Grandma's Famous Coffee Cake

 Okay, I know this isn't a recipe blog. It never has been and never will be. 

But I just couldn't let this holiday season pass by without sharing a piece of my childhood.

When my dad was growing up, his mom would make a stellar coffee cake. He and his 4 older brothers would look at the cake after it came out of the oven and thought it looked like lava. They nicknamed it Lava Cake, and that's what we've called it in my family ever since!

Don't be fooled though: this is nothing like the molten lava cakes (also delicious, just not this recipe)!

So I'm sharing this recipe with you today!

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup shortening
• 1 1/8 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cup sour cream
• 6 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 cup pecans

Directions

1. Cream shortening, sugar & vanilla together.
2. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
3. Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda together.
4. Alternate adding sour cream and flour mixture to the creamed mixture.
5. Spread half of the batter in a greased 10" tube pan (or angel food cake pan).
6. Cream butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon together.
7. Add the nuts and mix well. 
8. Dot the batter in the pan evenly with half of the nut mixture.
9. Put the rest of the batter in the pan.
10. Cut thru the batter with a butter knife to create a swirl.
11. Put the rest of the nut mixture on the top of the cake.
12. Bake at 350 degrees for 60-65 minutes.
13. Cool for 10 minutes then remove from the pan.

Enjoy!!