Sour Cream Pear Coffee Cake

Regina Minnick gave this recipe to the Dudleys.

Streusel:

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 t. ground cinnamon

4 T. margarine or butter, softened

2/3 cup walnuts, toasted or chopped

Cake:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/4 cups sugar

6 T. margarine or butter, softened

2 large eggs

1 1/2 t. vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups sour cream

3 firm, but ripe Bosc pears (peeled, cored, and cut into 1-inch pieces)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 13x9 inch metal baking pan; dust with flour.

Prepare streusel by mixing brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon with a fork in a medium bowl until well blended. With fingertips, work in margarine or butter until evenly distributed. Add walnuts and toss to mix; set aside.

Prepare cake by combining flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside. In large bowl, with mixer at low speed, beat sugar with margarine or butter until blended, scraping bowl often with rubber spatula. Increase speed to high; beat until creamy, about 2 minutes, occasionally scraping bowl. Reduce speed to low; add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. With mixer at low speed, alternately add flour mixture and sour cream, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until batter is smooth, occasionally scraping bowl. With rubber spatula, fold in pears.

Spoon batter into pan; spread evenly. Sprinkle top with streusel mixture. Bake coffee cake 40 to 45 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack 1 hour to serve warm, or cool completely in pan to serve later. Makes 16 servings.