Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with a buttery pecan streusel and rich brown butter glaze. Incredibly moist, easy to make, and perfect for holidays or any weekend.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword Sour Cream Coffee Cake, Struesel Coffee Cake

Prep Time 20

Servings servings

Calories 584kcal

Author Heather

Ingredients

For the Cake

1 cup unsalted butter *room temperature
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
2 large eggs *room temperature
1 cup full-fat sour cream *room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract *see Note #1 below
2 cups all-purpose flour *spooned and leveled
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt *see Note #2 below is using flaky salt

For the Streusel

1 ½ cups walnuts or pecans *roughly chopped
¾ cup brown sugar *packed, either light or dark, see Note #3 below for difference
3 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ tablespoons unsalted butter *melted
1/4 cup rolled oats
1 pinch salt

For the Brown Butter Glaze

3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons whole milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 pinch salt

Instructions

Cake and Streusel

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9x13-inch pan. See Note #4 below for parchment use.
Combine the pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon, oats, melted butter and pinch of salt in a small bowl. Mix until it looks like damp sand, then set aside.
Beat the butter and granulated sugar in a stand mixer on medium-high speed for a full 4 minutes, until pale and fluffy.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating 30 seconds after each and scraping down the bowl. Add the sour cream, vanilla and almond extract, then beat until just combined.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a separate bowl. Fold into the butter mixture until just combined.
Spread half the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half the streusel. Add the remaining batter in spoonfuls and spread gently to cover, then finish with the remaining streusel.
Bake at 350°F for 55 to 65 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, not wet batter. Start checking at 50 minutes.
Cool completely before making the glaze.

Brown Butter Glaze

Melt the butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it turns golden brown and smells nutty, about 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 minutes.
Whisk in the powdered sugar, milk, vanilla and salt into the cooled browned butter until smooth. Drizzle over the cooled cake, then slice into squares.

Notes

Note #1- Almond extract gives the cake a delicious marzipan flavor. If you'd rather skip it, use 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract in total.

Note #2- If using flaky salt, like Maldon's, grind it first with a mortar and pestle. Flaky salt is coarser and less dense than fine sea salt, so using it unground can leave uneven pockets of saltiness throughout the batter and glaze instead of blending in evenly.

Note #3- Light and dark brown sugar differ in molasses content. Light brown sugar is milder and sweeter, while dark brown sugar has more molasses for a deeper, almost toffee-like flavor.

Note #4- For the easiest release, line the pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on the two long sides. Grease the pan first so the parchment stays in place. This lets you lift the cake straight out instead of slicing it directly in the pan.

Note #5 (A Note on the Batter)- Make sure the butter, eggs, and sour cream are fully room temperature before starting, cold ingredients break the emulsion and lead to a dense, uneven crumb. Cream the butter and sugar for the full 4 minutes, since this builds the air structure the cake relies on. The batter may look slightly curdled after the sour cream and extracts go in, that's normal. When folding in the dry ingredients, a few flour streaks are fine, overmixing makes the cake tough.

Note #6-

How To Make This Into a Bundt Coffee Cake

Pan: Use a 10-cup Bundt pan instead of a 9x13. Grease with butter, dust with flour, and tap out the excess.
Layering: Sprinkle half the streusel in the bottom, top with half the batter, add the remaining streusel, then finish with the remaining batter.
Bake Time: Bake at 350°F for 55 to 65 minutes, checking at 55 minutes with a cake tester.
Cooling and Release: Cool in the pan for exactly 15 minutes, no more or less. Run a thin spatula around the edges, invert onto a plate, and cool completely before glazing. Pro Tip: The 15-minute cooling window matters most here. Too soon and the cake can fall apart. Too long and it may stick.

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