Sour Cream Coffee Cake -- Three Generations, One Kitchen

Fall is coming on harder. The ash trees showed yellow on the tops by Wednesday. The mornings need a jacket. Biscuit is thrilled — he is a fall dog, a cold-weather mutt, and he spends every free morning rolling in dew on the front lawn and coming inside reeking of grass.

Drove a Rapid City run Tuesday-Thursday. I went by way of Pierre so I could visit a truck stop I'd been hearing about — a place called Benny's off the 83 that some drivers had told me makes "the best meatloaf you've never heard of." I went. I ate the meatloaf. It was, in fact, very good — a lot of sage, an unusual sweet ketchup glaze, a crumbly texture that held together but not tightly, the way good meatloaf should. I met the cook, a woman in her sixties named Irene Blackwood. She had read my book. She hugged me in her apron. She gave me her recipe. She said, "I have been making this meatloaf since 1978." I wrote it down in my notebook. It will go in the second book.

Justin's varsity team played York on Friday. He got six carries, gained 37 yards, did not score. He played well. The team won. He came home happy but tired. He ate two plates of leftover roast. He showered. He went to bed.

Amber came home for the weekend. She said, "I cannot live on dining hall food." I fed her. Saturday she and I went to Gayle's and we all made lasagna together. Gayle, 78, sat at the table and grated cheese. Amber, 18, layered noodles and sauce. I boiled water and sautéed onions. Three generations in one kitchen. Nobody talked much. The lasagna was good. We ate it for dinner. Gayle said, "This is the right way to eat lasagna." I did not know what she meant at first. Then I saw. Three generations at a table. That is the right way to eat lasagna.

Sunday I dropped Amber back at UNK. I did not cry. I have leveled up. It was a 45-minute drive each way. I listened to an audiobook on the way there and a podcast on the way back. A new phase of mothering is: drop off, drive back, laugh at the podcast, get home, make dinner for five. That is it.

The lasagna Saturday was Gayle’s idea of the right way to do things — slow, together, without much fuss. That same spirit is what this sour cream coffee cake has always carried for me. It’s the kind of thing you make when someone comes home hungry and the dining hall has let them down, or when three people are standing in a kitchen not talking much but doing exactly the right thing. I’ve made this more times than I can count, and every time it comes out of the oven smelling like fall and butter and something steady.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 50 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes | Servings: 12

Ingredients

• Streusel Topping:
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
• Cake:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup full-fat sour cream

Instructions

1. Preheat. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan or a 10-inch tube pan with butter or nonstick spray.
2. Make the streusel. In a medium bowl, combine flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Work in the cold butter with your fingers or a pastry cutter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in nuts if using. Set aside.
3. Mix dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
4. Cream butter and sugar. In a large bowl, beat softened butter and granulated sugar together with a hand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
5. Add eggs and vanilla. Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add vanilla and mix to combine.
6. Alternate dry and sour cream. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream (beginning and ending with flour). Mix just until the batter comes together — do not overmix.
7. Layer and top. Spread half the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle half the streusel evenly over the batter. Spoon remaining batter on top and spread gently. Finish with the remaining streusel.
8. Bake. Bake for 45–55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean and the streusel is golden. If the top browns too quickly, tent loosely with foil.
9. Cool and serve. Let the cake cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes before slicing. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 385 | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Carbs: 52g | Fiber: 1g | Sodium: 210mg