Teacher birthdays are better with coffee cake. My school has a teacher birthday buddy system. It is basically a birthday version of Secret Santa. People who want to participate secretly draw a name from a hat. On the birthday buddy’s big day, the assigned person anonymously brings a small gift (not to exceed $10) and usually a food treat too that can be shared with the faculty.
In honor of my buddy’s birthday this week, I got her a small personal gift and baked a nutty coffee cake with a cinnamon sugar center that I left in the staff kitchen. The birthday buddy had the first slice honors and then kindly e-mailed everyone to let them know that a treat was available in the kitchen. When I arrived on the scene at 9:47, there were two slices left. Teachers are always hunting around for a little snack mid morning and/or need a bite to tide them over if they have forgotten to pack a lunch. Teachers love having a group snack appear in the staff room or faculty kitchen.
Coffee Cake Ingredients
- 1 c. butter, softened
- 2 3/4 c. sugar, divided
- 2 eggs
- 2 c. flour
- 1 T. baking powder
- 1/4 t. salt
- 2 c. sour cream
- 1 T. vanilla
- 2 c. chopped pecans
- 1 T. cinnamon
Coffee Cake Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Cream butter and 2 c. sugar. Add eggs then sour cream and vanilla.
- Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt in a separate bowl.
- Fold dry ingredients into wet ingredients.
- In a third bowl, combine remaining 3/4 c. sugar, chopped nuts, and cinnamon.
- Spray bundt pan with Pam. Spoon half of the batter into the pan and spread gently with a spatula to level the batter. Sprinkle 3/4 of the nut mixture on the batter.
- Pour the remaining batter over the nut mixture and gently smooth the top. Sprinkle the remaining nut mixture on top.
- Bake for 1 hour. Let sit for ~20 minutes and then invert the bundt pan onto a plate.
Recipe Notes
- Speaking from experience, the baking powder ingredient is important. It is NOT baking soda. There is a difference!
- Make sure the bundt pan is greased well or the cake will not come away from the pan cleanly. Pam spray seems to be the most reliable to get the cake out of the pan. I have also tried greasing the pan with Crisco and greasing/flouring the pan and have had the cake break apart when I invert onto the cake plate.
