Crumb-Topped Chocolate Chip Poundcake

You would think that there would be tons of recipes for plain sour cream poundcake but when I was writing Amazing Dairy-free Desserts I couldn't really find one to adapt. As I started experimenting I found that adding water was the key to making a moist and delicious poundcake. But that was with Tofutti sour cream substitute, so when I wanted to make a dairy version, the first thing I did was to leave out the water. There was no comparison. Even with real sour cream, the addition of water made a huge difference in the moistness of the cake. We love this cake plain, without the chocolate chips and streusel, but for company I usually add the extras. Any way you slice it, it's one yummy cake.

This recipe can now be found on my CD-rom or download: Amazing Desserts - A Photographic Guide to Better Baking.  Please see MY BOOKS, above, for details on ordering.