Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Cake for breakfast



I've been craving coffee cake.  Or, more accurately, crumb cake.  But I keep getting overruled by Brianna and Gillian.  Brianna wanted bagels.  I made them two weekends running (and there are sure to be more in my future).  And with Gillian, it's all about muffins (and Brianna is usually happy to go along).  Don't get me wrong--I like both of those.  But I seem to be having trouble with new muffin recipes (some partial and total disasters that haven't made it all the way to the blog yet), and I'm getting a bit tired of the making the same two tried-and-true recipes over and over.  What I really wanted was coffee cake.  Cinnamony.  Buttery.  Crumby.  Cake for breakfast. =)

I have to plan my weekend baking carefully.  I want to be sure to fit in the things that I need to make (like my weekly TWD recipes) along with the things that we need to get through the week (bread) and the things I just want (cookies... brownies... coffee cake!)  And this past weekend I got lucky.  First, I had Saturday off, so I actually had two days to get all my baking done.  And second, I figured out a way to kill two birds with one stone...


This week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection comes from Liliana over at My Cookbook Addiction.  (I have that problem, too...  Hi, my name is Di.  I have more cookbooks than I have room for and I keep buying more...)  Her recipe choice was French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze.  This versatile cake can be baked as a loaf or as a round cake that can be glazed or layered with marmalade or jam.  I'm sure many bakers were delighted that this recipe could be made in a single bowl.  =)  I made a few changes, added some streusel on top, and had my coffee cake!!

I went for the round version.  Since I planned to add the streusel, I knew I wouldn't want to flip the cake over to get it out of the pan.  So I used my 9-inch springform pan.  I wrapped the bottom part in non-stick foil, put the pan together, and then sprayed the inside with baking spray (Pam for Baking).  While the oven preheated, I made the streusel (recipe below).  I mixed up the cake batter pretty much as the recipe directed.  I did leave out the ground almonds, using 1 1/2 cups (6 3/4 ounces) of all-purpose flour instead.  I used whole milk plain yogurt and canola oil.  For flavoring, I omitted the lemon zest and instead added about 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg with the dry ingredients.  I spread the batter in the pan and scattered the crumbs on top.  I baked the cake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F.  That was a bit longer than the 35-40 minutes listed for the round layer variation in the book, but I figured it would take longer with the topping.  Once the center of the cake tested as done, I removed the pan from the oven and let the cake rest in the pan on a rack for ten minutes.  Then I removed the outer ring of the pan and let the cake cool a bit more (but not too long--we were hungry!) and sifted some powdered sugar on top.


The verdict?  Oh, I will be making this one again.  Everyone around here really enjoyed it.  The texture of the cake was great--not too dense, not too light.  It keeps well, staying moist because of the oil, no doubt.  The streusel contrasted nicely with the soft crumb of the cake.  Definitely a winner!

If you want to try either the original cake or my variation, start by heading over to Liliana's blog to get the cake recipe.  And be sure to check out the TWD blogroll to see what everyone else did this week!  

Edited to add:  Okay, maybe I should read ahead once in a while...  I just realized that next week's TWD recipe is a crumb cake. *laugh*  That's okay; I can eat crumb cake two weeks in a row.


Streusel Topping for Coffeecake

1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
3/4 cup (3 1/8 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, softened

In a medium bowl, mix together the sugars, salt, flour, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Add the butter and use your fingers to rub it into the dry ingredients until you have crumbs of different sizes (you can squeeze the mixture into larger crumbs if you like).  


28 comments:

  1. the cinnamon streusal on top is a lovely idea. Moist and delicious with the added benefit of the buttery crumble. Musthave been quite a treat!

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  2. Your streusal on top looks fabulous! we loved this cake. I'd like to try your version of it soon. Happy St. Patty's Day!

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  3. This cake had to be fabulous with the streusel topping! Isn't it great to make a recipe that you know immediately you will make again? Maybe crumb cake is the ultimate compromise goodie -- satisfying the bagel wanters and the muffin wanters alike. I love what you did with this cake!

