Thursday, September 16, 2010

Coffee Cake

For the past several MONTHS, I have been craving a good coffee cake. I kept researching, trying to find the 'best' coffee cake recipe. After a lot of searching, I came across The Pioneer Woman's recipe "The Best Coffee Cake Ever". Not only was I intrigued by the title (because, let's face it, that's what I was looking for), but the recipe itself sounded like it would produce an AMAZING product.
About 3 weeks ago, I decided I would make it for Treat Day at work when it was my turn. This coffee cake, no lie, is the Best Coffee Cake EVER! Loved it. Because I had to leave my house by 7:15, I had a lot of the ingredients combined and ready to go so I could literally roll out of bed, throw it together, and then get ready for work. I also made this again last weekend for a girls brunch. 2 times in 3 weeks - you know it has to be good.
So, here's the recipe. You can also read all of PW's comments here.



Ingredients


■FOR THE CAKE:
■1-½ stick Butter, Softened
■2 cups Scant Sugar
■3 cups Flour, Sifted
■4 teaspoons Baking Powder
■1 teaspoon Salt
■1-¼ cup Whole Milk
■3 whole Egg Whites, Beaten Until Stiff
____
■FOR THE TOPPING:
■1-½ stick Butter, Softened
■¾ cups Flour
■1-½ cup Brown Sugar
■2 Tablespoons Cinnamon
■1-½ cup Pecans, Chopped

Preparation Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Beat egg whites and set aside.

Cream butter* and sugar. Add flour mixture and milk alternately until combined. Don’t overbeat. Fold in beaten egg whites with a rubber spatula. Spread in a well-greased 9 x 13 (or LARGER!) baking pan. A cake pan with higher sides would be best.

In a separate bowl, combine topping ingredients with a pastry cutter until crumbly**. Sprinkle all over the top.
Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until no longer jiggly. Serve warm—delicious!

*Leave the butter out overnight so it is room temp/softened to work with first thing.*
**I made the topping the night before and then placed it back in the refrigerator overnight. The next morning, I loosened up the combined mixture and topped the batter with it.**
*When I made this the second time, I forgot to leave my butter out to soften overnight so my topping didn't mix together as well, but it still tasted amazing. Soft butter is the key*

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