Coconut Chai Coffee Cake

Do people really make coffee cakes anymore?

I hope so.

I can’t think of a better hostess or new neighbor gift than a sweet, homemade coffee cake…and this coconut chai variation is really something special. It’s perfectly light and fluffy, and topped with the most delicious spiced streusel. Yep, in my opinion a coffee cake is only as good as the streusel it’s topped with. Folks, if you don’t know this already, I have a MAJOR thing for streusel and get a lot of joy from picking it off coffee cakes and pies belonging to innocent bystanders. I also get a lot of joy from swiping my finger through the frosting at the bottom of cakes…..I’m not sure what that says about me as a person? Moral of the story: don’t let me near your streusel, frosting or pie crusts. Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.

This recipe comes from the seriously wonderful Aida Mollenkamp. I just love LOVE her new cookbook, Keys to the Kitchen. It’s gorgeous and the pages feel really nice to flip, which is sort of a big deal because who wants to own a book with icky pages? Her photography is stunning and the recipes left me drooling.

Any time I review a cookbook, I like to make a couple of the recipes on my own before I write about it. This time, I chose to make Aida’s prosciutto-sage chicken with pan-roasted figs for a date night meal for Adam and I a few weeks ago. Oh.my.GOSH…it was amazing. I love how there are little tips and menu ideas to go along with the recipes in the cookbook, too. I know this book will be a great resource to me in the days to come — I’m already planning out my next meal from it.

As much as the prosciutto chicken was hit, so was this coffee cake. I enjoyed a thick slice alongside my morning scramble eggs and then brought the rest over to Adam to take in to the office. They were very thankful.

What’s really special about this coffee cake is that the streusel actually has a hint of black pepper in it, along with various other spices and flakes of unsweetened coconut. Wow. I’ve never tried putting black pepper in my baked goods before, but this made a believer out of me —- it was SO crazy good.

So…if you make one coffee cake this season {and you really should}, try this one. It’s yummy.

Coconut Chai Coffee Cake

makes 1 cake to serve about 8

from Keys to the Kitchen

Print this Recipe!

Ingredients:

for streusel —

1/2 cup butter, melted

1/2 cup flour

3/4 cup brown sugar, packed

1 cup unsweetened flaked coconut

1 tsp ground cardamom

1 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp salt

for cake —-

2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

special tools: 9″ springform pan

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350.

Coat a 9″ springform pan with butter and flour. Set aside.

Combine all streusel ingredients in a small bowl and mix until clumpy and well incorporated. Place in the fridge until you’re ready to use.

To make the cake, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cream together the brown sugar and the butter in another bowl using an electric mixer. Add the sour cream and mix well, then add the eggs and vanilla and blend until combined.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until just combined, then transfer the batter into your prepared pan and spread evenly. Remove the streusel from the fridge and scatter it on top of the cake, pressing gently so it adheres to the batter.

Bake the coffee cake for 50-55 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool for 20 minutes before slicing and serving.

Time:

1.5 hours