This Bundt-style sour cream cinnamon coffee cake is from a recipe by Katie Workman, author of two cookbooks focused on easy, family-friendly cooking.
This Bundt-style sour cream cinnamon coffee cake is from a recipe by Katie Workman, author of two cookbooks focused on easy, family-friendly cooking.Matthew Mead/Associated Press

And because we all know that we should be careful about mixing prescriptions, you should keep this simple cake recipe on hand for just those occasions. Believe me, I love a good thick streusel topping and I love cakes that say “Look at me!” But sometimes I just need to mindlessly throw together a cake that will get itself into the oven, and fast.

Also, sometimes we need a cake that can function as breakfast or brunch without too much explanation (chocolate cake requires a lot of justification before noon), or a midday snack, but also can hold up as a dessert.

You may also have some holiday houseguests, and you may need a few make ahead things to have on hand when people would like “just a little something sweet.” This is that something, homemade and lovely perched on your counter for guests to help themselves to a sliver of. Or two.

Sour Cream Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Start to finish: 1 hour (10 minutes active)
Servings: 10
For the cake:
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus extra for the pan
2 cups all purpose-flour, plus extra for the pan
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
For the glaze:
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Method:
Heat the oven to 350 F. Use a bit of butter to liberally coat the inside of a 9- or 10-inch Bundt pan. Sprinkle a bit of flour in the pan and turn to coat evenly, then tip out and discard any excess.
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to beat together the 1 cup of butter and the sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then beat in the vanilla and sour cream. Set aside.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the 2 cups of flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir the dry mixture into the butter mixture just until combined. Scrape into the prepared pan and spread so the top is even. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted at the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack, then flip the cake out of the pan and let cool completely on the rack.
While the cake is cooling, make the glaze. In a small bowl, stir together the powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth. When the cake is cool, transfer to a serving platter and use a teaspoon to drizzle the icing back and forth in a pretty zig zag pattern across the top of the cake.
Nutrition information per serving: 400 calories; 210 calories from fat (53 percent of total calories); 24 g fat (15 g saturated; 0.5 g trans fats); 110 mg cholesterol; 270 mg sodium; 43 g carbohydrate; 1 g fiber; 23 g sugar; 5 g protein.