You know those recipes we hold near and dear to our hearts because they are really the greatest ever of all time? Well, we’re using this series as an opportunity to wax poetic about them. The coffee cake recipe of recipe developer Jessie Damuck's grandmother, to be exact. They truly are the greatest recipe of all time (aka GROAT). Here’s why.
My grandma Kathy has travelled the world, taken flight lessons, driven the coolest cars, and can always share in a genuine deep-belly laugh. She’s taught me many things (how to play tennis, how to knit), but my passion for cooking did not come from her. No offense grandma, but as a kid cooked-to-death vegetables weren’t my thing. My food memories at my grandparents' house are nowhere near as colorful or exciting as the photos from their many trips or the treasures I might find in a closet or in the back of a drawer somewhere.
Quiet and clean, my stylish Grandma Kathy would always have something for breakfast and dinner on the table. Rarely did a meal finish with something sweet. But this coffee cake is the recipe we all still talk about. It was requested only on special occasions like birthdays, but I always remember it being SO good. I’m not really a cake person, but I needed to make sure I got this recipe from her to share it with friends and family (and now you!). Her brother’s wife Minnie, who lived in Manhattan, shared this recipe with her sometime in the '50s. This chocolate/walnut/sour cream cake is as good as it gets thanks to the rugelach-inspired streusel. And best of all, it arrived via handwritten note on pink stationary.
To start, pull out your biggest Bundt pan and make sure to coat it well with butter and flour. Then mix your chocolate streusel—chocolate chips, cinnamon, walnuts, and brown sugar.
Whisk together your dry ingredients. Next you’ll cream the butter and sugar. There are 2 cups of sugar. That’s a lot, but there are also 4 cups of flour. This is a big cake.
After adding the eggs one at a time and the vanilla, alternate the adding dry ingredients and 2 cups of sour cream. Again, this is a big moist cake. When the batter is done, add half of it to your prepared Bundt pan, sprinkle on half of the streusel, and repeat. Then, using a skewer or a table knife, make swirls in the batter to distribute the streusel. Bake for about 80 minutes at 350 and wait at least 20 minutes before removing from pan and eating. You should let it cool completely, but I’ve never been able to.