Sour Cream Streusel Cake

Yea!  I am back to blogging -  new computer.  Thanks, Honey!  I hope to catch up over the next few weeks.

This streusel cake is perfect to take to a neighborhood brunch or even serve it as a dessert.  It has a rich brown sugar/maple flavor. 

12 T. (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 t. vanilla
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. kosher salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.  (I love the Pam baking spray with flour)

Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with an electric mixer for about 5 minutes.  Add the eggs, one 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 make sure the batter is completely mixed.

Prepare streusel.  Spoon half of the batter into the tube pan and spread it out with a knife.  Sprinkle with 3/4 cup of the streusel.  Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and sprinkle with the remaining streusel on top.  Bake for about 50 minutes, until a tooth pick comes out clean.

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

Streusel:

3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup flour
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. kosher salt
3 T. cold butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup walnuts, chopped

Place all ingredients, except walnuts, in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble.  Mix in walnuts.


Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 T. real maple syrup

Whisk the powdered sugar and maple syrup together.  Add a few drops of water, if necessary, to make it glaze consistency.  Drizzle on the cake with a spoon.

A delicious recipe from Ina Garten.

Notes:

I actually made a double recipe of the glaze.

I love kosher salt and use Crystal brand.  Kosher salt has a more mellow flavor than regular  table salt and doesn't have any sort of metallic taste to it. 

Softasilk cake flour is in a box in the baking aisle.  It would probably be all right to use regular flour but just not as light.  Ina Garten says that you can substitute 2 1/4 cups flour mixed with 1/4 cup cornstarch if you don't have the cake flour.