Published November 1, 2002.
We had two goals when developing our sour cream coffee cake recipe: We wanted a decadent, ultra-moist cake, pleasantly rich and dense from the addition of sour cream, and we had to have crisp, crunchy, melt-in-your-mouth streusel on the inside and on the top. A batter made with all-purpose flour (for structure), four eggs (for a tight crumb), plus plenty of butter, sour cream, and sugar gave our cake superior flavor and a velvety feel. As for the streusel, we found that a great one is made with nuts, brown sugar, plenty of cinnamon, and cold butter. To ensure that the cake cooked through completely, we baked it for a full hour at 350 degrees.
Refer to the illustrations below when layering the batter and streusel in the pan. A fixed-bottom, 10-inch tube pan (with 10-cup capacity) is best for this recipe. Note that the streusel is divided into two parts—one for the inner swirls, one for the topping.
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