Classic Coffee Cake

For the Topping

16 tbsp butter, cut up
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp. salt
2 2/3 cups flour

For the Cake

3 cups flour
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 cup whole milk
12 tbsp butter, melted
2 tsp. vanilla


1. For the topping, in a large saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Remove pan from heat and add the sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir, pressing when necessary, until there are no lumps of sugar. Add the flour and mix until well blended. Set aside.

2. For the cake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the bottom and sides of a 9 x 13" baking pan.

3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Whisk until well blended. In a medium bowl, combine the eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Whisk until well blended.

4. Pour the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients and gently stir just until blended. Pour batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Break up the topping mixture with your fingers into medium sized pieces and sprinkle evenly over the cake batter to form a generous layer.

5. Bake until the cake springs back lightly when pressed in the center and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.


Me and my boyfriend ;3

Mocha Chocolate Chip Muffins

Caffeine was in need today! I use to be a non stop, coffee everyday kind of person. I was one of those people that didn't think having coffee at 10pm was strange (but it definitely explains why I never slept!). Though I may not drink coffee as much as I use to, I still love coffee. Sunday mornings are the best times for coffee. Just waking up, don't have to do much, switch that coffee maker on and... relax.

But, this isn't coffee. Oh no. This is something better, I guarantee. A sweeter substitution for coffee, or, just a great accomplice to your morning jo'. These muffins are really simple to make, as any muffin really is. I used mini chocolate chip instead of regular chocolate chip, mainly because it was all I had. However, I've tried this recipe with regular chocolate chips and I'd recommend those over mini. Either way though, these muffins will turn out spectacular and start your morning off with you smiling!

Recipe

3 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
2 tbsp. dutch-processed cocoa powder
3 tbsp. instant espresso
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 cups whole plain yogurt
2 large eggs
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips


1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line or grease 12 muffin cup pan.

2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder together. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk the yogurt, eggs, and instant espresso together until smooth. Gently fold yogurt mixture into the flour mixture until just combined, then fold in the melted butter.

4. Divide batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let muffins cool for 5 minutes in pan before removing.

Vanilla Bourbon Bread with Walnut Coffee Crumble

It's pretty hard to start this.. I don't know if there are really any words to say to state how much I've fallen for this simple quick bread. It's... ridiculously scrumptious and delicious. Moist and sweet, great with adding icing or a cup of coffee or tea... I got the idea while trying to find something to make in the small amount of ingredients that I had.

I didn't have any granulated sugar, so I decided to try using powdered sugar and brown sugar together (which turned out to be really good) and used a bunch of vanilla. I wanted something simple. I got the walnut coffee crumble idea from here off of a banana bread recipe. I thought that it'd be a perfect topping to a simple bread; and it indeed was.

This has become my new favorite quick bread recipe for this year, no doubt.

Recipe

For Crumble Topping

1/2 cup walnuts
2 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. flour
2 tbsp. cold butter
1 tsp. instant coffee
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

For the Bread

2 cups flour
3/4 cup powdered sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 cup heavy cream
3 large eggs
2 tbsp. bourbon
2 tbsp. vanilla extract
3/4 tsp. salt


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan; set aside.

2. In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the crumble; set aside.

3. In a large bowl combine flour, sugars, baking powder and salt. With electric mixer at low speed, beat until well blended. Add the cream, eggs, bourbon and vanilla. Beat at low speed until dry ingredients are evenly moistened and smooth.

4. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan. Top the batter off with the crumble. Bake in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until bread tests done.

Chocolate Chunk Coffee Cake

During this time of the year, when summer is slowing starting to traverse into fall, that I start to get tired of eating anything light and want something a little more heavy. Not so heavy that I feel like I'll gain weight from eating, but heavy enough to where I feel more satisfied about what I just ate. Having to avoid all the sweet I did, it gets rather depressing.

I love eating coffee cake. But its something that I don't care to eat till fall and winter are here. It like how I don't really enjoy pie unless it's fall, or smoothies unless it's summer. I'm pretty picky as to what I eat and when in the year I eat it. It's just how I've been raised I guess.

