Cinnamon sugar coffee cake
The best gift I ever received was a book full of all my grandma's baking recipes. She built a collection for me over the course of a few months, writing down for the first time some of her very best recipes that she knows by heart. Others are newspaper clippings or type-written rules passed down from some of her family members. The pages are decorated with little stickers and little notes of advice and tips from her. When I opened it up on Christmas I was blown away by the thoughtfulness, and to say that I cherish it is an understatement.
My grandma will always be my favorite cook and my favorite baker. She has been making some of her specialities for us since we were very little, and I am so excited to be able to share them with my own kids someday.
She makes the best coffee cake. It's old fashioned, straight-forward, and delicious. It'd be the perfect lazy Sunday breakfast-in-bed with a good cup of coffee.
Cinnamon sugar coffee cake
½ cup butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten
½ pint sour cream
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
Cinnamon sugar mixture
⅓ cup sugar
1 T cinnamon
Almond glaze
½ cup powdered sugar
A couple drops of almond extract
1 tsp milk
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Begin by making the cinnamon sugar mixture in a small bowl.
Then, in a mixer, cream butter and sugar for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix to combine. Then add sour cream and mix for a few seconds. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and baking soda. With the mixer on low, slowly add dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Spray a round tube pan with nonstick spray. Pour half of the batter (or use a spatula to scrape) into the pan, and use a spatula to spread it out evenly. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon sugar over the batter. Pour the remaining batter on top, and use a spatula again to smooth it out. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar all over the top.
Bake for about 45 minutes. Let cool completely in tube pan. When it’s cool, use a knife to cut around the edges of the cake, and invert it onto a plate. Flip it over so it’s right-side up.
Now make the glaze by whisking sugar, extract, and milk together until it’s a thick but smooth and pourable consistency (you want to be able to drizzle it over the cake). Using a fork, drizzle it all over the cake, moving your hand from side to side quickly to form long natural lines.
Slice and serve with an extra drizzle of almond glaze.
**Note: I also topped mine with blueberries and powdered sugar, but I don't usually