Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Does coffee cake always have a cinnamon topping? Does that mean the term 'cinnamon coffee cake' is redundant? Then I shall be redundant. There are few things I can distinctly remember the first time I ever ate them, coffee cake being one. It was 2nd grade. I have no idea why we had coffee cake at school but we did. I also thought one could only have it when coffee was around (ie: served with coffee) but I'm glad that was an incorrect assumption.

I made this for my coworkers and clearly I need to keep this recipe handy. Such phrases as "the best baked good you've ever made" were thrown around. Fightin' words. This was the first time I ventured to make coffee cake and it was a lot easier than anticipated. This shall become a staple.

As always, room temperature butter is creamed with the sugar and eggs before adding the dry ingredients. The batter is thicker than cake batter, almost velvety. But don't forget the secret ingredient: yogurt. Originally, this was sour cream but I like using Greek yogurt better. In part because it's healthier but I also think it gives cakes and breads a better texture.

My initial plan was to put this in a bundt pan but ultimately decided on a 9x9. Half the batter goes in before putting a layer of streusal down. This will give the center a nice cinnamon swirl. The rest of the batter is laid on top before being topped with the remaining streusal. The topping is made of melted butter, sugar, cinnamon and some flour. All things delicious.

The cake bakes for about 30-40 minutes or until a skewer in the center of the cake comes out clean. Allow to cool before cutting into pieces but definitely try a piece warm. Heaven!

Recipe

Cake

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick of unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain Greek yogurt

Streusal 

• 3/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

1. Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9x9 pan and set aside.
2. In a small bowl, combine all the dry ingredients for the streusal. Mix evenly before adding the melted butter.
3. Use a fork or pastry cutter to mix the streusal until it's crumbly. Set aside.
4. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Whisk together and set aside.
5. In a large bowl, place the stick of softened butter. Using a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter until smooth.
6. Add the sugar to the butter and continue to mix until fluffy (which is basically combined and smooth).
7. Add the eggs one at a time to the butter and sugar mixture until combined. Also add the vanilla here. 
8. Alternate adding the flour mixture and the yogurt to the butter-sugar-egg mix. 
9. Pour half of the batter into the 9x9 pan. Top that layer with a layer of streusal. If you want to be fancy, you can use a knife to spread the streusal in a swirly pattern throughout the cake batter.
10. Pour the remaining batter on top of the streusal layer and top with all remaining streusal (how many times can we say 'streusal'?).
11. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until a skewer placed in the center of the cake comes out clean.
12. The cake will deflate slightly as it cools. Allow to cool a bit before cutting into pieces and serving.