In early December of 1977, food editor Laurin Stamm began a weekly recipe column titled “From the Kitchen of The Cypress House.” The column ran continuously through November of 2000, featuring one or two recipes each week, and totaling more than 1,150 recipes over the 23 years.

Checkout, a current weekly column that features various food stories, events and recipes, looks back at some of the most popular recipes from The Kitchen of the Cypress House, and perhaps a newly discovered one every now and then.

From The Kitchen of The Cypress House,

 May 30, 1979

 

Fresh, hot coffee cake makes such a good breakfast. But if you serve early     — as we do for our dawn – 30  swimmers — it means getting up extra early to put the coffee cake together.

This past weekend daughter Story discovered a recipe that can be made the night before, refrigerated overnight and heated the next morning. It’s good — light and tasty and very pretty.

This should be a perfect recipe for an early morning bridge game or sewing session also. Yummy with hot coffee.

 

Sour Cream  Coffee Cake

1 cup sour cream

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 3/4 cup sifted flour

1 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs, well beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup soft butter

2 teaspoons baking powder

 

Topping:

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup chopped pecans

 

Grease and flour an 8-inch square pan. Preheat the oven to 350º. Combine the sour cream and soda in a bowl. It will double in bulk.

In a separate bowl, cream the butter. Add the sugar, and cream the mixture thoroughly.

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat well.

Alternately add the sifted dry ingredients and the sour cream.

Spread half the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half the topping mix. Cover with the remaining batter. Sprinkle with the remaining topping.

Bake for 45 minutes. Serve warm.

 

The cake can be wrapped in foil, stored in the refrigerator and reheated before serving. (We dotted the top with butter before reheating.)