Freshly baked coffee cake

Slice of coffee cake

I found out last minute that my grandmother in law would be showing up this morning. Apparently my wife learned of this herself not that long ago. She was to stop by and visit with Julia some over coffee. Needless to say her saying that just some toast or something would be fine could not just stand. I have always felt a need to ensure any guests are not only well treated, welcome, and fed properly. Bad news was that I had yet not made a recent shopping trip and this was not planned. Off to the pantry it was and to see what could be whipped up. That is when it dawned on me that I have not made a coffee cake in a long time and what could go better with coffee than a cake with coffee in the name and not in the ingredients list. Thinking cap for next time, maybe I should try to alter that some and add some to my next cake. Guess that may be another post and another recipe.

Coffee Cake with crumb topping:

Topping mix-

• 1/4 cup room temperature butter.
• 1/2 cup medium brown sugar. (sure dark or light could be substituted.)
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour. (give container a shake first, or sift before measuring.)
• 1 Tsp. Cinnamon.
• Approx 1/4 Tsp. Fresh grated nutmeg. (few grinds on micro plane.)

Topping Preparation-

In a small bowl add the butter and brown sugar. Slightly combine with a fork. Sprinkle on the flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Combine it all with the fork until it is mixed and in a crumble texture or look. Set aside.

Cake mix-

• 1/2 cup milk.
• 1/3 cup melted unsalted butter.
• 1 egg – beaten.
• 3/4 cup raw sugar. (white sugar can be substituted.)
• 1 Tsp. real vanilla extract.
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour. (shake container or sift before measuring.)
• 2 1/2 baking powder. (please check your expiration date on canister.)
• 1/2 Tsp. salt. (I do not use Kosher or Sea salts, etc. in baking. So standard table salt.)

Cake preparation-

In a medium sized bowl mix together the sugar, the beaten egg, and the melted butter. Stir in the milk and the vanilla. In another bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix it well or sift it into the bowl. Slowly mix the flour mixture into your medium bowl of wet ingredients until thoroughly incorporated.

Grease either an 8×8 square pan or a 9 inch round cake pan with butter (Pam could substituted). Pour the batter into the pan, shake to set or lightly drop it on the counter from an inch or so up to help settle the batter. Sprinkle the crumb mixture as evenly as possible across the top of the batter. Place pan on the middle rack of a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 30 minutes. You can check it around 25 minutes with either a toothpick or a butter knife. When inserted into the middle of the cake and removed if the object comes out dry- the cake is done. When cake has finished baking remove it from the oven and place the pan on a elevated wire rack, do not remove cake from pan. Allow cake to cool about 15 to 20 minutes and then slice it up into portions while still in the pan- cake should still be slightly warm. Serve immediately or will keep covered a few days and can be served at room temp.

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