Peonies and Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I kind of have a love affair with this cake and these moments. First of all, cake. I love cake. I love cakes that are light and bright, angel foods blanketed in strawberries and vanilla bean whipped cream. I love cakes that are fruity, apple spice or pumpkin with cream cheese icing. I love classic vanilla with butter cream. I love dense, rich chocolate layer cakes with their deep, dark sophistication. A grand, tall coconut layer cake, what could be better? Vegetable... I crave a piece of cold, moist carrot cake with pineapple and no nuts or raisins. And morning or afternoon coffee cake is no exception.

I also adore peonies. They are my favorite flower and these pink beauties simply fill my soul with sweet enchantment. It pains me that you can only find them for a mere few weeks a year. I could be surrounded by them everyday. I don't believe it would be possible to fill my home with too many of them. I can just see it now.

Don't you want to dive head first into this round pool of rhubarb, vanilla, and cinnamon?

Although Ina didn't say to add fruit to this cake, I just couldn't help myself. I wondered what would happen if I thinly sliced up some deserving rhubarb from my sister's garden, dusted it with plenty of snowy sugar, and gingerly laid it down into the center of this cake. I also pondered whether or not to pour in the juice that formed in bottom of the rhubarb bowl, I did. This was not a mistake!

As you can see, this cake is very, very moist and tender. It starts with a solid, thick batter loaded with lots of sour cream and cake flour. It then gets layered between three rounds of buttery, brown sugar crumbs. Add fruit to the middle of leave it out. Bake it for an hour, let it cool, then drizzle it with just the right amount of maple syrup glaze. Perfumed by cinnamon and vanilla? Sign me up.

Be still my heart. If only every plate of food could be surrounded by gorgeous pink peonies. Or white ones. Or salmon toned. Though I've only seen salmon peonies online, I will find them for real. You can see the gooey, rhubarb filling practically tumbling out of this cake!

While we are nearing the end of this story, there are a few more images to take in. Told ya I would be adding a third installment to my Barefoot Contessa series here! I read one review of this cake where a viewer accused Ina of taking this recipe right from a first edition copy of the red and white checkered Betty Crocker cookbook. Of course I wouldn't dare investigate that one. I'm leaving all the glory to Ina.

I think this cake would be delicious and delightful filled with blackberries, nectarines, pears, or cherries. Just chop up about two cups or so of fruit, sweeten if necessary, and drop into the second layer of streusel filling. Citrus zests would also be nice mixed into the fruit of course, lime with blackberries, lemon with cherries, orange with rhubarb, etc. While reading the recipe reviews it was very apparent that most people recommended doubling the crumb recipe which I did. I also left out the walnuts it called for. You could add them or pecans if you wish?

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Barefoot Contessa

serves 8-12

Cake:

12 T. butter, unsalted, room temperature

1.5 C. granulated sugar

3 Lg. eggs, room temperature

1.5 tsp. vanilla

1 1/4 C. Sour Cream, room temperature

2 T. warm water (my addition)

2.5 C. Cake Flour

2 tsp. Baking Powder

1/2 tsp. Baking Soda

1/2 tsp. Salt

Streusel:

1/2 C. Brown Sugar

1 C. AP Flour

3 tsp. Cinnamon (or less if you're not a huge fan)

1/2 tsp. Salt

6 T. butter, cubed, cold

1.5 C. walnuts, chopped, optional

(1.5 - 3 C. Fresh fruit, sliced, optional)

Glaze:

1/2 C. Confectioner's Sugar

2 T. Real Maple Syrup

For the cake, grease and flour or sugar a 10' tube pan. The type you would use to make an angel food cake. You also want the pan to be aluminum, light in color, none of that dark, non-stick stuff! I also lined the bottom with wax paper (out of parchment) to ensure the beauty came out easily. Preheat the oven to 350. If your oven runs hot like mine, go down to 335. Nothing worse than over-baked, dry cake right?

Make up the streusel first so it is all ready once you've finished the batter and are ready to assemble the cake. Also prep your fruit if you are using... set both aside.

Cream together the sugar and butter until fluffy, about five minutes on medium with paddle attachment. Sift or whisk together the dry ingredients and reserve. Once butter and sugar is ready, slowly add eggs one at a time until each is incorporated. Be sure to scrape down the bowl now and then. Then add the vanilla, warm water, and sour cream and mix until smooth. Then add the flour mixture and mix on low or stir setting until JUST incorporated. Remove from mixer base and carefully use a spatula to make sure all ingredients are mixed up from the bottom of the bowl.

Place 1/3 or just under of the streusel on the bottom of the pan. Then spoon in half of the batter. It's very thick, don't be alarmed. It will still rise and bake beautifully. Then add your fruit if using, then add just over a third of the streusel. Add the rest of the batter and smooth around evenly. Then add rest of streusel filling. Bake about 1 hr, check for doneness. Let cool for 10-15 minutes in pan and carefully remove cake and set on serving dish.

Mix together the maple syrup and confectioner's sugar and drizzle in whatever artistic style you desire on top the cake. Let cool completely before covering with cake dome or lid. Then just marvel at your work and beauty of the cake. Which you will! And then dive into that pool, people! : )

A couple dozen crumbs remind us of what was.