I confess. The idea for this recipe comes from a supermarket cake—Entenmann’s Sour Cream Chip and Nut Loaf—which apparently no longer exists. I loved this cake, and when they stopped making it many years ago, I decided I had to come up with a version. This recipe closely relates to the original but is not an exact copy.

I begin with the Streusel. Mix the flour, brown sugar (I use the dark), cinnamon, and salt together. Cut in cold butter with a pastry blender until small clumps are formed.

Stir in coarsely chopped walnuts and set aside in the refrigerator until ready to use.

Then proceed to the cake batter. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a mixing bowl.  In a larger bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the sour cream and vanilla.

Gradually add the dried ingredients to the butter mixture, beating well. Dust chocolate chips with a little flour, and stir them into the batter.

Pour half the batter into the prepared pans. Spread half the streusel mixture over the batter.

Scrape the rest of the batter mixture over the streusel. Top the batter with the remaining streusel. (Note: in the photo below, there’s a bit too much batter for the pan.)

Bake for 60 to 70 minutes until your cake tester comes out clean. Cook in the pans on a rack for ten minutes. Unmold the cakes carefully, and let them cool on the racks.

When cool, slice and serve.

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