Sour Cream and Yogurt

Sour cream and yogurt are tasty ways to add moisture and richness to coffee cakes and muffins, but using full-fat versions is the key to successful baking. The sour cream you use should be 14 percent fat and the yogurt should be a minimum of 3 percent, ideally 6 percent. The reason for these high percentages is that lower-fat options are set with other thickeners such as guar gum, starch, or even gelatin. Once heated, the thickening agents dissolve and the lower-fat sour cream or yogurt turns watery. Therefore baked items could be dense and heavy coming out of the oven, and crumble easily after cooling.