Cinnamon Coffee Cake

This recipe is the best kind of tried and true recipes…handed down from a family member that has been made over the years. To me, some of our best recipes are the ones that are handed down from my mom, mother-in-law or our grandmothers. There is just something about them. Is it that it’s a great recipe that tastes delicious or is it the great memories we have of them making it for us out of love they have for their families…or maybe both?!
 
This recipe is one of my husband’s favorite recipes that his mom has made over the years. I always thought it was her recipe but after recently talking to her about the recipe I found out it was my husband’s grandma’s recipe. She had some amazing recipes! She was a great cook and a wonderful person. My mother-in-law wrote up the recipe for me and I am putting a photo of it on here. In the age of everything being on computers and phones, hand written things are not seen as much. So I wanted to add this as a little treasure to having this recipe.

I did make a couple of little adjustments to this recipe. I added a little cinnamon to the batter (because who doesn’t love cinnamon?!), used brown sugar instead of white for the streusel and added a glaze frosting to finish off the cake. It’s a great dessert that doesn’t take all day to make and you probably have most of the ingredients already.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your pan. For this cake, use an angel food cake pan. I usually take out the butter and eggs about 30 minutes prior to starting so they have time to get to room temperature. At that time, take out the sour cream as well. Warming up the cold ingredients to room temperature helps to mix in with the other ingredients better.
Cream the softened butter and sugar until light. Add each egg in one at a time, beating after each egg is added. Next, add in the vanilla and sour cream. Mix just until everything is combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. The dough will be thick.
 
To make the streusel, combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and chopped walnuts in a bowl. Set that aside.

Spoon half of the batter into the greased pan, spreading it out with the back of the spoon. Sprinkle half of the streusel mix on top of the batter. Spoon the rest of the dough into the pan and top with the rest of the streusel mix. It will look like there is not much dough but trust me, it will rise while baking and turn into a beautiful coffee cake! My mother-in-law told me before I made it that it would look like there is not enough dough. I am glad that she did because I might have been a bit worried about that… but happily I found it much higher when it was all done baking! Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes, or when inserted cake tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before taking it out of the pan.
 
Now for the glaze…this part I added just because I thought it would look pretty and of course taste even more delicious! I like a thicker glaze, but I know not everyone likes the same things in life. Do you prefer thicker or thinner glaze? If you prefer a thinner glaze, as seen in the photo below, use just one cup of powdered sugar and 2 tablespoons of milk.

If you prefer a thicker glaze, add an additional ¼ cup of powdered sugar to the glaze mix. Here is a photo of the cake with the thicker glaze.

  To make the glaze, simply whisk together the powdered sugar and milk until you have the desired consistency. Using a bag or spoon, drizzle the glaze over the cake. I have used both and using a bag is much easier! I actually just cut the corner of a sandwich bag, fill up the bag and have fun drizzling. Just be sure not to make the hole too big or all the frosting might all come out at once! Not so pretty that way!  :o)

Well, I hope enjoy this coffee cake as much as we do!