MINI DOUBLE COFFEE-COFFEE CAKES

Looking for a moist, tender, delicious-tasting coffee cake with a good coffee flavor?  This is it.  And it’s the perfect size for two people (or one very hungry piggy).  The wonderfully aromatic coffee-flavored cake is accented by an equally aromatic coffee-flavored glaze.  Cocoa and chocolate chips added to the batter make this irresistable.  If you have a Wilton Excelle Elite 6-Cup Mini Bundt Pan (available thru Amazon.com for $21.49), you can make six of these little devils and freeze the ones you don’t eat immediately.  And they are devils, because they will tempt and entice you from the freezer.  If you don’t have the mini bundt pan and don’t want to buy one, just make 12 cupcakes.  Either way, this is one memorable dessert.

MINI DOUBLE COFFEE-COFFEE CAKES Rating:  8.5 out of 10 PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS: Streusel:  1/2 cup white whole wheat flour 1/2 cup light brown sugar 1-1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1-1/2 tsp. unsweetened natural cocoa powder 1/4 tsp. powdered ginger 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened 1/2 cup toasted pecans Combine all ingredients except pecans in work bowl of food processor.  Pulse till well combined and crumbly.  Add pecans and process till the nuts are in small pieces.  Set aside. Cake:    2/3 cup light sour cream 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract 2 Tbsp. instant coffee  granules 5 Tbsp. butter, softened 1-1/2 cups sugar 4 large eggs 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/4 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. sea salt 1/2 cup no-sugar-added fine applesauce 2/3 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips Grease and flour mini bundt pans.  Heat oven to 325F.    In small bowl, stir together sour cream, vanilla and coffee granules; let soften.  In bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat butter, sugar and sour cream mixture  on medium speed till light and fluffy.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating till each is combined and yellow disappears.  On lowest speed, gradually stir in flour, baking soda and salt.  Finally, stir in applesauce.  Spoon half the streusel over the bottoms of the mini bundt pans.   Top with half the batter; sprinkle with chocolate chips.    Spoon remaining streusel over chocolate chips. Top with remaining batter.   You may have some batter left over (I did.)  I used it to fill a mini-muffin tin.  You could squeeze all the batter into the mini-bundt pan too, but I was afraid it would be too much.  And it was nice to have the little mini-treats. Bake about 22 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted in cake returns with just a few crumbs.  Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn cakes out onto wire rack to finish cooling.   While cakes are cooling, prepare glaze and spoon over warm (not hot) cakes.  Yield:  6 mini-bundt cakes.  These freeze well. Glaze:  2 Tbsp. melted butter 1 cup confectioner’s sugar 1 Tbsp. creme de cocoa (or hot coffee) 1-1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules Whisk all ingredients in small bowl until smooth.  Drizzle from whisk over cakes.  If you place a rimmed cookie sheet lined with wax paper under the wire rack, cleanup will be a bit easier, but this is still a messy project.  You will definitely need to wash your rack.  But it’s oh, so worth it for this sumptuous treat!