This was my mother in law’s favorite coffee cake recipe. Catherine, lovingly known as Kitty, wasn’t one to share her recipes without a little nudging. Many of them lived only in her head and didn’t exist on paper. I was so afraid that if no one got around to writing them down, these beloved family heirlooms would be lost. One evening I summoned the courage and begged her to put a few of them on paper. This took some serious conviction and bravery on my part (if you knew her, you would understand). We sat in her cozy eat in kitchen in New Jersey where the family had been since 1954 and she graciously wrote down a few of the recipes that had brought her family together for years…this was one of them. She was a great baker and wonderful woman. I’m sure she’d be tickled to know that this coffee cake is repeatedly requested by her great granddaughter.
Serves 10 to 12
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
BATTER
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 pound unsalted butter (2 sticks, at room temperature)
4 eggs
2 cups sour cream
2 teaspoons baking soda
4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
FILLING
1 cup chopped raw pecans (or another nut of your choice)
1 cup chocolate chips (your choice dark, semi sweet, bitter sweet)
1 cup lightly packed light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
PREP AHEAD
- Preheat your oven to 350 ℉
- Coat a 10-12 cup bundt pan with butter or nonstick spray.
- Be sure to remove your butter from the refrigerator 30-60 minutes before you plan to use it and let it soften to room temperature.
- In a large bowl, sift the baking powder and flour together. Set aside.
- In a small bowl measure out the sour cream. Set aside. (do not add baking soda until step 3)
- Combine all the filling ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside.
- To make the cake batter, beat the butter and sugar in a large bowl with a stand-up or hand held electric mixer on medium speed until it’s light and fluffy.
- Add the eggs, one at a time until combined.
- Combine the sour cream and baking soda; add to the creamed butter and sugar until combined.
- Add the flour and baking powder mixture to the creamed mixture. Add the vanilla. Mix ingredients on low speed until combined. Do not over mix.
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared bundt pan.
- Evenly distribute the filling mixture on top of the batter.
- Pour the remainder of the batter over the filling mixture.
- Bake for 1 hour at 350 ℉
- Everyone’s oven is different! 1 hour is the suggested bake time but to avoid overcooking or undercooking, start checking your cake before the 1 hour mark to assess its doneness for yourself.
- Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Unmold. Place on a cooling rack till completely cool.
STORING: Store covered for up to 3 days. Chances are it wont be around that long.
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