This classic Coffee Cake is super easy to whip up and makes a great companion to your morning coffee. It will soon become your favorite sweet brunch dish to serve for any celebrations you’re hosting or just any time the mood strikes.
Make the streusel by combining flour, brown sugar and granulated sugar, just a pinch of salt, and cinnamon in a small bowl, mix together thoroughly with a whisk.
Cut the cold butter into small cubes and add to the dry mixture. Use a pastry blender to cut the butter into the dry mixture or pinch it together with your fingers until the texture is of wet sand. Cover and freeze until ready to use.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Melt the butter in a microwave-safe bowl for about 30 seconds.
Use the melted butter to brush an 8” cake pan, line the pan with two pieces of long parchment paper and a piece of round parchment paper to cover the bottom of the pan, let the excess hang over the sides for handles. Then brush the parchment paper with melted butter as well.
Set the baking pan aside and allow the rest of the melted butter to cool.
In a medium mixing bowl, add sour cream, eggs, the cool butter, and vanilla extract, beat with a whisk until smooth.
In another mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Add salt and sugar and whisk to distribute evenly. Then add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Fold with a spatula until just combined.
Add half the cake batter to the prepared pan, and use a spatula to spread it into a flat layer. Sprinkle half of the streusel over the top, about 1 cup. Then add the rest of the cake batter over the streusel layer in dollops and gently nudge it into a flat layer with your fingers. Sprinkle the rest of the streusel on top evenly.
Bake for about 45 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool on a wire rack completely before unmolding the cake. To remove the cake from the pan, take a butter knife to gently loosen the side then lift the cake out of the pan using the parchment paper “handles”.
Notes
You can bake this coffee cake in a 9” cake pan or a 8” square baking pan but bake time will be shorter.
Using a springform pan will make unmolding the cake easier. But be sure to place the springform pan on a baking sheet when baking since the springform pan may leak a little bit.
You can substitute sour cream with plain yogurt or buttermilk.