Coffee Cake

One of my dearest friends moved back nearby recently.  She had lived hours away for several years, so I was excited to see her.  We had planned on doing dinner, and at the last minute I decided that I wanted to throw something together so I could bring over a little sample of my baking obsession.  I checked out some quick recipes, then ultimately decided on a post-dinner coffee cake.



I found a recipe that only took 20 minutes to bake.  It was pretty healthy, calling for sugar substitute and whole wheat flour, which I did not have on hand.  I changed the ingredients to match what I had, including white flour, brown sugar, real butter, 2% milk, and whole eggs.  So basically, I just followed a rubric.

I started out by using a whisk to combine the melted butter, flour, brown sugar, salt, and baking powder together in a medium bowl. I also added in a little bit of cinnamon.  This was definitely a different order to add the ingredients than I was used to, so I did a double take on the directions.

In a large bowl, I added the flour mixture, eggs, and milk, then stirred until the mixture was combined.  I left some small lumps, similar to how I do with muffins.

I poured the batter into 2 cake rounds and sprinkled some sugar on the top.

The cakes were just right after 20 minutes of baking, so I packed one in a cloth bag with some hot pads and got going.

The cake was a really good basic cake. I got really good feedback at dinner and it disappeared pretty quickly. My food-loving coworker also got a piece, and he said it was good but could have used more moisture, suggesting adding some yogurt next time. I personally think it needs a streusel topping--a little bit of butter, cinnamon, and sugar would take this cake to the next level. All in all, this is a great basic recipe to keep on hand.  If you've got a craving for coffee cake but are short on time, this is a great choice!

Coffee Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, cinnamon, brown, melted butter and baking powder. Stir in eggs and milk until mixed but still lumpy. Top with cinnamon sugar and melted butter if desired. Bake for 20 minutes, until a toothpick poke in the center comes out clean. Makes two 9" rounds.