Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

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Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

I have made a few coffee cakes before, this was seems to be the normal one. It wasn’t outstanding, but it wasn’t bad at all. I like the fact that it was very moist cake, but the top was crunchy with all the sugar and cinnamon on the top. Secondly, I don’t think it needed that swirl in the middle, because my cake wasn’t very tall, so I didn’t it needed that extra layer to complicate things, but that’s only my opinion.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 cup yogurt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 3/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

For topping:
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare an 8-inch nonstick tube pan. Lightly spray with cooking spray or coat with butter.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt.

In a medium bowl, cream butter and sugar together until fluffy (2 to 3 minutes). Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

Mix baking soda in with sour cream.

Alternate adding 1/3 of flour mixture, half of yogurt mixture, mixing well after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, then repeat (starting with flour mixture and ending with flour mixture as will. Mix in vanilla and almond extracts, then fold in chocolate chips until evenly distributed.

In a small bowl, whisk together sugar and cinnamon.

Spread half of the batter into prepared cake pan. Sprinkle with half of sugar mixture; gently swirl a few strokes through the batter with a knife. Top with remaining batter, then sprinkle with remaining sugar and swirl once again. Sprinkle with a few more chocolate chips.

Bake for about 45 to 50 minutes or until top is golden brown and a toothpick or cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean.

Place pan on a wire rack to cool. Run a knife around the edge to release, then remove from pan and cool completely. Enjoy!

French Apple Cake

The final product was quite flat, which I was a little bit surprised about, as the recipe asked to prepare a 9 inch springform pan.  If I was to make it again, I might just double the recipe.  However, with the esthetics of the cake aside, it was pretty tasty and moist, which I was quite skeptical before I started putting the ingredients together.  All in all, a success with taste!

Ingredients:
1 cup cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 cup butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup sugar, and more to sprinkle on top
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 tbsp. dark rum
2 apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes (I used gala apples)
Powdered sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9-inch springform pan with butter or nonstick cooking spray. If you don’t have a springform pan and using a regular cake pan, line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and grease.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.  Beat in the vanilla and rum.  Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed until just combined. DO NOT OVERMIX!!!  Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chopped apples.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and even out the top. Sprinkle evenly with 1 tablespoon of sugar.  Bake for about 40 minutes, or until the cake is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool on a rack. 

Run a blunt knife around the edges of the cake, before removing the sides. Using a fine sieve, dust with powdered sugar. Cake can be served warm or room temperature, plain or with lightly sweetened whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Cake

I’ve had this recipe for quite a few years, but never got around to making it.  It seems when I get around to wanting to make it, strawberries were not very good that year, or it wasn’t strawberry season at all.  So year after year I forget.  Finally this year, strawberries are in season AND on sale.  It was quite different from all the other recipes that I have tried, as this was fresh fruit and it had to go into the oven with the cake, so I was a tad worried and not too sure what to expect of the finished product.  Anyhow, it was a hit, so I am very happy to share it.  Just an FYI, if you are going to try this cake, and not eating it on the same day, make sure to store it in the fridge.  As the strawberries are not fully dried out from the baking, it will get watery and runny, also get the cake all soggy.
Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3 tbsp butter, softened
3 tbsp plain yogurt, unsweetened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips, plus more for sprinkling the top of cake
1 lb strawberries , hulled and cut to bite size

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan with parchment paper. Grease the side of the springform pan with cooking spray.

Sift flour, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat together butter, yogurt, and sugar until light and fluffy.  ***Do not overbeat, so when it’s light and fluffy (approx. 2 minutes), stop beating***

Once you get to the light and fluffy consistency, add the egg and beat until light and fluffy.  Then mix in milk, vanilla.

Lastly, mix in the flour mixture, gradually, just until combined. ***DO NOT OVERBEAT***

Fold in chocolate chips into the batter and pour batter into prepared springform pan. Arrange strawberries on top of the cake, cut sides down and close together. Make sure that the strawberries are away from the sides (when it gets too close to the side, it will burn).  Place chocolate chips in spaces in between.

Strawberries too close to the edge will burn.

Bake for about 50 minutes, take the cake out of the oven and sprinkle some more chocolate chips on top, pressing them lightly into the top of the cake (the top of the cake will already be baked and a bit crusty)  Return to the oven for 5-10 more minutes, to allow chocolate to melt a bit and look even nicer!

Let the cake completely cool in the baking pan on a wire rack.  Be sure to store it in the fridge if you don’t plan to have it on the same day.  Enjoy!