This is basic, traditional coffee cake at its best. Nothing fancy, just the basics well-executed. The key to a great coffee cake is (duh) the cake, and this gives you just the moist, tender, and light – yet flavorful – cake you want. The specific instructions and measurements are important – don’t try throwing it all together at once. Streusel: 1/2c pecans 1/2c white sugar 1/4c brown sugar 1 tsp ground cinnamon The Cake: 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened 1c granulated white sugar 2 large eggs 1 tsp baking soda 1c sour cream (NOT low fat, please!) 2c cake flour (see note below) 1-1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp table salt 1/2 tsp vanilla extract Preheat oven to 350 Put the pecans in a small dry skillet and toast over medium heat, shaking, until lightly browned and fragrant. Cool, chop, and mix with the other streusel ingredients. Set aside. Using a separate scoop, overfill a 1 c dry measure cup with flour and level the top with the back of a knife. Put in sifter. Repeat for second cup of flour. Add baking powder and salt and sift into a bowl. Put butter and sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer and beat on medium until well-creamed, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides as needed. With the mixer running, add the eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Mix the sour cream and baking powder and let it foam for a few minutes. With the mixer on low, add 1/3 the flour mixture to the butter/eggs, then 1/2 the sour cream, then 1/3 the flour, etc. Mix for 10 sec or so between additions to incorporate each addition. Add the vanilla. Grease a Bundt pan. Spread not-quite-half the batter in an even layer, then sprinkle on 1/2 the streusel. Spread remaining batter over the streusel, making a nice even layer while doing your best not to disturb the streusel. Finish off with the remaining streusel. Bake for about 40 minutes until a wood skewer comes out clean. Cool in the pan for about 20 minutes then invert onto a plate to finish cooling. Flour note: Cake flour has lower gluten than all-purpose or bread flour. It is not good for raising bread well, but the lower gluten results in a more tender crumb – just what we want here. You can buy specially packaged cake flour, at a premium, but I find that a “soft” (low gluten) all-purpose flour, such as White Lily, works just as well.