Sour Cream Coffee Cake

My mother-in-law is like my second mother and over the years we have bonded over baking since we both love to bake. We’ve shared recipes over the years and she’s taught me a few of her mother’s cherished recipes from a version of this sour cream coffee cake to angel food cake to nut roll to cookies. This sour cream coffee cake is one of her favorite things ( it has become one of my favorite recipes too), and she makes it several times throughout the year and always for Christmas and Easter. The only difference between when she or I make this coffee cake is the amount of cherries. Since I’m not as big of a fan of cherries as she is I usually make the coffee cake without them, or with less cherries, whereas she’ll put in extra. Whenever one of us makes this cake it is always eaten very quickly by the family. It’s just as delicious the day after you bake it as it is still warm from the oven.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you wonderful mothers including my second mom!

Ingredients for Cake

• 1 1/2 sticks butter
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of baking powder
• 1 1 /2 tablespoon of baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pint sour cream
• 1 small jar marchino cherries (optional)

Ingredients for cinnamon sugar filling

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons melted butter

Directions

1. Position rack in the middle of the oven, and preheat to 350 degrees.

2. Grease and flour a bundt pan.

3. Make the cinnamon sugar filling and set aside.

4. In a mixer (or by hand) beat together the butter and sugar on medium-low speed until creamy and smooth.

5. Next, beat in the eggs one at a time.

6. Mix together the dry ingredients in a separate bowl.

7. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches alternately with the sour cream and mix on low speed until the batter is blended and almost smooth.

8. Pour half of the batter into the greased and floured bundt pan and smooth the surface with a rubber spatula.

9. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar filling evenly over the top. Add 1/2 of the jar of cherries (drained) at this point if you choose.

10. Cover evenly with the remaining batter, smooth with rubber spatula, and sprinkle with remaining topping. Evenly sprinkly the rest of the cherries on top of the cake if you choose to add them.

11. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, for 40-50 minutes.

12. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the bundt pan or at least 10 minutes, then turn the cake out of the pan and let it cool completely.