Any guesses on what was in the recipe arsenal of a new bride circa 1941? I suspect most dishes contain what was then the latest-and-greatest in food technology: Packaged and canned foods. All the better to get you in and out of the kitchen in no time flat!
And I know that Nana succumbed to these convenience recipes….at least for a while. My dad tells me stories (or maybe nightmares) of the Friday Night Tuna Fish Hot Dish—thankfully there is no recipe card for that or else I’d have to make it for you here. I think it involved tuna, noodles, cream of mushroom and crushed potato chips. I’ll pass on that one, Nana.
Gosh, they’re cute.
Who can resist a coffee cake?
For this week, I made another coffee cake. I have about 5 more to go, in case you were wondering. I am getting weary of coffee cake but I’m not yet brave enough to start with the aspic and Jell-O salads.
At least it's simple.
The bulk of the cake is the cake mix, with sour cream and some other stuff tossed in. Plus this streusel–gotta have streusel for a coffee cake.
Streusel--Just cinnamon, brown sugar and nuts.
Spray your Bundt pan and put half of the sugar mixture on the bottom.
Streusel in.
This recipe doesn’t have you mix the sugar and cinnamon with any flour or butter for the streusel. I think I’d go with a more traditional streusel next time.
Fill halfway and add more streusel!
After you put the streusel in the center, fill it up with the rest of the cake batter and bake.
Run a knife through it if you want a marbled effect.
Let cool slightly, then invert the pan onto a cake plate. It sure looks pretty.
Don't invert this on a rack. Put it on a plate. Trust me.
I served myself a piece of this baby while it was still warm. It was rich and delicious.
MOIST. (I still hate that word)
The sour cream really adds something to this one. It was a dense, rich and velvety cake. Try it!
All you need is a cuppa joe.
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Nana’s Recipe for Fran’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake
for cake:
1 Duncan Hines Golden cake mix (or any yellow cake mix)
3/4 cup vegetable oil
8 oz. sour cream
4 eggs
a little milk to thin
for streusel:
2 tsp cinnamon
3 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
…………………………………………………….
Preheat oven to 350*. Spray your Bundt pan with Pam or other spray oil.
Make streusel–combine the cinnamon, brown sugar and nuts. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, combine cake mix, sour cream, and oil. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. If the mixture is very thick, add a little milk to thin so that you can beat it.
Sprinkle half the streusel into the bottom of the Bundt pan. Pour half of the cake batter on top. Sprinkle on the rest of the streusel, then the rest of the cake batter.
Bake for approximately 45 minutes to one hour. Check with toothpicks for doneness.
I need this cake. Now.
For more than 25 years my mother-in-law would ask what cake I’d like for my birthday — and every year I’d choose her “Brunch Cake” — Just about the same as this cake — except my MIL’s called for a package of instant vanilla pudding (the small package) — NO milk — 1/2 cup Wesson oil — 1 cup sour cream — the yellow cake mix, and the 4 eggs. The streusel contained the same ingredients — but different measurements 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 cup chopped pecans — the directions were the same for preparing the cake and streusel except — my MIL’s says to spoon 1/2 of the cake batter into a greased and floured Bundt pan — then sprinkle with 2/3 of the streusel mixture over the batter, then add the remaining batter and then sprinkle with the remaining sugar mixture. Bake for about 1 hour at 350 degrees. After the cake has been put onto a serving platter you sift powdered sugar over the top of the cake. It also says to keep the cake refrigerated. So my MIL’s cake would have the streusel in the middle of the cake and on the bottom of the cake when it’s flipped over onto the serving platter — no streusel on the top of the cake — but instead would have the sifted powdered sugar over the top. My MIL can no longer cook or bake and I sure do miss her home cooked meals–and it’s been about 5 years now that I haven’t had this cake for my birthday. :^(
Darlene–that cake almost sounds like a hybrid of Fran’s coffee cake and the Chocolate Cake Supreme that’s on the front page right now. It sounds delicious!