There is an unspoken rule whenever Mikey and I go to brunch and that is that I always have to get something sweet for us to share (although I’m usually the one who eats 90 percent of it). Whether it is a doughnut (a hip trend here in Chicago that I won’t complain about) a piece of coffee cake, a cinnamon role or a simple waffle…I always require something sweet to go with my coffee and eggs.

I grew up with an incredible Mom who always made us amazing breakfasts on Saturday mornings. I would wake up to the smell of pancakes or waffles and although I didn’t eat breakfast during the week, waffles were my weakness and I always found a way to make room for them on the weekend.

We also would have things like cinnamon rolls, monkey bread and coffee cake on occasion and I blame her for my obsession with all things gooey and cinnamon laced.

I wanted to try a new coffee cake recipe, but stick with the classic flavors and texture I love and was really pleased with the way this coffee cake turned out. My favorite is still this Classic Coffee Cake that literally melts in your mouth (and must be consumed warm), although I will keep this coffee cake recipe on the back burner as a quick and tasty brunch option.

 

 

My brown sugar was as hard as a rock! So, in order to soften it I placed it in a microwave safe bowl and placed a moistened paper towel over the top. I microwaved it for about 20 seconds until it was soft enough to mold. I ended up having to re-wet the paper towel a couple times before my brown sugar was soft enough. If you ever find you don’t have any brown sugar, you can make your own by adding molasses or syrup.

 

Recipe: Cinnamon Streusel Coffee Cake

Serves about 15-20

Ingredients:

For the Streusel:

1 1/4 Cups Granulated Sugar

1/4 Teaspoon Salt

1 Cups All Purpose Flour

1 Tablespoon Cinnamon

6 Tablespoons Butter ,Melted

For the Filling Swirl:

1 Cup Brown Sugar

1 1/2 Tablespoons Cinnamon

1 Teaspoon Unsweetened Cocoa Powder

For the Cake:

3/4 Cup Butter

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar

1/3 Cup Brown Sugar

2 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder

2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract

3 Eggs

3/4 Cups Sour Cream or Plain Greek Yogurt

1 1/4 Cups Milk (any kind)

3 3/4 Cups All-Purpose Flour

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease a 9×13 pan, set aside.

Combine the filling ingredients by mixing the brown sugar, cinnamon and cocoa powder and set aside.

Combine the streusel ingredients as well, mixing until butter is mostly combined and a streusel like consistency is formed. Set aside.

For the cake batter, beat together the butter, sugars, baking powder, salt and vanilla until well incorporated in a large bowl of an electric mixer.

Add eggs, one at a time until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt (I used greek, you could use sour cream too) and milk until well combine, but not completely lump free, it will work fine with some lumps.

Add flour and milk mixture alternately to the batter until all is completely added and gently combined.

Spread half the batter into the prepared 9×13 pan sprinkle completely with the cocoa mixture.

Spread the remaining batter over the top of the cocoa mixture and use a knife or chopstick to add a swirl through the batter. Simply insert the knife into one end of the cake and in a slow, gentle motion, swirl the knife back and forth until you reach the opposite end of the cake. You only need to do it once. To finish, top with streusel topping and bake at 350 for 55-69 minutes or until the cake “springs back” when you gently press a finger to the top. Let cake cool for about 20 minutes and serve warm!

(I ended up not liking so much streusel, but I used more flour in my original recipe. I cut out 1/2 cup of flour for you in this recipe, so I think the result will be better. Depending on what you like you can add all or as much as you prefer on top of your cake! No matter how much you do or don’t use it will still turn out great! That being said, stick to 1 cup of flour as suggested in the recipe here and it will turn out well).

This is a sweet coffee cake that you could use as a breakfast food or as a dessert! It is super versatile and a sure crowd pleaser!