WHOLE-WHEAT CHOCOLATE-CINNAMON SWIRL-SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKE

A rich, buttery cake is filled with chocolate chips, cinnamon, sugar and cocoa, then toped with  a crunchy, buttery pecan-chocolate chip streusel.  I found this dessert to be heavenly and I savored each and every bite.  Hubby thought it was heavy.  When it comes to cakes, he likes super-light textures.  He was alone in his critique, however.  All others who tasted it loved it.

The recipe was adapted from Baked.  While the cake is not 100% whole wheat, the streusel is, and it also has some coconut flour for additional fiber.  Does this make the dessert healthy?  Unfortunately, no.  But to make it a little less harmful, you could use a sugar substitute for some or all of the sugar, as I did.   And, P. S., the cake freezes beautifully.  Just wrap wedges in plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag or other freezer container, and they’ll keep for several months.  Leave wrapped wedges out at room temperature for about 1/2 hour before eating. 

Whole-Wheat Chocolate-Cinnamon Swirl-Sour Cream Coffee Cake Rating:  9 out of 10 Click for PRINTABLE PAGE

Chocolate Chip-Pecan Streusel: 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour 2 Tbsp. Bob’s Red Mill coconut flour (you may substitute 2 Tbsp. white whole wheat flour) 1/3 cup light brown sugar 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt or Morton kosher salt 1/3 cup toasted pecans 1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips 3 Tbsp. cold unsalted butter cut into 1” cubes In work bowl of food processor, briefly pulse flours, sugar and salt to combine.  Add pecans and chocolate chips; pulse till chips are finely chopped.    Add butter; pulse till combined using quick short pulses.  Refrigerate. Chocolate-Cinnamon Swirl: 1/4 cup sugar 1/2 tsp. unsweetened natural cocoa 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips In small bowl, combine all ingredients; set aside. Sour Cream Coffee Cake: 1-1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, whisked then lightly spooned and swept 1/2 cup white whole wheat flour, whisked then lightly spooned and swept 1/4 tsp. fine sea salt or Morton kosher salt 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. baking soda 1/2 tsp. cinnamon 1/2 cup (1 stick) soft but cool unsweetened butter, cut into 8 pieces 1-1/8 cups granulated sugar (I used 6 Tbsp. sugar + 2 Tbsp. NuNaturals stevia) 2 large eggs 1 cup sour cream (regular or light) 3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I used my homemade.) cinnamon sugar for dusting baking pan Heat oven to 350F.  Position oven rack in center position.  Grease an 8” springform pan.  Dust with cinnamon sugar on bottom and sides. Sift together flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon.  (You may not want to do this, but please do it anyway.  It aerates the dry ingredients.) In large bowl, using medium-high speed of electric mixer, cream butter and sugar till smooth and fluffy, about 5 minutes.    Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add 1/3 of flour mixture using lowest speed of mixer, mixing only till barely combined.  Add 1/2 of sour cream, again mixing only till barely combined.  Scrape sides and bottom of bowl.  Repeat process, ending with the flour mixture.    Stir with spatula to be sure everything is mixed, then pour 1/3 of batter into the prepared pan, spreading to edges with spatula.  Sprinkle half of chocolate-cinnamon swirl over batter.  Repeat process.  Spread last third of batter, then top with streusel.  Bake about 1 hour 10 minutes, or till a toothpick inserted near center returns with just a few crumbs.  (If pick returns with melted chocolate, reinsert until you find a chocolate-free area.)  Cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes, then run a knife around edges of pan and remove sides.  Cut into wedges and serve warm or room temperature.  Yield:  8-10 servings

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!

LITTLE SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKES

Making a cake for just two people isn’t practical.  That’s why I bought a multi-mini-bundt pan.  The following recipe, from American Profile (the magazine insert that comes with our Tuesday newspaper), will make enough batter for a regular-size bundt pan.  Instead, I used it to fill my 6-cup Wilton Excelle Elite Mini-Bundt Pan and a 6-cup cupcake pan.  Each mini cake is about the size of two to three standard cupcakes, depending on how much batter you use. 

I added a grated chocolate bar and broken pecans to the topping; and orange zest to the batter for some extra flavor.  Homemade double-strength vanilla bumped up the flavors even more.  Some stevia in place of some of the sugar, and some applesauce in place of some of the butter lowered calorie and fat content.  You can also make this with walnuts, but the pecans are so buttery and delicious, they’re my first choice. 
Just remember if you make this:  the cupcakes are right-side up, and the bundt pans are upside down.  For the bundt pans, the topping goes in first, then batter, repeat.  For the cupcakes, the batter goes in first, then topping, repeat.  If you carefully follow the recipe as written, you won’t have any trouble.  You also have the option of baking this in a standard bundt pan (upside down).  Or you could make about 2 dozen cupcakes (right side up).  Regardless of how  you decide to make it, you’ll be delighted with the flavors and texture of this outstanding cake.

LITTLE SOUR CREAM COFFEE CAKES Adapted from American Profile, Marsha Madere Rating:  10 out of 10 PRINTABLE RECIPE

INGREDIENTS:  Topping:  2 tsp. cinnamon 4 tsp. sugar 1/3 cup grated chocolate bar 1-3/4 cups broken or chopped pecans Cake:  10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened 1-1/4 cups  sugar (I used 3/4 cup sugar + 2 Tbsp. NuNaturals Stevia)  2 large eggs 1 cup sour cream (I used lite)  2 tsp. pure vanilla extract (I used 1 tsp. double-strength vanilla, homemade)  1 Tbsp. finely grated orange zest 2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour 1 tsp. baking soda 1/4 tsp. sea salt 1/2 cup applesauce Heat oven to 350F.  Brush a 6-cup multi-mini-bundt pan with melted butter.  Line a 6-cup standard cupcake tin with paper cups.  In a small bowl, combine topping ingredients. In large bowl, cream butter and sugar.  Add eggs, sour cream,vanilla and orange zest, beating well on medium speed to combine ingredients.  In medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda and salt.  Add dry mix, one cup at a time, to liquid mix, beating until combined after each addition.  Stir in applesauce.  Using about 2 Tbsp. batter, partially fill the standard cupcake tin.  Using half the topping, sprinkle some on the bottoms of the multi-mini-bundt pan and the rest on top of the batter in the standard cupcake tin.  Use additional 2-3 Tbsp. batter for the standard cupcake tins, and top each with more topping.  Use half of remaining batter for multi-mini-bundt pan; sprinkle with remaining topping; top with remainder of batter.  Bake about 16-19  minutes, or till a toothpick inserted near center returns with just a few crumbs.  (Multi-mini-bundt pans and cupcakes will both bake in about the same time.)  Cool in pans about 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire racks to finish cooling.  If desired, spoon a simple glaze over the cakes after they cool.  (Simple glaze:  1-1/2 cups powdered sugar + 2 Tbsp. orange juice or milk)