Oh sour cream coffee cake, where have you been all my life? I was looking for something to bake for my monthly book club meeting (we read The Blind Assassin, very good) and found myself dreaming about streusel. Mmm...streusel...

Coffee cake was the natural choice -- but instead of a big square cake, I wanted to make mini coffee cakes, so I used a muffin tin. This recipe is very simple and produces enough tender little cakes to feed both a book club and a hungry boyfriend. Plus, streusel!

Sour Cream Mini Coffee Cakes
Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

Makes about 18 cakes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
2 large eggs

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two muffin tins. Whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside. Beat together the sour cream and eggs in a large bowl. Add the dry ingredients and beat until just combined, then stir until smooth. (Overbeating toughens the cakes.) Fill muffin tin cups halfway. Sprinkle with streusel (recipe below). Bake 16-18 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean. Cool on a rack for 15 minutes, then remove cakes from the tins and cool completely.

Streusel
Makes enough for 18 mini cakes or one 9-inch cake

1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Blend ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter and bake.