Cafe Au Lait Coffee Cake

If I had a prize winning recipe, this one would be it. It really puts all other coffee cakes to shame - seriously, they cower in humiliation. I think the Boom-Boom-Pow is all the coffee both in the batter and the crumb; yet it tastes mild enough that our kids liked it as toddlers. Yumm-O!

I made it for Chris for Father's Day and we all have very happy tummies. Don't be appalled by the numerous steps, this cake, while not quick, is fool proof and so delicious you'll forget the effort.

Café Au Lait Coffee Cake

Crumb Topping:

1 tsp instant coffee

½ C brown sugar

2/3 C flour

1 ½ tsp cinnamon

6 TBL cold butter

1 C chocolate chips

1 ¼ C pecans

Cake:

½ C softened butter

1 C sugar

2 eggs

1 C sour cream

2 TBL instant coffee

2 TBL warm water

2 ¾ C flour

1 TBL baking powder

½ tsp baking soda

½ tsp salt

1 C milk

Glaze:

1/2 C icing sugar

milk or cream to desired consistency

vanilla (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 9x13 pan

Make crumb topping: Stir together dry ingredients, cut in butter, add chocolate chips and nuts.

In a large bowl beat sugar and butter until light. Add eggs, then sour cream and then coffee dissolved in water.

In a small bowl whisk together dry ingredients. Gradually stir into moist ingredients starting with 1/3 of dry mixture, ½ of milk, 1/3 dry, ½ milk final 1/3 dry mixture.

Spread half of batter into pan. Sprinkle with 1 ½ C of topping. Cover with remaining batter and finish with crumb topping.

Bake for 60 – 65 minutes

Cool and drizzle glaze off a fork onto the top of the cake.

Notes: I like this cake warm, but my family prefers it after the flavor has blended a few days. To make sure it's still fresh, moist and flavor-blended; I bake the cake, cool it, glaze it and then freeze it for a day or two. The night before I take it out to thaw and it's just about perfect.

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