You would think that one coffee cake recipe would be sufficient in a week’s worth of blog entries, but this week I’ve got two, because Meat and Tater Man was fortunate enough to take both of these to work this week as part of his usual baking roundup that he packs on Sunday nights to get him through the week working out of a remote trailer office. He’s been on assignment since last July, home on weekends only, and working in the middle of nowhere, so I’ve been sending him with some baked goods and sandwich fixin’s every week, to save him from having to eat out of a restaurant three times a day from Monday to Friday.
A peak through the oven door revealed this golden little beauty poking out of its bundt pan.
As luck would have it, I had just the right combination of ingredients to make that lovely Strawberry Coffee Cake, and wanted to complement that with a nice bundt cake. (You see, we’ve developed a loyal following for my baked goods at the construction site, so Meat and Tater Man needs to show up with at least a couple of batches of baked goods if he wants to enjoy them until mid-week. You heard that right. Even with 24 to 36 servings of baked goods in his cooler each Monday morning, they never last beyond Wednesday of any week. I’m either a fabulous baker, or these people are grossly underfed.) I wanted something that would stay moist and tender for a few days in a construction trailer, and this cake fit the bill rather nicely (so I’m told by the eaters of the cake). I can vouch for its tenderness, as I had the last slice that I had reserved for myself this morning with coffee, and it was quite lovely.
This gorgeous concoction just fell right out of its bundt pan with no effort. I love it when that happens.
This was a hit at the trailer site, particularly with one of the staff who asked me to provide this recipe on the blog site sooner rather than later. Hence two coffee cake recipes in a week on the blog. So there you have it…life unfolding just as it should, not always as we plan it. And, here’s my coffee cake recipe. I took this right out of the same book that provided us with the equally lovely Strawberry Coffee Cake, the perfect little book called Coffee Cakes, from Lou Seibert Pappas. This one’s a bit different, but just as nice as the other, quick as lightning to whip up, and just as polite as the strawberry one going down. If you’ve got some sour cream in the fridge, you’re likely able to make this, as it relies on common pantry staples (another plus) to be made. The marbled crumb is just a bonus.
Look at that gorgeous marbling. I love it when cakes do that. And this one tastes really good…think half coffee, half chocolate.
My daughter, who does not like coffee at all, loved this cake.
This fabulous cake comes from Lou Seibert Pappas' cookbook titled simply, Coffee Cakes. Easy to make, and tastes great even a few days after making it. Mine only needed to bake for just over 50 minutes, so you may want to start checking it at about 52 minutes cooking time if your oven is hot.
It's important to let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes before unmolding, otherwise it might collapse if you try to unmold it before then. Likewise, you don't want to wait too long to unmold the cake, as it may stick to the pan's bottom if it stays in the pan once completely cooled.
Ingredients
- 12 tbsp (1 1/2 sticks) butter at room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 3 large eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp instant coffee powder dissolved in 2 tbsp hot water
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 1/4 cups sour cream
- 2 oz unsweetened chocolate, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter and flour a 10 inch Bundt or tube pan.
- In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and mix in the vanilla and dissolved coffee until blended.
- In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir to blend.
- Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture alternately with the sour cream in 2 increments, beating until thick and smooth.
- Spoon one third of the batter into a small bowl and stir in the melted chocolate.
- Spoon 4 heaping tablespoons of the coffee batter into the pan, spacing them apart, then spoon some chocolate batter by the tablespoon into the spaces. Repeat until all the batter is used. With a knife, swirl through the mixture once to marble the batters.
- Bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour, or until a cake tester inserted in the centre comes out clean. Let cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then unmold right side up on a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut in slices and serve.
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