If you don't know by now that I'm a huge coffee fan, let me tell you again "I love coffee." A couple years ago I worked as a barista in a coffee shop, I had a lot of fun whipping up my own creations. I love trying new flavors and new drinks, Hubby bought me a Keurig last year for Christmas and I love it.
I headed to Smart & Final to try their line of Ambiance coffee, and whip up a yummy treat to go with it. I've never made a coffee cake before, so I wanted to try baking something new. I found a recipe on Pinterest that I loved for Sour Cream Coffee cake, and decided to make that.
I had a great shopping experience at Smart & Final, everything I needed I was able to find easily. Their staff was more than helpful since it was my first time shopping with them. I was able to pick up my coffee, and all my ingrediants to make my coffee cake right there in the store. They had everything I needed including the baking pan that I didn't already own but needed.
Here's what you'll need:
Ingredients
- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
- 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream
- 2 1/2 cups cake flour (not self-rising)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
For the streusel:
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
- 3/4 cup chopped walnuts, optional
For the glaze:
- 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
- 2 tablespoons real maple syrup
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.
For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Mix in the walnuts, if desired.
Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife. Sprinkle with 3/4 cup streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. (side note: I did mine in reverse since I used a bunt pant instead of a fluted pan, still tastes the same but the presentation is a little different.)
Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners' sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Drizzle as much as you like over the cake with a fork or spoon.
While my cake was baking I started to get my coffee ready. I choose the already ground French Vanilla house blend from Ambiance coffee. I loaded it into my Keurig and brewed. Hubby decided to have the same.
We also got fancy and topped ours with First Street Whipped Cream!
Here's what my coffee cake looked like after cooling and adding the topping,
Paired with my yummy cup of Ambiance coffee and I was ready for a after dinner snack!
We had a ton left over, and I took some to work the next day for my co-workers and they loved it! For sure a crowd pleaser!
You can check out more of my shopping experience with Smart and Final on my Google+ page here.
Smart & Final has an offer for you, if you switch to Ambiance coffee from Smart & Final, they can go to www.smartandfinal.com/Ambiance2012 enter the code on the receipt from their purchase of Ambiance and be entered to win some of these amazing prizes: First Prize (one grand prize per week, 3 total over the campaign): DeLonghi BCO264B Cafe Nero Combo Coffee/Espresso Maker, a $200 value!, or one of six $50 SmartCash cards (Two winners per week, 6 winners total)
Also, visitors to the www.smartandfinal.com/Ambiance2012 will be able to vote for their favorite Ambiance Coffee recipe and everyone who votes will be entered for a chance to win $50 worth of Ambiance products! (6 winners - Two winners per week over the campaign)
This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias #CBias, as always I don't endorse anything professionally that I wouldn't personally all the products mentioned I have used personally.
