Ina Garten’s upbeat personality, unlikely rise to fame, and iconic scarves make her endlessly endearing. In addition to being personable, her recipes are also consistently delicious and approachable. Ina meticulously tests her go-to ingredients and recipes to strike the perfect balance of flavor and texture—and to ensure they’re accessible to an untrained cook. In her 2024 memoir “Be Ready When the Luck Happens,” Ina shared that her goal is to use food as a means to bring people together, not to create anything unnecessarily complicated.
So when I recently had a craving for coffee cake, I knew Ina wouldn’t let me down. Her recipe now holds the title of the best coffee cake I’ve ever had.
Meet Ina Garten’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake
My hopes for this recipe were high when I saw it included both sour cream and streusel. Ina Garten’s Sour Cream Coffee Cake originally appeared in her cookbook “Barefoot Contessa Parties,” but just this year, Ina released an updated version of the recipe on her website and addressed the change on Instagram.
“Recipes I wrote years ago sometimes need updating,” she said. “I made the Sour Cream Coffee Cake from [‘Barefoot Contessa] Parties,’ and I decided it needed more crumble. Who wouldn’t want more crumble??”
You know that delicious, specific smell of warm, baked goods you’re hit with when you walk into a café bakery? This cake tastes like that smell.
A common misconception about coffee cakes is that they contain coffee. In reality, coffee cakes are sweet breads (not to be confused with sweetbreads) that pair really well with coffee—as this one does. The cake has the perfect level of sweetness and vanilla, and thanks to the sour cream, it’s unbelievably moist and soft. A ribbon of streusel runs through every slice, adding an exciting dimension in taste and texture. The cake is topped with more delicious streusel and a mouthwatering maple glaze that ties everything together.
How to Make Ina Garten’s New Coffee Cake
To make this updated sour cream coffee cake, start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F and greasing a 10-inch tube pan. In a bowl, cream softened butter and sugar together, then add eggs, vanilla, and sour cream. Next, sift together the dry ingredients—cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt—and mix them into the batter until just combined.
To make the streusel, pulse brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a food processor, then mix in pecans. Pour half the cake batter into the prepared pan, then sprinkle half the streusel on top. Repeat with the remaining batter and streusel.
Bake the cake for about an hour. Once cooled, drizzle it with a simple glaze made from maple syrup and powdered sugar.
This recipe calls for cake flour, which you can easily make by combining all-purpose flour with cornstarch. For the streusel topping, I prefer mixing the ingredients with a fork instead of pulsing them in a food processor—and I skip the pecans.
Now, just imagine gathering around the table with loved ones, steaming cups of coffee in hand, and slices of this cake on your plates. How fabulous does that sound?
