Coffee Cake

My mother, who really doesn't have much of a sweet tooth, has mentioned on many occasions how much she loves coffee cake. I wanted to make one that truly rose above the ordinary, cookie-cutter versions at the supermarket, so I turned to Pam Anderson's CookSmart column in USA Weekend. I opted to use sour cream instead of plain yogurt to create a more moist crumb. This was a real hit. Since it's a bit of work, you might want to make two... one to give away and one to keep.

Coffee Cake

Crumble Topping
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted and slightly cooled

Cream Cheese Filling
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup of your favorite fruit preserves

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a 9-inch springform pan.

For the crumb topping, use your hands to thoroughly mix ingredients in a medium bowl, pressing together to form large clumps; set aside.

For the cream cheese filling, beat cream cheese and sugar with an electric mixer until thoroughly mixed. Beat in egg and vanilla until smooth; set aside.

For the cake, mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl; set aside. Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high until light and fluffy. Beat in egg until smooth. Beat in half the dry ingredients, followed by half the sour cream. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients, then the remaining sour cream. Beat until ingredients are fully incorporated.

Spread batter evenly over prepared pan. Spread cream cheese filling over batter. Dollop fruit preserves over cream cheese filling, and then sprinkle crumble topping evenly, pressing on it lightly to adhere.

Bake until batter is fully set and topping is golden brown, approximately 40 to 45 minutes.

Cool to room temperature and serve. Can be covered with foil and stored at room temperature for one day.