Sour Cream Chocolate Crumb Cake

There are just days when you want something chocolates, and this was one of those days. I woke up early to try out a batch of biscuits for Sunday morning breakfast. They came out so nicely, I was basically done with my baking for the day. But after watching CBS Sunday morning, I was starting to get that itch... do you know the one? The one where you feel like you have to get up and move, because sitting around sipping coffee just seems a bit too luxurious for you? Maybe it's just me, but I can't sit still for too long and after watching Unique Sweets on the cooking channel, I knew I had to make something chocolate. And the idea for Sour Cream Chocolate Crumb Coffee Cake was born.

I've been wanting to make a crumb coffee cake for awhile, but my husband made that face. The face he makes when he'd rather eat a who bag of processed cookies from the supermarket than a crumb coffee cake. So, being that I couldn't possibly eat a whole crumb coffee cake by myself (I am still trying to work on my girlish figure) I decided that chocolate was the way to go. 

This cake is soft, moist, richly chocolatey but not too sweet. I feel like that should be my motto, "not too sweet" I'm a firm believer in desserts that deliver a punch in flavor, but not a whole lot of sugar, just enough to enhance not enough to induce diabetes. Which, if you've read my blog before was a reality in my house. I was baking to keep my son happy, but contribute to his elevated A1C number. Luckily, after a year of blood tests, it was determined that he didn't have diabetes, but the A1C number was still a very real reality. So we keep him on a lower carb, lower sugar diet. Which means I reduce the amount of sugar in almost every recipe I make, and he'll have a small serving. I know there are a lot of people that would just tell me to stop baking, but I figure it's better for him to eat sweets where I know exactly what goes into it, than something off a shelf. Honestly,  I'm just happy to know that sugar is not off limits for him. It's just about learning to cut back and balance his diet.

Man, that was a bit of tangent, so back to this cake! it's soft, moist and topped with a thick layer of  crunchy crumb topping made with pecans and cocoa powder. The batter uses sour cream and coffee to keep it from drying out. Once mixed, I spread the thick batter into a parchment lined baking pan using an offset spatula. Top it with a thick layer of pecan crumb topping and ints off to the oven for 45-50 minutes. 

Allow to cook for 15 minutes before slicing into 2X2" squares. It Goes great with a cold glass of milk! Hope you enjoy this twist on a classic New York Staple! And follow me in instagram for more recipes and stories!

Sour Cream Chocolate Crumb Cake

** Adapted from Hungry Couple NYC

Ingredients

For the Cake:

• 1 Stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 large egg
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 cup brewed coffee
• 1 cup Sour Cream
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt

For the Crumb Topping:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cake flour 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tbsp Cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
• 1 Stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and butter an 8" cake pan and line with parchment.
2. Make the crumb topping by whisking together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder and pecans. Add in the melted butter and mix to combine.  Set aside. 
3. In a bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar till light and fluffy. Add in the egg and beat to combine.
4. Mix In in the rest of the wet ingredients (vanilla, coffee and sour cream).
5. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix to combine.
6. Spread the batter evenly into the pan. The batter is pretty thick, so I used an offset spatula to help with this.
7. Then using your hands, clump together crumb mixture and crumble it onto the cake batter.
8. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes until the top is a light golden brown and a cake tester comes out clean.