Cinnamon Pecan Streusel Topped Buttermilk Coffee Cake

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It finally occurred to me somewhere along the way that a great hostess gift for a Saturday night dinner party might be a coffee cake that might make breakfast the next morning an easy treat. Nothing like wearing yourself out giving a great party only to face an empty larder the next morning when you’re in no mood to cook. So Rick and I were invited to a BBQ on Saturday night and I baked two coffee cakes- knowing he would be quite grumpy sad if he didn’t get some for his own breakfast too. 🙂 It was easy as … well -coffeecake 🙂

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Cinnamon Pecan Streusel Topped Buttermilk Coffee Cake

Makes 2- one for you and one to give away or freeze for later.

Make the topping :

  • 1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons) cold butter
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 teaspoons powdered cinnamon
  • 2/3  cup unbleached, all purpose flour
  • 2 cups pecan halves

Mix the flour, cinnamon and sugar together and cut the butter into the mix. Mix in the pecan halves. Set aside.

For Cake:

  • 4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup (8 Tablespoons) butter, softened
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 2 cups buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350F. Using a bit of melted butter and a pastry brush, butter two 9-inch spring-form pans and place a parchment circle into the bottom of each pan, set aside. Mix the flour, baking powder, soda, cinnamon and salt together in a medium bowl, set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time and vanilla, mix well after each addition. Add the flour and buttermilk alternately, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix just to combine- Do not over-mix. Immediately divide evenly between the spring-form pans and smooth out to level. Sprinkle half of the streusel evenly over each pan. Place in oven and bake for about 35 minutes or until golden brown and a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean. Rotate the pans half way through for even baking. 

Hope you enjoy and share the goodness!
xo

Take advantage of the heat- Roast up!

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You know how it’s Summertime and the living is easy extremely hot but you still go on baking and heating your house so much the the windows steam? Well at least take advantage of that heat and double up in your oven. So when you’re baking something luscious -pop in a tray of all of the Summer bounty from your garden that you’re rolling in and roast some veggies for a healthy meal.

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On this round I have new Yukon gold and red potatoes, fennel, peppers, sweet potatoes, onion, carrots and red and gold beets- I roast them as long as the oven is hot- about an hour average. Just toss them in a little olive oil and salt and pepper- throw in a handful of minced fresh herbs from the garden and a wrapped head of garlic or two (unless you like stinking rose baked goods) and you’ll have lovely roasted  ingredients for salads and sides for your barbecue for a week! I even like to snack on them cold from the fridge.

Enjoy!

xo

Nutella Danish

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There are several things I like to keep stocked in my freezer. Homemade Danish dough is one of them. That way when I want a special weekend breakfast I can pull out a portion and thaw it in the fridge overnight. Shape, fill and proof them when I get up, head off to the Farmer’s Market to get some fresh eggs and veg for about 2 hours and they’ll be ready to bake when I return. A quick bake, a scramble of some eggs, a pull on the espresso machine, a steam of milk or just a good old French-press pot of coffee and we have breakfast Nirvana!

I had a half portion of the Danish dough from the Daring Baker’s Danish Braid Challenge (click on the link to access the recipe) in the freezer. This half portion made two Nutella filled Danish, two cherry jam and cream cheese filled pastries and one quarter sized Danish Braid which I filled with almond paste and lightly salted Kouign-Amann (see recipe on David Lebovitz’s blog) style then topped with cinnamon sugar-mm-mm. For the Nutella pastry shown, I cut the rolled out pastry into squares, turned each diagonally and cut along each side into the corner about 1/4″ in from the edge, like a picture frame with only two corners attached, then I placed a 1″diameter scoop of Nutella in the center and carefully folded each corner over the other to make a twist.

Wishing you good mornings with great breakfasts!

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