First Day of School Sour Cream Coffeecake

When I was in college my friend Linda shared her mother's coffeecake recipe with me. Actually, Linda always called it "Jewish Sour Cream Coffeecake" because her mother's friend, who had given her the recipe, was Jewish! I made this at about 11:30 the night before the first day of school this year. I had volunteered to bring something to the first day coffee, and this is always a hit. I cut the cake into nice little squares and put the squares into white muffin cups. I put them on a disposable tray because I didn't want to wait around at the coffee to retrieve one of my nicer serving platters. I took the tray into the cafeteria and went out in the hall to schmooze with some moms I knew. Five minutes later I poked my head back into the cafeteria to see how the coffeecake was going over and all I saw was....my empty tray. Not even an empty muffin cup remained! I grabbed the tray and went home. This is a great brunch item, too.

CATHOLIC LINDA'S JEWISH SOUR CREAM COFFEECAKE

BATTER:

1/2 lb (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened (I use butter and if I am baking in the morning I take the butter out the night before and let it soften in a dish on the counter)
2 C sugar
1 pint sour cream (I usually use light)
2 t baking soda
4 eggs
2 t vanilla
3 C flour
2 t baking powder

TOPPING:

1 C sugar
2 t cinnamon
1 C chopped walnuts


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugar. If you have a KitchenAid or other mixer, this is the time to drag it out. Add sour cream and baking soda. Add eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla, flour, and baking powder. Mix together. In a separate bowl mix together topping ingredients until well blended. Use a 9 x 13 pan (I usually use Pyrex). Pour 1/2 the batter in and smooth. Sprinkle 1/2 the topping over the batter. Using a knife, swirl the topping into the batter. Then pour on the rest of the batter and smooth. Sprinkle the rest of the topping over the batter. Bake at 350°F for 50-60 minutes. Check after 50 minutes by sticking a toothpick into the cake. If the toothpick comes out dry it is done. I usually find that about 55-60 minutes is perfect. This cake also freezes nicely. I made 2 for a brunch about a week ahead of time and froze in the Pyrex dishes.