Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is terrific.  It will feed a whole crowd for breakfast or brunch.  The nuts are crunchy and the cinnamon and sugar are sweet making this coffee cake rich in flavor. I served this coffee cake for a new years brunch and everyone kept coming back for seconds and eating all the extra toasted nuts that had fallen off the cake when I sliced it.  This recipe originally came from Colorado Cache Cook book but I changed by adding additional nuts and whole wheat pastry flour.  I also reduced the animal fat in this recipe by substituting canola oil for part of the butter and using low-fat sour cream.  Don't worry you will never miss the extra fat.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake:
Servings: 15
Pre-heat oven:  300 degrees

1/2 cup canola oil
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
3 cups cane sugar
6 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon soda
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup low fat sour cream
2 teaspoons vanilla

Topping:
3 cups of chopped toasted almonds
8 tablespoons dark brown sugar
4 teaspoons of ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, cream the oil, butter and sugar together for 2 minutes on high.  Add the eggs one at a time beating continually.  In a small bowl measure the flour, salt and baking powder together.  Add 1/2 the sour cream, vanilla and flour mixture slowly to the batter.  Add the second half of the sour cream and the remaining flour mixture to the batter.  Grease a tube pan with cooking spray.

On a cooking sheet, toast the 3 cups of almonds in a 300 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until browned.  Allow the almonds to cool and then chop.  In a bowl, measure the chopped almonds, cinnamon and brown sugar together and mix.

Toasting Almonds on a Cookie Tray

Coffee Cake Batter

Putting the coffee cake together:  Sprinkle a small amount of the topping in the bottom of the tube pan.  Then add 1/2 batter to the pan.  Sprinkle with 1/2 the topping then the other 1/2 of the batter. Finish with the rest of the topping.  Bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours.

Putting the Cake together by layers

Slice of Sour Cream Coffee Cake