Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl

recipe from Baked:New Frontiers in Baking

For the Crumb Topping:

For the Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl:

For the Sour Cream Cake:

Make the Crumb Topping:

Put the flour, sugar and salt in a food processor and pulse for 5 seconds to mix. Add the pecans and pulse until the pecans are finely chopped and thoroughly incorporated.

Add the butter and pulse until combined. The mixture will look like very coarse sand. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in the fridge.

Make the Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl:

In a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon and set aside.

Make the Sour Cream Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 9×13 baking pan, If you use a metal pan, the edges of the cake will be crispy. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl.

In a bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter until smooth and ribbon-like. Scrape down the bowl and add the sugar. Beat until the mixture is smooth and starts to look fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.

Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not over mix.

Pour one third of the cake batter in the prepared pan. Using an offset spatula to spread the batter evenly.

Sprinkle half of the chocolate cinnamon swirl mixture over the batter, covering the entire surface of the batter. Spoon half of the remaining batter over the swirl mixture and spread it evenly. Top with the remaining swirl mixture then the remaining batter and spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle the crumb topping over the top of the batter.

Bake in the center of the oven, rotating the pan three times during baking for 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 30 minutes, then serve.

The cake will keep for 3 days, tightly covered at room temperature.  If it lasts that long…