Today it's snowing. And snowing. And snowing. Get the picture? It's REALLY snowing. I started off this snowy day with irritation. A haircut appointment that had to be cancelled and can't be rescheduled till next week. An appointment at the chiropractor that had to be cancelled, and my neck is already complaining. And worst of all, I'm supposed to be cooking at an event at Rustico (www.rusticocooking.com) and I had to cancel because it was impossible to travel into the city.
So I indulged in irritability for about an hour, and then decided there were plenty of ways to make use of this snowy, snowy day. And I headed for the kitchen.
Now I'm usually one to watch the calories when I bake - always looking for low fat, no fat, low calorie, healthy.......but I guess the cranky start to the day got the better of me, and I threw caution to the winds and broke out the butter to make a sinfully rich Cinnamon Streusel Swirl Coffeecake. The picture's not the best (lack of natural light on such a dreary day) but believe me, this cake's a keeper. I'm happy to share the recipe with you. It's adapted from King Arthur Flour, and it's worth every single calorie
Streusel topping
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)
1 1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling
1 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder, Dutch process or natural
1/4 cup chopped pecans
Cake
3/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt (1 ¼ teaspoons if you use unsalted butter)
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt
1 1/4 cups milk (anything from skim to whole)
3 3/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Directions
1) Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9" x 13" pan, or two 9" round cake pans.
2) Make the topping by whisking together the sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, stirring till well combined. Set the topping aside.
3) Make the filling by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, cocoa powder and chopped pecans. Note that the cocoa powder is used strictly for color, not flavor; leave it out if you like. Set it aside.
4) To make the cake: In a large bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, baking powder, and vanilla until well combined and smooth.
5) Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6) In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt and milk till well combined. You don't need to whisk out all the lumps.
7) Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk/sour cream mixture, beating gently to combine.
8) Pour/spread half the batter (a scant 3 cups) into the prepared pan(s), spreading all the way to the edges. If you're using two 9" round pans, spread 1 1/3 cups batter in each pan.
9) Sprinkle the filling evenly atop the batter.
10) Spread the remaining batter atop the filling. Use a table knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter, as though you were making a marble cake. Don't combine filling and batter thoroughly; just swirl the filling through the batter.
11) Sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan.
12) Bake the cake until it's a dark golden brown around the edges; medium-golden with no light patches showing on top, and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes for the 9" x 13" pan, 50 to 55 minutes for the 9" round pans. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back.
13) Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before cutting and serving. Serve cake right from the pan.
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