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Friday, October 5, 2012

Mrs. Haggard's Divine Coffee Cake


In the fall of 1981, Mrs. Haggard made the best coffee cake I had ever tasted.  I was in my first year of graduate school. Mrs. Haggard (did the woman have a first name?) was the wife of the department chairman.  The Haggards invited all the first years over to their home one evening early in the year to mingle with the faculty.  I was kind of nervous, and I don't think I actually talked to any faculty, but I did discover the most amazing coffee cake.  At the end of the evening, another student (Tracy) and I begged Mrs. Haggard for the recipe.  She very kindly sent it along with her husband the following week.  I have been making that cake ever since.  I expect Tracy, who was from South Dakota, probably still makes it too.  These days, my daughter is in grad school, and she bakes this cake for her friends.  It is always a big hit, and not just with starving graduate students.


Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1 cup margarine or butter
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup sour cream
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Topping:
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cream margarine/butter and sugar together.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix well. 

Sift together dry ingredients and add them, together with sour cream, to butter mixture.  Beat well.

Spoon half of batter into a greased Bundt pan.  (If you do not have a Bundt pan, a tube pan will work.)  Add half of topping.  Then remainder of batter.  Sprinkle on remaining topping.

Bake at 350 degrees F. for 50-60 minutes.  Turn upside down immediately.


24 comments:

  1. that sounds good, something else to bake over the winter months!

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  2. Can you hear me sighing. I'm afraid it doesn't fit into my gluten free diet, but I can certainly live vicariously.

    Hugs,
    Laura

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  3. You always have the most amazing cake recipes for afternoon tea! Thanks! Will definitely be giving this one a go :)

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  4. That sounds yum! Love coffee cake so definitely going to print this out and give it a try. Thanks - and thanks to Mrs Haggard too ;-)
    xx

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  5. Thanks for the recipe. It sounds delicious. I love recipes that have a story to go along with them. So, when I make this tomorrow, I'll think of you in at your meet the faculty party.

    Judy

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  6. It's so good when a recipe is passed down through the generations like that. I've been wanting to make a coffee cake and somehow have lost the recipe my mother gave to me so I'll try your version. It looks really delicious! xx

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  7. What a nice story behind the recipe, small details like this are what makes memories and recipes special!

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  8. How sweet that you've been able to keep the recipe going all these years! It sounds delicious.

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  9. This might be the perfect coffee cake to serve at my 3rd Annual Friends Christmas Brunch this year...will have to add it to the list of potential recipes!

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  10. Looks so yummy, I gotta save this recipe. Might come in handy for the holidays ;-) Thanks for sharing!

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  11. Hello there, I found your blog by way of Google even as looking for a similar topic, your website came up, it seems great. I’ve added to favourites|added to bookmarks.

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  12. I am generally not a big fan of coffee cakes, but this one sounds moist and delicious and I especially love the story behind it.

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  13. YUM!!!! And I bet the sour cream makes it so moist. Thanks for sharing.
    Angie

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  14. Good Morning, What a lovely story behind this delicious looking cake. This would be perfect to serve with coffee when the neighbors visit or during the holidays. Thanks so much. Enjoy your day.

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  15. I have no idea how I missed this post? Where have I been? I am certainly glad you came by my place, or I wouldn't have found this recipe. I am going to try it. It sounds like a scrumptous fall goody. Thanks for sharing!

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  16. This cake looks fabulous and oh so yummy! Can't wait to try it! Anything with sour cream has to be wonderful! Have pinned it to my breakfast board!
    Rebecca

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  17. I love coffee cake, especially when it includes cinnamon! This looks great and I can't wait to try it. I've discovered that sour cream in a coffee cake makes it so moist and delicious!

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  18. Ooh! This looks and sounds perfect and I have bookmarked it :) Coffee flavoured sweet things are my downfall ... cake, cookies, ice cream ... yum!

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  19. wow. that really looks delicious!! the sour cream must make it extra moist. thank you for this yummy recipe!

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  20. Yummy, yum! I was just thinking about my mom's coffee cake and how I haven't had any in ages! This recipe looks nice and moist, something that can be a challenge with coffee cakes..thanks! And thank you for visitng my blog!

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  21. What a wonderful story behind the recipe. Great to pass things on. I know some people that refuse to share recipes. Thanks for sharing and thanks for paying my blog a visit.

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  22. Oh, wow. I am really looking forward to making the coffee cake. I noticed your recipe for Black Walnut Cake. I am going to try that as well. I too am a southern girl. It was funny that you mentioned "naked cakes". I love naked yellow cake with peaches!

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  23. Oh my, does that ever look good! Isn't it nice to have a special recipe that lives on from someone? I love that your daughter is now making this, too.

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  24. I made Mrs. Haggard's divine coffee cake for a friend and she's still complimenting me on it. Thank you! It came out of the Bundt pan really fast--be sure to have a plate ready, or it may hit the counter.

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