Sour Cream Cherry Coffee Cake

Sour Cream Cherry Coffee Cake

From: http://www.brewed-coffee.com

Are you looking for something new to pair with your coffee? Or maybe you just like baked goodies. Both apply to me, actually. While I am not particularly skilled at baking, I am lucky enough to have friends who can’t seem to stop themselves from whipping up baked goodies. Here is a recipe I found at Mercury News, which I intend on sending someone’s way. I think it has a lot of potential especially since it makes use of fat-free sour cream. It calls for cherry preserves (it’s Cherry Coffee Cake!) but I am also thinking that other fruits may be used as substitutes. Here goes:

Ingredients:
¼ pound unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup fat-free sour cream
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon finely chopped lemon zest
½ cup best quality cherry preserves

Procedure:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter two 8-inch square cake pans.
2. In a large mixer bowl, beat butter with sugar until well combined. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Add sour cream and mix thoroughly.
3. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture.
4. Blend in the vanilla and lemon zest thoroughly. Then stir in the cherry preserves, so the batter is streaky, not pink. Spread batter in pans and bake 20-30 minutes (15-20 minutes for muffins), or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Makes 2 cakes or 18-24 muffins