Streusel Coffee Cake

I love, love, love this coffee cake. Unlike so many I've had, it's not dry at all. That's probably because it uses oil rather than butter. I thank my sister-in-law for introducing me to it, though sometimes I wish I didn't have this recipe because it is far too easy to polish off absurdly large portions of this cake at a sitting. The recipe is from the Café Beaujolais in California and I have made very few changes to it. Sure, at one time I had a lower fat version or maybe even a lower carb version, but it was way too much hassle. Now I just use whole wheat pastry flour instead of all purpose and use a combination of pecans and almonds for the topping instead of walnuts. One of the things I love about it is how the streusel topping is scooped from the main mixture. There is also a nice ratio of topping to cake. This cake got the Elspeth yummy award, I'm sure you're shocked to learn. 

After several times when the streusel sank into the cake, I made a few adjustments: upped the flour by 1.25 ounces, reduced the sugar and waited 20 minutes into the baking time before putting the streusel on the cake. This worked like a charm and I’ve edited the recipe accordingly below.

 INGREDIENTS

 2 1/2 c. (12 oz) whole wheat pastry flour 

1/2 tsp salt 

2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1/4 tsp ground ginger 

3/4 c plus 2 TBSP  (175g) packed brown sugar (I usually use a combination of dark and light) 

Scant 3/4 c. evaporated cane juice sugar 

3/4 c. vegetable oil (the original recipe specifies corn oil) 

1 c. almonds and pecans, lightly toasted and chopped 

1 tsp baking soda 

1 tsp baking powder 

1 egg, beaten 

1 c. buttermilk or runny plain yogurt mixed 50:50 with milk

 

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 x 12 inch baking pan (I use Pam on a Pyrex)
2. Combine flour, salt, 1 tsp of the cinnamon, all of the ginger, sugars and oil in a large bowl. I usually end up digging in with my clean hands to mix it
3. Remove 3/4 c. of this mixture to a small bowl. Add the remaining cinnamon and nuts to it and stir--this is now your topping. Set aside
4. In the large bowl, add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine. Small lumps in the batter are okay
5. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan
6. Bake for 20 minutes then open the oven and sprinkle evenly with the topping
7. Return to the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean
8. Serve warm or at room temperature. Try to prevent yourself from eating half the cake in one go