We always start our holiday mornings with some type of coffee cake. I'm not sure when that tradition started but it has become an expected (and appreciated) breakfast treat by many of our family members and friends. Last year, we started with Tilly Draisen's Toffee Treasure Cake. It is a big favorite of mine because it uses Heath Bar bits to flavor the streusel middle and topping. This year, I was looking for something easy and with a half package of fresh cranberries left from our cranberry sauce recipe, I was looking to include them in the mix.
I came across Ina Garten's Sour Cream Coffee Cake and had all the ingredients necessary for the cake. No more searching, this was it. I whipped the cake up in no time but decided I would add a few leftovers so there was no waste from Thanksgiving. As part of the streusel, I added some freshly chopped cranberries and grated orange to the inner mixture. It gave the cake some color as well as tangy flavor. I finished off the cake by adding some more freshly grated orange rind to the glaze.
The cake was moist and buttery and the cranberries gave a nice sourness to all the sweet filling. The maple syrup glaze paired nicely with the orange rind to finish the taste of the cake.
Everyone loved the cake and especially liked the cranberries. I kept eating slivers of the cake because the combination of sweet and sour was so good! (Really good...and I definitely want to make this recipe again!)
You can make the cake with or without the cranberries and orange rind but my one suggestion would be to double the glaze as the single batch doesn't make much.
For the Cake:
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the streusel:
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries, chopped
- 1 tablespoon of freshly grated orange rind
For the glaze:
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
- 2 teaspoons of freshly grated orange rind
Preparation:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 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.
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. In a separate bowl, mix the chopped cranberries and orange rind.
Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Sprinkle the cranberry mixture over the 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.
Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar, maple syrup and orange rind together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.
