Chocolate chip coffee cake

I'm watching Ina Garten's Barefoot Contessa right now. She's talking about bringing dinner to a woman who's just moved down the street from her posh East Hampton digs. And guess what she says? She says, "This will be a great way to welcome her to the hood." What, Ina? If there were one place on earth that was the opposite of a hood, it would be East Hampton, NY. Sorry. I know this has nothing to do with coffee cake. I just couldn't stop laughing when I heard her say this, and now it's on my mind.

So, uh, how about that coffee cake. I feel bad because it really deserves more recognition than I'm giving it. It hits your craving for a chocolate bar, a cake, and a moist gooey thing all in one. Yuh-hum. My mom has made this coffee cake since I was little, and every time it is a new experience in my mouth. And it's one of the few desserts I've had that tastes just as good room temperature as fresh out of the oven. It's great! And I cannot stress enough how overcooking this will seriously detract from its full potential of greatness. So reeeally stick close to your oven so do a knife check for cooked-ness. As soon as your knife comes out clean, take the cake out! Trust me, you'll be happy you did :)

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup plain yogurt/sour cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cups brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375°F. Grease and flour a large bundt pan and set aside. In a large bowl, mix together butter, sugar, yogurt, and vanilla. Add in eggs, stir. Incorporate flour, baking soda, salt.

Meanwhile, using a fork, whisk together brown sugar and cinnamon. Pour half of the batter into the bundt pan and smooth using the back of a spoon. Sprinkle half of the brown sugar mixture over the batter and swirl into batter using a fork or knife. Pour in the second half of the batter and swirl the rest of the brown sugar mixture over it. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the cake. Allow to cool for 10 minutes, then plate and serve for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.

Apple cinnamon coffee cake

My mom has been baking this coffee cake for years, and each time it's like a new experience in your mouth. It's dense and caky at the same time, and the cinnamon adds a smidgen of autumn-ness. It's a simple recipe that begs to be made over and over throughout the cold months!

For the batter:

3 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups plain yogurt
1 stick butter
2 green apples, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced (~1/4 centimeter thick)

For the swirlies: 

3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon


Preheat oven to 375°F. In a small bowl, mix together with a fork the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large microwavable bowl, melt the butter until soft. Add sugar first, then eggs, vanilla, baking powder and soda, yogurt, and salt. Once mixed, add the flour in batches, making sure to stir between additions.

Butter and flour a large bundt pan. Pour in half of the batter and sprinkle half of the swirlies mixture over it. Using a fork, push in swirlies to integrate them into the batter. Place half of the apple slices over the batter. Repeat with the second half of the batter, sprinkling almost all of the swirlies (leave ~2 tablespoons) over the top and then place the remaining apple slices on top. Sprinkle the remaining swirlies over the apple slices. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until knife comes out clean when inserted into cake. Eat it right out of the oven, or let cool and refrigerate for days!