Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Isn't my coffee cake lovely? Albeit ... upside down. The recipe called for a tube pan, which I do not possess. However, I do own two perfectly good bundt cake pans (which the ownership of two bundt cake pans in completely unnecessary. Somehow I forgot that I already owned the first one when I purchased the second at a garage sale. Note to self: unload bundt cake pan on some poor unsuspecting soul as a "gift.") If you would have used the tubepan, there would have been no for the cake to be upside down. The recipe calls for the first layer (or the bottom layer) to be cake. If you were to use a bundt cake pan, you should make the first layer streusel topping. I'm not sure if there are any sticking ramifications with doing this, so if you endeavor to make this coffee cake and are using a bundt cake pan and do make the first/bottom layer streusel - let me know how it goes :)

Anywho, I made this bundt cake for our Sunday School class today. I had about two bites. It was completely gone, so I imagine that it was well received by all. My two bites were tasty, but what can you expect from a coffee cake that is so pretty? Oh, and I must give my due credit - I first saw my friend Rose make this on her blog and by her testimony, decided to whip this up too.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake by Ina Garten

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 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 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.

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.