Strawberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Oh the weather outside is frightful.

But the fire is so delightful.

And since the strawberries did so well grow...

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Do you like my song? No? It was dumb? That's okay. I have something here that you will like... something totally not dumb... Strawberry Sour Cream Coffee Cake.Yum! Not dumb!

There are a just a few short weeks of strawberry bounty in my garden. I go all year with no strawberries, no strawberries, and no strawberries. Then I get one's and two's for a few days. And then, all of a sudden, wow! There are so many that even I can not eat them all, no matter how hard I try. (And believe me, I have tried.)

That is when I make strawberry jam. But there's only so much jam a girl can eat, even if she's making cookies with it. So I like to freeze some of those glorious berries .

Freezing strawberries is really easy. Here's how I do it: Rinse berries. Cut off the green tops. Slice them. Measure the slices. For every 2 cups of berries add about 1/4 cup of granulated sugar. Stir sugar into berries and let sit for a few minutes, until sugar seems to dissolve. Then vacuum pack them, or pour them into freezer containers, or just spoon them into freezer bags. I like to freeze them in 2 cup portions. Don't forget to label them!

Those frozen strawberries seem "almost fresh" to me (especially on a day like today). Since they were picked fresh and frozen almost immediately they are really only a few hours old, right? And what a treat to eat "fresh" strawberries on a day like today!

Thaw frozen berries and eat them straight out of the baggie with a spoon, or use them to make this fabulous coffee cake... c'mon, I'll show you how!STRAWBERRY SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

2 cups cake flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup melted, then slightly cooled, butter
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

2 cups frozen strawberries, thawed
1/2 cup granulated sugar (reduce to 1/4 cup if using berries that were frozen with 1/4 cup sugar added)

For topping:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
4 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter a 9 x 11 sized baking pan.

Whisk cake flour, baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt together in a bowl. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat 1/2 cup melted, slightly cooled, butter, granulated sugar, eggs, sour cream, and lemon extract.

Gently stir dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Don't over mix. And spread into buttered baking pan.

Puree strawberries and sugar in a blender or food processor. Pour over top of batter and spread as evenly as possible.

In a small bowl, stir together remaining ingredients. It will be a crumbly mixture. Sprinkle over top.

Bake at 325 degrees for about 45 minutes, until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serve slightly warm or completely cooled.