By Heidi Sutton

What pairs best with a hot cup of coffee on a brisk winter’s day? A coffee cake! The following recipe features a plethora of chocolate and warm cinnamon coming together in every bite of this cake enriched with sour cream. Top it with the optional glaze or not. It’s wonderful either way.

Sour Cream Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Recipe by Marcia Stanley

YIELD: Makes 16 servings

INGREDIENTS: 

Coffee Cake

1 cup finely chopped pecans, divided

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup granulated sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup cold butter

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1 container (8 oz.) sour cream

1/3 cup milk (skim, 2% or whole)

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

Glaze (optional)

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons milk (skim, 2% or whole)

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Generously grease a 10-inch-fluted tube pan or bundt pan. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the pecans over the bottom of the pan and set aside.

For cinnamon filling, in small bowl stir together the remaining 1/2 cup pecans, brown sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Set aside.

In large bowl stir together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until pieces resemble small peas. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. In another bowl whisk together eggs, sour cream, 1/3 cup milk and 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla. Pour into well in center of flour mixture. 

Add chocolate chips. Stir just until combined. Remove 1 cup of the batter and stir into the cinnamon filling. Spread about half of the remaining chocolate chip batter in prepared pan. Spoon cinnamon filling over batter in pan. Carefully spoon the remaining chocolate chip batter on top. Gently smooth top. Bake coffee cake for 45 to 50 minutes or until wooden skewer inserted near center comes out clean. Let stand in pan for 10 minutes. Invert pan on a serving plate. Remove cake from pan. Let cool at least 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, for glaze stir together all ingredients. Scrape into plastic sandwich bag. Snip off small corner of bag. Press glaze through corner of bag onto coffee cake top.