Coffee Cake

As the birth of my first baby is approaching, along with a complete shift in my personal identity as well as the composition of my day, I have been trying to change my cooking philosophy as well. I have been looking for more recipes that are simple to make and, having recently (and I hope permanently) exited the "morning sickness" phase of this pregnancy I have been making a more concerted effort to make meal preparation a higher priority in my day. Which is why I have been trying to make more breakfast foods.

In spite of the cliché stating that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day," I have never really been a big "breakfast-person." Although I do enjoy breakfast food, I usually don't prepare it except on special occasions. But my husband talks about how much he values the time his mother spent to prepare breakfast for the family to eat before heading to school, work, and other daily activities. So a few days ago I got up a little early just to make this coffee cake that I copied out of a magazine at the doctors office about 6 months ago. Apparently I didn't get up early enough, though, because it finished baking within minutes of my departure for work - still too hot to eat - and our breakfast cake ended up being a dessert cake that night. Oh well, maybe next time. Nevertheless it was a good and very easy recipe. Unfortunately I cannot give the author her due credit because I didn't write down her name or the name of the magazine.

Cake:
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

Topping:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Beat butter and 1 cup sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs. Stir in sour cream and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and stir until well mixed. Put half of the batter into a 9" square pan. Combine 1/2 cup sugar, cinnamon, and nuts and pour two thirds of mixture over batter. Then pour remaining batter into the pan and top with the last third of cinnamon mixture. Bake at 375° for about 50 minutes.