Classic Breakfast Coffee Cake

A tender sour-cream cake with a buttery cinnamon streusel running through the middle and over the top.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and butter a 9-by-13-inch pan.
2. Make the streusel: combine 1/2 cup of the flour, the brown sugar, cinnamon, pecans, and 4 tablespoons of the butter until crumbly. Set aside.
3. Cream the remaining butter with the granulated sugar until light, 5 to 8 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the sour cream and vanilla.
4. Whisk the remaining 2 cups flour with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt, then fold into the batter.
5. Spread half the batter in the pan, scatter with half the streusel, add the rest of the batter, and top with the remaining streusel.
6. Bake until a tester comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool slightly before serving.

Notes

Adapted from Alex Guarnaschelli’s Classic Breakfast Coffee Cake.