I didn't come up with this recipe. I found this fabulous recipe from Pete at pete-bakes.com. The only different that I did from his was I did chocolate chunks aside from chocolate chips. Chocolate chunks just sounded better to me at the moment. I also added nutmeg to the cake batter and salt. I thought it would give it more of a tasty kick.

The cake was very enjoyable. The was chocolate chunks to every bite (which I really liked!!). It turned out so light and fluffy and just melt in your mouth delicious. It made a very delicious breakfast with coffee.

Recipe

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. water
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
3/4 cup chocolate chunks


1. In a small bowl, mix 1/2 cup white sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, chocolate chunks. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream butter, 1 cup white sugar, and eggs. Add the sour cream, vanilla and water.

3. In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder, soda, nutmeg and salt. Combine into the wet ingredients.

4. Pour half of the batter into a greased and floured 9×13 inch pan. Sprinkle half of the cinnamon, sugar and chocolate chip mixture on the batter. Pour in the rest of the batter and top with the rest of the cinnamon, sugar and chip mix.

5. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Let it cool for at least an hour before cutting into it, or the chocolate chips will be too melty and it will be hard to get out of the pan.

Mocha Cupcakes

Coffee is most defiantly an addiction of mine. I absolutely love coffee. Anything coffee, I'll have. Baking with coffee, well, its something I love to bake with. From muffins to cupcakes to cookies to pastries. I love it. Muffins are my norm for coffee, but, I really wanted to have a cupcake to do. And what better than to have coffee and chocolate in the little package of a cupcake?

These cupcakes are very moist and super rich that it'll have coffee fanatics like myself jumping with joy. The Kahlua Frosting was fanamnal with these cupcakes. I got the recipe from a friend of mine whom loves cupcakes and loves making homemade frosting. She's totally against store bought frosting (as am I), and when I told her that I was making Mocha Cupcakes, she said that this would be perfect with them. And they were! They were to die for!

Recipe

Cupcakes

1 1/3 cups flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup strong brewed coffee, room temperature
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature


1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

2. In another bowl, combine the milk and brewed coffee. Using an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy, 2-3 minutes. Add the egg and beat until combined.

3. Add the flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with the milk mixture in 2 additions, beating on low speed until just combined; scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.

4. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 20-22 minutes. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour.



Kahlua Frosting

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
6 tbsp. butter, room temperature
2 1/2 tbsp. Kahlua
2 cups powdered sugar


1. In a bowl, cream together cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Mix in Kahlua, then powdered sugar in one cup increments until frosting reaches desired consistency. Apply to cupcakes.

Oreo Crunch Brownies

This is like my own personal heaven. Brownies plus oreos! I love my oreos, but I find that I prefer them when they're with something else. Like, with my ice cream, or, with milk. It's better that way; Better than just having a plan old oreo.

These brownies are pack full of oreos! Theres a nice crunch with every bite you take! Awesome, no? I always like a crunch in my food not matter what it may be. Ice Cream? There has to be a crunch. Chicken? Needs a crunch. Bread? Eh, well, maybe not everything, but you get the point, yea? The crunch bit to the cookies in these brownies has to be the best part!

I can't wait to give these to my friends tomorrow. Everyone now expects and wants me to have something to give when lunch comes around. And no, they don't want sandwiches. They're always looking for something sweet out of me. They know I love to bake so they're wanting something sweet, decadent and delicious! These brownies defiantly fall under that category!

Recipe

1 cup flour, plus 1/4 cup flour
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2 tbsp. vanilla
4 sticks of butter
6 eggs
1 pound semisweet chocolate chip
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
3 tbsp. instant coffee granules
4 cups oreos, chopped


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 11 1/2" x 17 1/4" x 1" baking pan.

2. In a heatproof medium bowl, set over a saucepan of simmering water and heat butter, chocolate chips and unsweetened chocolate until melted and smooth. Allow to cool slightly.

3. In a large bowl, whisk eggs, coffee granules, vanilla and sugar. Blend chocolate mixture into egg mixture; cool to room temperature.

4. In a medium bowl, sift together 1 cup flour, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture into chocolate mixture. In a small bowl, stir oreos and remaining 1/4 cup flour. Add oreo mixture to chocolate mixture. Pour batter into baking pan.

5. Bake for about 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before cutting.