A Coffee Cake

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There are times when you just want something nice to have with your cuppa or coffee. This isn't a cake with coffee in it, but is an American cake suitable for eating with coffee, or at least I presume that's what a coffee cake is for!. It's the filling that makes this cake - I used some dark chocolate chopped up, but you could use some nuts - chopped walnuts or pecans.
 It come from a charity shop book I bought ages ago called ' Cakes my Mom used to make'. I've made this cake several times, and have adapted the recipe to suit what I wanted. I make it in a 23cm Bundt tin, so it's a big cake.
Preheat oven 180C/gas4
For the filling:
Mix together 170g dark brown sugar, 1 tbspn cinnamon, 1 tbspn cocoa powder, 160g chopped dark chocolate or chopped nuts.
For the cake:
220g butter, 225g caster sugar, 1 tspn vanilla extract, 3 eggs, 350g plain flour plus 1 tbspn baking powder and 1 tspn bicarbonate of soda, 500ml sour cream or crème fraiche, icing sugar for dusting
Grease your Bundt tin well, or spray it with the easy release spray [I find these sprays good to get cakes out of awkward shaped tins, especially silicone ones].
In a mixer cream together the butter, sugar and  vanilla extract till light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. In a bowl mix together the plain flour with the baking powder and bicarbonate of soda. On a low speed, add the flour in 3 lots, alternating with the sour cream or crème fraiche, also in 3 lots.
Pour 1/4 of this batter into the tin. sprinkle 1/3 of the filling over this, and repeat till you have 4 layers of batter and 3 of filling in the tin.
Bake for about 50 mins. Leave in tin to cool for about 15 mins then turn out onto a wire rack.
Dust the top with icing sugar.

Not a very good photo, but you can see the layers. It's got a good crumb and a nice contrast of flavours and textures in the filling. You get an extra bit of chocolate flavour from the cocoa.  I think I prefer this chocolate version to the original nut one.
















Comments

thecelticcookinshanghai said…
When we lived in USA I could never understand why coffee cake never tasted of coffee as I expected. Lol Eventually realised, but never understood why they didn't just call it cake as I often ate it with tea.
3/2/15 11:23 pm
thecelticcookinshanghai said…
When we lived in USA I could never understand why coffee cake never tasted of coffee as I expected. Lol Eventually realised, but never understood why they didn't just call it cake as I often ate it with tea.
3/2/15 11:23 pm
Phil in the Kitchen said…
That looks really good and just right for coffee or tea time. I suppose not all tea cakes contain tea.
4/2/15 2:19 pm
thecelticcookinshanghai said…
Never thought of that Phil! But in my head a coffee cake should contain coffee. teacake well??????
12/2/15 11:28 pm
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