Breakfast

Serving

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Name: Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Total time: 65 min
Yield: 12 servings
Cuisine: Breakfast
Ingredients: 1 cup unsalted butter, softened; 2 cups sugar; 4 large eggs; 2 teaspoons vanilla extract; 2 cups sour cream; 3 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon baking powder; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/2 teaspoon salt; 1 cup packed brown sugar; 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon; 1 cup chopped pecans

A tender sour cream cake with a ribbon of cinnamon-pecan streusel running through the middle and over the top.

65 minutes

Serves 12

Breakfast

23 min prep

36 min cook

Contains common allergens

Egg Dairy Tree nut Wheat

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Instructions

7 steps

1
Preheat oven to 350°F and grease a 9x13-inch baking pan.
2
Cream butter and sugar together until fluffy, then beat in eggs one at a time and vanilla.
3
Mix in sour cream until smooth.
4
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl, then fold into the wet mixture.
5
Combine brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans for the streusel.
6
Spread half the batter in the pan, sprinkle with half the streusel, add remaining batter, then top with remaining streusel.
7
Bake 40-45 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before slicing.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake — plated and served — Serving moment. How Sour Cream Coffee Cake looks plated and ready to eat — a representative photo, not a step in the recipe.

Listahan Family Score™

71/100

Good fit for most families

Allergen-friendly 60

Kid-friendly 85

Weeknight-easy 62

Budget-friendly 82

Great leftovers 93

Pantry-friendly 48

Score reflects how well this recipe fits a typical busy household. In the app, your Family Score is personalized to your household's allergens, kids, and pantry.

Nutrition

per serving

610

Calories

7 g

Protein

79 g

Carbs

30 g

Fat

Estimated per serving. Actual values depend on the brands and portions you use.

Listahan cooking guide

Chef notes & practical guide

Technique notes, ingredient swaps, serve-alongside ideas, storage guidance, and equipment for this recipe.

Cultural context

American coffee cake is named for the cup it is meant to sit beside, not because coffee is usually in the batter. Sour cream versions became a fixture of community cookbooks and home baking because the dairy makes a plain butter cake stay tender while a cinnamon-nut crumb gives it enough structure for breakfast, brunch, or an afternoon slice.

Listahan note

This version keeps the format practical: a 9x13-inch pan, one thick sour cream batter, and a cinnamon-pecan streusel used twice so every slice gets a middle ribbon and a crackly top.

Technique cues

Use softened butter, not melted butter. Creaming it with sugar traps air, which helps this dense sour cream batter bake up lighter.
The batter will be thick after the flour goes in, so spread it gently instead of pouring. Small offset motions help keep the first streusel layer from dragging into the pan bottom.
Cool the cake before slicing if you want clean squares. Warm pieces taste good, but the cinnamon-brown sugar ribbon needs time to settle.

Kitchen flow

Parallel prep: Mix the streusel while the butter and eggs come to room temperature, then grease the pan before you start the batter.
Make-ahead: Bake the cake the day before serving; the sour cream crumb holds well and the cinnamon layer tastes more settled after resting.
Leftover move: Toast a slice lightly in a skillet and serve it with plain yogurt or fresh berries for a second-day breakfast.
Cleanup rhythm: Rinse the mixing bowl right after scraping in the batter, then wipe up cinnamon sugar before it sticks to the counter.

Ingredient brief

Role, handling, and swap guidance for each key ingredient.

Unsalted butter

Richness and structure

Purpose: Butter gives the cake its round flavor and helps create a tender crumb when creamed properly with sugar.

Handling: Let it soften until it dents easily but still holds its shape.

Adaptation: Salted butter can be used if that is what you have; reduce the added salt slightly to keep the batter balanced.

Sugar

Sweetness and aeration

Purpose: Granulated sugar sweetens the cake and helps beat tiny air pockets into the butter.

Handling: Cream it with the butter until the mixture looks lighter and fluffy rather than dense and paste-like.

Adaptation: Do not replace all of it with brown sugar unless you want a heavier, more caramel-leaning crumb.

Large eggs

Binder and lift

Purpose: Eggs hold the rich batter together and help the cake set into clean slices.

Handling: Beat them in one at a time so the butter mixture stays smooth.

Adaptation: Room-temperature eggs blend in more easily than cold eggs and make the batter less likely to look curdled.

Sour cream

Tenderizer and tang

Purpose: Sour cream gives the cake moisture and a slight tang that keeps the cinnamon-sugar topping from tasting flat.

Handling: Mix it in until smooth before adding the dry ingredients.

Adaptation: Plain full-fat Greek yogurt gives a similar thickness with a slightly tangier finish.

All-purpose flour

Cake body

Purpose: All-purpose flour gives enough structure for a tall pan cake without turning it bready.

Handling: Whisk it with the baking powder, baking soda, and salt so the leaveners distribute evenly.

Adaptation: Cake flour makes a softer crumb, but the slices may be a little more delicate.

Brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and chopped pecans

Streusel ribbon

Purpose: Brown sugar melts into a sandy layer, cinnamon carries the main spice note, and pecans add crunch against the soft cake.

Handling: Chop the pecans small enough that the cake slices cleanly instead of pulling apart around large pieces.

Adaptation: Walnuts give a slightly more bitter crunch; rolled oats make the topping more crumbly and less nutty.

Technique notes

Stop mixing once the flour disappears. Overmixing after the dry ingredients go in can make the cake springy instead of plush.
Drop the second half of the batter over the streusel in spoonfuls, then connect the patches. This is easier than trying to spread one heavy mound across loose sugar and pecans.
Check the center, not just the edges. A toothpick should come out without wet batter, though a few cinnamon-sugar crumbs are normal.

Ingredient swaps

No-pecan direction: Use chopped walnuts for a similar crunch, or replace the pecans with rolled oats for a softer, crumb-style topping.
Greek yogurt path: Use plain full-fat Greek yogurt in place of sour cream; the cake will be a little tangier and may bake with a slightly tighter crumb.
Smaller-batch direction: Halve the recipe and bake it in an 8-inch square pan, checking early because the shallower cake can finish faster.
Spice adjustment: Use 1 tablespoon cinnamon for a gentler ribbon, or add a small pinch of nutmeg to the streusel for a warmer bakery-style note.

Serve alongside

Fresh orange segments
Vanilla yogurt with berries
Soft scrambled eggs
Maple breakfast sausage
Drip coffee
Cold brew with milk
Black tea

Serving suggestions only — check pairings for your household's allergens.

Storage & reheating

Keep covered at room temperature for 1 day or refrigerate in a sealed container for longer storage.
Rewarm individual slices briefly in the microwave or in a low oven until the crumb softens.
Freeze sliced pieces wrapped tightly, then thaw overnight in the refrigerator and warm before serving.

Equipment

9x13-inch baking pan
Electric mixer
Mixing bowls
Offset spatula

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