Apple Nut Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I found this recipe on The Baking Pan.  It was suppose to be a Pear Nut Sour Cream Coffee Cake, but I didn't have pears.  Apples worked just fine.  To Read More, Click On The Recipe Title.
This is one terrific coffee cake people!  This is a nice thick cake, moist, full of flavors and fruit.  The apples have a nice bright flavor because of the lemons. There's pecans,  brown sugar and cinnamon yumminess inside the cake as well as on top of the cake.  It's not an overly sweet cake, everything works very well together to make this cake fantastic.  Let's get started making this bad boy.



The recipe said you have 2 pan choices when making this cake.  Either a 9x9x2 inch square pan or a 9 inch springform pan.  As tall as this cake got...I'd go with the springform pan.  That's what I made it in.  Grease the bottom of a springform pan.  Put a piece of parchment paper on the bottom plate big enough to extend over the plate.  You can use the ends as handles to remove the cake.  Put the rim on the pan and grease the parchment paper, then flour the pan.  I had to use wax paper, I was out of parchment paper.  The wax paper outside of the pan got very brown....use parchment paper! 



There are 3 parts to this cake.  The topping, the filling and the batter.  Roast 1 cup of either pecans or walnuts.  Measure out the cinnamon, light brown sugar and roasted pecans, mix them all together.  Set this mixture aside.

We're going to work on the filling now.  Combine the flour and the butter for the filling .  Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry blender until you have coarse crumbs. 



Measure out 3/4 cup of the filling and mix it with the coarse crumbs.  Set aside.

Combine 2 cups of chopped apples with  2 tsps of lemon juice.  Let them get happy together.  Set aside.



Time to work on the batter.  Combine your dry ingredients and whisk them together.



Cream the butter and sugar together with an electric mixer. When it's nice and fluffy, add the first egg.  Beat well and scrape down sides of bowl.  Add the other egg and the vanilla and beat well. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture.  Beat until JUST MOIST.  Add the sour cream, mix till just incorporated.  Scrape the bowl down and add the last half of the flour mixture.  Again , beating until it's just incorporated.  Don't over beat the batter. 



Spread 2/3 cup of the batter into the bottom of the springform pan.  Sprinkle the filling over the batter, layer the apples on top of the filling.




 Gently spread the rest of the batter on top of the apples.



 Sprinkle the top of the batter with the remaining topping. Bake cake at 350 degrees.
 The recipe said to bake this for 60 minutes.   I checked mine at 50 minutes and it was done.  Next time I make this, I'll start checking it from 40 minutes .   Cool the cake for 20 minutes on a wire rack, unlock the pan and let it cool the rest of the way.  The recipe says to take it off the pan after cooling 20 minutes but it's just too hot to do that.  My husband and I loved this cake, I hope you give it a try!

To print the recipe, click here.



Apple Nut Sour Cream Coffee Cake
The Baking Pan

Ingredients

Small amount of vegetable shortening and flour for preparing pan

Topping:

1 cup toasted walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Filling:

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

¼ cup unsalted butter, chilled

2 Bosc or Bartlett pears (about 2 cups), peeled, cored, and coarsely chopped (I used apples)

2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

Batter:

1¾ cups all-purpose flour

¾ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup sour cream

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare one 9x9x2 inch square pan or 9 inch round springform pan; lightly grease the pan with shortening and dust with flour. Tip: to make baked cake easier to remove from pan, lightly grease the pan, line the bottom with parchment paper, and then lightly grease the top of the parchment paper and dust the pan with flour.
   
   Topping:
2. In a small mixing bowl, combine nuts, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Set aside.
   
   Filling:
3. In a medium mixing  bowl, combine 1/3 cup flour and ¼ cup butter. With a pastry blender or two knives, cut butter into flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add ¾ cup of the topping nut mixture; stir to mix. Set aside.
   
   
4. Toss pears with lemon juice. Set aside.
   
   Batter:
5. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; sift or whisk together to mix.  Set aside.
   
   
6. In a large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
   

Tip: To cream, start by placing the butter in the bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed begin by beating the butter about 1 minute until it is smooth and light in color.

With the mixer still on medium speed, slowly add the sugar to the butter, either one tablespoon at a time, or in a very slow steady stream, taking from 3 to 5 minutes to add all of the sugar, and beating until the butter and sugar are fully incorporated and the mixture is a light, or pale yellow color, with a fluffy texture. While adding the sugar, stop the mixer occasionally to scrape the mixture off the paddle and scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula so the mixture blends evenly.

7. Add eggs one at a time, beating until thoroughly mixed. Add the vanilla along with the last egg.
   

Tip: For each egg, crack the egg into a small bowl and whisk with a fork to thoroughly break up the egg before adding to the creamed mixture. Start with the mixer on low speed so the liquid from the egg doesn’t splatter, once the egg is partially mixed increase the speed to medium. Each egg should be fully incorporated into the mixture before adding the next egg, taking about one minute to blend in each egg.

8. With the mixer on low speed, add about ½ of the flour mixture, mix just until the flour is almost completely blended.  Scrape the bowl down, and add the sour cream, blending just until mixed. Scrape the bowl down again and then add the remaining ½ flour mixture, mix just until blended, scraping down the side of the bowl as needed.
   
   
9. Spread two-thirds of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the batter. Layer pears on top of the filling. Gently spread the remaining batter over the pears. Sprinkle the topping mixture over the batter.
   
   Bake:
10. Bake 60 minutes, or until a long toothpick, wooden skewer, or cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire cooling rack for 20 minutes then remove cake from pan and finish cooling on wire rack. If pan was lined with parchment paper, grab the top edges of the parchment paper and lift cake from pan. Remove parchment paper and discard. If using a springform pan, remove pan from oven and let cool about 15 minutes. Loosen side of pan, then grabbing the top edges of the parchment paper, lift cake from pan and finish cooling on wire rack. Remove parchment paper and discard.