The streusel lends itself to a bit of improv—try more orange zest or lemon, instead. Leave the coffee out or add powdered cocoa. Play around with a mix of your favorite spices. Use walnuts instead of pecans…you get the idea.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Streusel
Makes one 10-cup bundt cake or a 4”x11” loaf cake
STREUSEL
1-1/3 cups (about 5.5 oz.) coarsely chopped pecans
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
1 teaspoon instant coffee
6 tablespoons (75 g) packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons (24.32 g) Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon orange flower honey
4 tablespoons unsalted Kerrygold butter, melted
CAKE
For pan: coconut cooking oil spray or room-temperature butter
2 cups (260 g) Gold Medal all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1-1/4 cups (250 g) granulated sugar
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) unsalted Kerrygold butter, room temperature
3 large eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
STREUSEL
Whisk pecans, orange zest, spices, instant coffee, brown sugar, flour, and salt in a small bowl to combine. Drizzle in honey and butter and mix until clumps form. Set aside.
CAKE
Preheat an oven to 325 degrees. Spray—very well—a 10-cup bundt pan (or 4”x11” nonstick loaf pan) with cooking spray. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl to combine.
Beat sugar and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment on medium-high speed, scraping down sides of bowl halfway through, until very light and fluffy, 6–8 minutes. Reduce speed to medium. With motor running, add eggs one at a time, beating to incorporate and scraping down sides of bowl after each addition. Reduce speed to low; add half of dry ingredients and mix just to combine. Add sour cream (or Greek yogurt) and vanilla and beat to combine. Add remaining dry ingredients and beat until incorporated.
Add half the streusel into the prepared pan. Top with half the batter. Add remaining streusel, followed by the last of the batter. Insert a butter knife into the batter and drag it back and forth from one long side to the other—through batter—to marble the streusel. Smooth the surface.
Bake cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 75 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack and let cake cool in pan 15 minutes. If using a loaf pan, run a small knife around inside edges of pan to loosen if needed, and turn out onto a plate, revealing the caramelized topping.
Let cake cool completely before slicing and serving.