Renae's Coffee Cake

Full disclosure - I don't know who Renae is. She was my aunt's friend, who apparently made the best coffee cake around. So, my mom got the recipe, which I now have.

So, if somehow, through the inter-webs, Renae finds this recipe, she'll see that I've given credit where credit is due, lol.

My mom used to always make this around the holidays, and it was my favorite. Even now when I visit, she makes a point of baking it for me. 

However, I am not always at my mom's house. :) and sometimes I want that pecan-y brown sugary goodness when it's NOT a holiday.

So, I got the recipe from my mom, and now I can share it with you! 

You'll Need:

- Standing mixer

- 8x12 inch pan
- Non-stick spray

Ingredients:

Batter:

- 1/2 cup room temperature butter

- 3/4 cup sugar

- 1 tsp vanilla extract

- 3 beaten eggs

- 2 cups flour

- 1 tsp baking powder

- 1 tsp baking soda

- 1 cup sour cream

Streusel Topping:

- 6 tbs butter melted, and allowed to cool for 20 minutes

- 1 cup brown sugar

- 2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 cup chopped nuts (pecans are my favorite, but walnuts work well, too)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/175 C. Generously spray your pan with non-stick spray.

2. Cream butter and sugar together in the (large) bowl of your standing mixer.

3. Add in eggs and vanilla. Allow to "whip" for a few minutes.

4. In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients - flour, baking powder and baking soda.

5. Alternate adding some flour mixture and sour cream to the batter. Mix thoroughly after adding each new ingredient until it's all been combined. The trick to making this cake moist is mixing it a lot. :) It'll lighten in color and become fluffy.

6. In a separate bowl combine the ingredients for the streusel topping.

7. Pour half the batter in the pan, and top with half of the streusel. Then pour the remaining batter on top, and cover in the leftover streusel.

8. Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. I baked mine for 35 minutes, and it could've handled another couple. The top will get pretty brown, but it's supposed to. If you feel like the top of your cake is getting too brown, you can always put a sheet of aluminum foil on the top to keep that part from burning, while baking the inside a little more.

9. Allow to cool just a bit, and enjoy warm, with a cup of coffee. It's good later, too... but it's heavenly when it's warm!

Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.

Ahhhh. Sweet serenity.