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Bon Appétit

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

4.3

(40)

A Bundt cake on a platter with one slice cut out revealing the streusel streaked though the middle.
Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell

This recipe is one of our favorites from The Silver Palate Cookbook, our February 2019 pick for BA’s Cookbook Club. It’s an elegant, moist cake ideal for serving at a large brunch party (it’s worth timing to have it ready 30 minutes out of the oven) or with your morning coffee. If you don’t have pecans handy, walnuts make a great substitute.

Excerpted from The Silver Palate Cookbook by Sheila Lukins & Julee Rosso (Workman Publishing). Copyright © 1979.

Recipe information

  • Yield

    10 servings

Ingredients

1

cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan

2

cups all-purpose flour, plus more for pan

1

Tbsp. baking powder

¼

tsp. kosher salt

1½

cups shelled pecans, coarsely chopped

1

Tbsp. ground cinnamon

2½

cups sugar, divided

2

large eggs, beaten to blend

2

cups sour cream

1

Tbsp. vanilla extract

Special Equipment

A 10" Bundt pan

Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 350°. Butter and flour Bundt pan. Sift baking powder, salt, and 2 cups flour into a medium bowl.

    Step 2

    Mix pecans, cinnamon, and ½ cup sugar in another medium bowl.

    Step 3

    Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat remaining 2 cups sugar and 1 cup butter in a large bowl until incorporated and smooth. Add eggs, beating well to combine and scraping down bowl, then beat in sour cream and vanilla.

    Step 4

    Reduce mixer speed to low and beat flour mixture into butter mixture, increasing speed to medium-low if needed, until just blended. Do not overbeat.

    Step 5

    Scrape half of batter into prepared pan. Sprinkle evenly with half of pecan mixture. Spread remaining batter over; smooth top, then sprinkle with remaining pecan mixture.

    Step 6

    Bake cake until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 50–55 minutes. Let cool 20–30 minutes. Invert onto a platter and serve warm.

    Photo by Chelsea Kyle, Food Styling by Anna Stockwell

    Step 7

    Note: This cake was not tested by the Bon Appétit Test Kitchen.

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Reviews (40)

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  • I used 2 cups of sour cream and LOVE it. It’s so moist with a nice tang. Will make this again!

    • Sue

    • Virginia

    • 11/15/2023

  • I checked my copy of the Silver Palate Cookbook, and I see two differences between the ingredient list in the book and the ingredient list in the BA recipe. As several reviewers said, there is only 1 cup of sour cream. Doubling the sour cream would certainly make a difference in the end product. The original recipe also called for 2 cups of Pecans, rather than 1 1/2 cups, which probably would not matter much. Regarding the reviewer who thought 1 Tblsp. of baking powder was too much, that is what the original recipe calls for. This is a classic recipe that has truly stood the test of time. The Silver Palate Cookbook was first published in 1979, and I still use it - and the Silver Palate books that followed - although not as often as when they were first published.

    • Anonymous

    • Los Angeles

    • 7/22/2023

  • This recipe was a family & friend favorite for years. I baked 20 each Christmas for friends. I’ve been gluten free for awhile and hadn’t baked this for about 8 years. I decided to try it with King Arthur gf flour but didn’t have my cookbook so I found this recipe on BA. The texture seemed different so I read the reviews and remembered it was only 1 cup of sour cream. I quickly added additional ingredients for a double batch and used the extra batter for muffin style mini cakes. Worked like a charm. Please note : I used Coco June coconut yogurt in place of the sour cream but I used real grass fed butter.

    • Dana Frost

    • Miami Beach & chicago

    • 1/8/2023

  • This is delicious, and should absolutely be with one cup of sour cream. I would maintain the leavening in the recipe. My Silver Palate cookbooks says 2 cups of sour cream, but my mom's version calls for one cup of sour cream. Two is too many!

    • Jess

    • Washington, DC

    • 11/21/2021

  • I agree with the other reviews that 1 cup of sour cream is plenty. I believe the amount of baking powder is also a typo. 1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons would have been plenty. My cake fell in the middle just before I removed from the oven, which could have been caused by over-leavening.

    • Anonymous

    • Philly

    • 10/11/2021

  • It would be nice if one of the editors responded to the query about one cup or two of sour cream. I also have the cookbook, and its recipe asks for two cups of sour cream. However, since so many people had a disappointing outcome with two cups, maybe the cookbook itself has a typo?

    • Constance

    • Hastings, NE 68901

    • 8/18/2021

  • This is the best bundt cake ever!! Its soo delicious and looks beautiful! I made it for my family and they loved it so much :) It's super easy to make and you can really tell by the taste that its a professional recipe. I put all the filling in the middle and used 1 cup of sour cream (I read the reviews and they said 2 cups is a typo).

    • Angela

    • Ontario, Canada

    • 12/22/2020