Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Friends just happen, don't they? When I had stepped into a new school, a new country and completely new world years ago, soon after my 10th, I could hardly make friends there except a few. I didn't want to shift my school, leave my old friends; couldn't think of the fact that they were all together and I was the only one who got separated from them. Nevertheless, I had pretty much decent experience in The Model School(TMS),Abu Dhabi. Teachers were friendly, students were much more competitive than I saw in India,which helped me to study like never before.

As I've said earlier , I couldn't make friends there other than 1 or 2.  Might be because of my introvert nature or that I was not so happy leaving my best buddies back home. Many years later when FB started ruling our social lives, a few of TMSians met through our school group. Some where my juniors ,some seniors and ofcourse from the same batch too. We chatted almost daily for hours and hours. There were days when we chatted till  morning. And that was before my baby, though.lol.There were 13 of us who were active and finallly our friendship grew to new heights. Now,we meet once a while, chat daily and share our sorrows and happiness with one another. We belong to different batches from the same school, some of us didn't know or meet each other those school days, but today we turn to best of the friends. Friends just happen.I'm so lucky to have them around me and blessed to have met them. I love them, madly;but never told them . This post is dedicating to my 'Pals' and our friendship. Cheers!!

 

Recipe time: Nothing is more inviting than a gorgeous looking coffee cake with a surprise hidden inside served along with tea or coffee..Ooh laa laa.. you can't stop eating this vanilla goodness with the crunchy streusel on top and middle of the cake. It's even better the next day ;if we have the patience to let it stay a day for its flavor to get blended with each other.

Ingredients:

Courtesy: Ina Garten

Unsalted butter               12 tbsp ( 1 1/2 sticks) ,at room temperature

Granulated Sugar           1 1/2 cups

Eggs                               3 extra-large, at room temperature

Vanilla extract                1 1/2tsp

Sour Cream                    1 1/4 (Click here)

Cake flour                      2 1/2 cups (Click here)

Baking powder              2tsp

Baking soda                   1/2 tsp

Salt                                 1/2 tsp

For the Streusel:

Brown Sugar                  1/4cup,packed

All purpose flour            1/2 cup

Cinnamon powder          1 1/2 tsp

Salt                                 1/4tsp

Cold unsalted butter       3tbsp, cut into pieces

Walnuts/Almonds          3/4 cup chopped (optional)

         

Method:

1.Preheat oven to 170C. 

2.For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.

3.Beat the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer for 4 -5 minutes until light and fluffy.

4.Add the eggs 1 at a time. Then add vanilla and sour cream. Mix well.

                      

5.In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 

6.With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

7.Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

8.Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate.

Linking this to Nayna's Valentine Event

Vardhini's BAke fest event co hosted by Priyas Versatile recipes