Sour Cream Coffee Cake Bars - Gourmet: Day To Day

As a foodie, thanking people with food is pretty much expected. It’s how I express my gratitude and love to people. After watching how hard our pastors worked this weekend for our Easter Services (all 4 services… whew!) I knew I wanted to make them something. I would imagine the Monday after Easter is a pretty long day at a church. I had some extra sour cream in the fridge that I had stocked up on at Publix after a BOGO sale and I knew I wanted to bring something sweet. I thought sour cream coffee cake would be the perfect thank you to the staff at our church. I was really impressed with Barefoot Contessa’s recipe. I adapted it to make bars and doubled the streusel after reading some reviews that suggested it needed more. Instead of using a bundt pan, I used a regular 9 x 13 pan and it worked perfectly! These turned out super moist from the sour cream and cake flour. They are definitely a keeper!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Adapted from: Barefoot Contessa

Ingredients

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:

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional

For the glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons real maple syrup

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9 by 13 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, if desired.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 35-40 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and maple syrup 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.