removing the sides from the pan. Cool for at least 1 hour before glazing and serving.
Tips for Storing Coffee Cake
Store the baked coffee cake at room temperature for up to 2 days, or wrap well and refrigerate. Reheat coffee cake in a warm oven (300-325°F) before serving.
To freeze leftover coffee cake, wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap and pop into a freezer bag for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, reheat in a warm oven (325°F) for 15 minutes or until heated through before serving.
Craving more coffee cake?
- Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake
- Caramel Apple Coffee Cake
- Berry Streusel Coffee Cake
- Brown Butter Coffee Cake
Did you try this Sour Cream Coffee Cake Recipe? Let me know by leaving a comment and rating below!
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Classic Sour Cream Coffee Cake
- Prep Time: 40 minutes
- Cook Time: 65 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 1 9-inch coffee cake
- Category: Breakfast
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
The BEST classic sour cream coffee cake! Topped with brown sugar pecan streusel and drizzled with vanilla glaze, you’ll love this sour cream coffee cake.
Ingredients
Streusel
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/2 cup pecans, finely chopped
Cake
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 10 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs plus 1 egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream, at room temperature
- 1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk, at room temperature
Glaze
- 1 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 Tbsp milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan.
- For the streusel, whisk together flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a medium bowl. Add melted butter and mix in with a fork until completely incorporated and streusel is crumbly. Stir in pecans. Chill until ready to use.
- For the cake, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter, sugar, and vanilla in a large mixer bowl at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add eggs and yolk one at a time and beat well. Combine sour cream and buttermilk in a small bowl. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with sour cream mixture (begin and end with flour mixture).
- Spoon half the batter batter into prepared pan and smooth with an offset spatula. Sprinkle evenly with half of the chilled streusel. Spoon remaining batter evenly over streusel. Gently smooth and tap the pan sharply to reduce air bubbles. Sprinkle evenly with remaining chilled streusel.
- Bake for 40 minutes, then tent with foil to prevent over-browning. Continue baking another 25 to 35 minutes (for a total of 65 to 75 minutes) or until topping is golden, cake springs back to the touch and a tester emerges with a few crumbs attached.
- Transfer to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes before removing sides from pan; cool for at least 1 hour before serving.
- For the glaze, whisk together melted butter, salt, vanilla, powdered sugar, and milk in a small bowl. Drizzle glaze over coffee cake and let set before serving.
- Store baked coffee cake at room temperature for up to 2 days, or wrap well and refrigerate. Reheat coffee cake in a warm oven (300°F) before serving.
Notes
Sour cream: Full fat Greek yogurt can also be used as an equal swap for the sour cream.
Freeze coffee cake: Wrap each slice tightly in plastic wrap and pop into a freezer bag for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, reheat in a warm oven (325°F) for 15 minutes or until heated through before serving.
Keywords: Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Coffee Cake, Streusel, Breakfast, Brunch
This cake is delicious but too much for one person. Can it be frozen?
Hi Helen, so glad you tried this coffee cake! Absolutely – I like to cut it into slices, wrap each slice in plastic wrap, and pop into a freezer bag for up to 2 months. When you’re ready to enjoy, reheat in a warm oven (325 degrees) before serving.
Hi! Could you make this in a Bundt cake pan?
Hi Karine, I haven’t tested this in a bundt pan so I’m unsure of the impact on the streusel topping/ribbon, and overall texture of the cake. If you don’t have a springform pan, then I suggest baking my brown butter coffee cake (uses an 8-inch square pan) or my snickerdoodle bundt cake instead. Hope that helps!