Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Is this week going as fast for you as it is for me?  I feel like since the first of the year the weeks have just been flying by, which means the weekends almost feel non-existent!

This past weekend I was in need of some therapy baking and baked up this super cinnamon coffee cake.  Do you guys find baking as therapeutic as I do?  The previous week was kind of rough, for a bunch of reasons I won’t get into, and Saturday I basically spent the day wrapped in a blanket watching crap TV, in my pajamas.  But when Sunday rolled around, I was really needing something to do.  Baking keeps my mind busy, and even better… my hands busy too.

The measure of the ingredients, the beating of the batter, the crumbling of filling and topping – it really was just a nice way do something without doing much.

And as you can clearly see in all of these pictures, it could all still be done in pajamas.  Whether or not they were the same ones from Saturday… well, some things are meant not to be shared

This cinnamon coffee cake is a super cinnamon version – with cinnamon coming from ground cinnamon as well as a beautiful cinnamon extract.  Although, I kind of had a hard time hunting down the extract.

It wasn’t in my standard grocery store, and I was in Target and looked for it with no luck, but I did finally stumble upon it at Whole Foods.  So if you make this, you might want to check for it there (you could probably order it online as well – but I’m never patient enough for that).

Not only is the super cinnamon flavor in this coffee cake one of the reason that makes it my favorite, but also the delicious filling which contains finely chopped pecans.  They add such a lovely crunch and flavor to this delicious breakfast cake.

This coffee cake puffs up thick and tall and the top has such a wonderful texture.  It’s cinnamony, sweet and buttery with such a nice crunch. I ate mine with a big cup of vanilla hazelnut coffee and what was even more therapeutic than making it… eating it.  Sometimes you just need to eat your feelings.

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, divided and at room temperature – plus more for greasing plan
• 3¾ cup cake flour, divided – plus more for dusting pan
• 1¼ cup + 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, divided
• 6 tablespoons + 1½ teaspoons light brown sugar, divided
• 2 tablespoons + ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, divided
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ⅓ cup finely chopped pecans
• 2½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup milk, at room temperature
• 6 tablespoons sour cream, at room temperature
• 2¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1½ teaspoons cinnamon extract
• 2 eggs, at room temperature

Instructions

for the topping, in a bowl, melt ½ cup (1 stick) of butter.

1. To the butter, add ¼ cup granulated sugar, 6 tablespoons brown sugar, 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon, and a pinch of salt until smooth,
2. Add 1½ cups cake flour and mix with a fork until crumbly. Refrigerate until chilled, about 60 minutes.

for the filling

1. Mix remaining 1½ teaspoons brown sugar, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and pecans. Set aside.

for the batter

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour an 8″x8″ baking pan and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine remaining 2½ cups cake flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and baking powder. Set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, melt remaining ½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter.
4. To the butter, add the milk, sour cream, vanilla, cinnamon extract, and eggs until smooth.
5. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and mix until batter is completely smooth and no flour pockets remain.
6. Pour half of the batter into the prepared baking pan.
7. Sprinkle filling over the batter and then top with the remaining batter.
8. Break up the topping with your fingers and sprinkle over the top.
9. Bake for 75 minutes, or until a toothpick is inserted into the middle and comes out clean.
10. Let cool before serving.