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  4. The cake looks fantastic! Wish I had some for my breakfast!

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  5. I am making a note to try this cake again with the crumb topping. I mean really, how can you go wrong with cake for breakfast? My son loves crumb cake - thanks for the terrific idea!

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  6. I love how versatile this recipe is - and I love your coffeecake version. Making notes in my book on that one. The blueberry cake is good, and the cookies (looking ahead even farther) are to die for, and I don't even like coconut.
    Nancy

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  7. Crumb topping on this....Oh. my. stars...that sounds like heaven!

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  8. Oh it looks so good! Now i really want to make next weeks recipe :)

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  9. I've been curious about this one since I saw on Facebook you might turn it into a coffee cake. It looks great and I would LOVE some!

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  10. Love the steusel topping! We ate ours for breakfast too. Well, it did have marmelade on it!

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  11. Brilliant idea! The cake itself is so good and I'll bet with streusel it was fabulous. I'm going to make note of your topping and do this one again.

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  12. YUM! Although I loved that cake... really... I would gladly leave it aside for some of that crumb you've added on top! LOL LOL

    Very well thought of, Di!

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  13. What a great idea! Next time I will definitely make this cake with streusel.

    Thanks for stopping by.

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  14. You just read my mind!!! I was JUST thinking about how much I love streusel topping and how I want a cake with streusel right now! And then I come to your site and BAM! So can I come over? Thanks!

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  15. I love that you made a streusel topping for the cake. It looks wonderfully delicious.

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  16. Love the streusel topping! Great idea!

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  17. Nothing wrong with two crumb cakes in a row. Yours looks soooooo good and moist and yummy and.... well you get the idea. Fantastic cake.

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  18. great adaptation of the recipe! I have the same addiction to cook books as well

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  19. Fabulous job! That looks really, really yummy.

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  20. I love the creativity! Rock on :-) There's nothing like a good and crumby coffee-cake. Have you ever had My Grandma's Coffee Cake before? It's one of my favs.

    Seriously.

    http://www.mygrandma.com/

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  21. Oh my gosh you are a girl after my heart. You live in Texas right? That's where I'm from. Miss all those goodies there. I would be huge, jinormous and happy if I lived in your house with all those yummies you mentioned in this post. Oh your coffee is pure genius. I would have never thought of it in those terms-so creative. I am usually the one who sticks to the recipe.
    Really beautiful photos.
    AmyRuth

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  22. HOLY COW! This looks SCRUMPTIOUS!!!!!

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  23. Well, I came a vistin' on Tuesday and you weren't posted yet, so when I saw your comment on mine just now, I thought, "Ah, ha...she's probably posted...." Am I ever happy that you were...this is so perfect. I am making your version this weekend...I can tell it will be a big hit around here just from reading about and looking at yours!

    You know, I joined to learn how to bake, because although I am a fairly good cook, I never really baked anything...so having experts like you share things like baking this in a springform pan so you can remove it without turning it upside down is really great...I never would have thought of that, turned it upside down and lost all the topping...and thought, "Gee, who knew that would happen?" Seven years of college for this! LOL. So, thanks, always for your little tips...don't ever think they are trite as they are NOT to the novices around here! GREAT job on the cake...just beautiful, and I am stealing the streusel recipe right NOW.

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  24. What a brilliant idea to top it with streusel! It looks so delicious! It amazes me how many ways there are to tweak this and take it in another direction. I like the idea of using the nutmeg too.

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  25. How creative to add a streusel top to this cake. I love coffee cake too, and I can just imagine this tasted perfect together. I'll have to try this.

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  26. Wow! It looks and sounds delicious! I love a streusel topping. I just finished a piece while I was reading your post. It's good even 3 days later! ;) This recipe is a keeper.

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  27. Great idea with the streusel topping, I'll have to remember that for next time I make it. :)

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