Cinnamon and Butter? Yes, Please. Oh, yum! Some dear friends of ours introduced us to Carolyn’s Café in Redlands, California. Even though it was nearly lunchtime, I opted for breakfast. The reason? Carolyn’s famous coffee cake. It comes with all the breakfast plates. The delicate, cinnamon-sugar filled, topped with butter cake is very hard to resist. OMGoodness is it ever delicious. Yes, I shared, but it was tempting to eat it all myself. So, because I know most you don’t live near Carolyn’s Café and you’re starting to feel gipped, I did some digging and found a recipe. Warning: This information may be dangerous.
Cinnamon-Streusel Coffeecake
Streusel Topping Ingredients
Filling
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon salt (if you use unsalted butter)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter, melted
Topping 
1 cup brown sugar, light or dark
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder
Cake
¾ cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1 ½ cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 ¼ cups milk
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan, or two 9″ round cake pans.
- Make the topping by whisking together the sugar, salt, flour, and cinnamon. Add the melted butter, stirring till well combined. Set the topping aside.
- Make the filling by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder. Note that the cocoa powder is used strictly for color, not flavor; leave it out if you like. Set it aside.
- To make the cake: In a large bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, baking powder, and vanilla until well combined and smooth.
- Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt and milk till well combined. You don’t need to whisk out all the lumps.
- Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk/sour cream mixture, beating gently to combine.
Pour/spread half the batter (a scant 3 cups) into the prepared pan(s), spreading all the way to the edges. If you’re using two 9″ round pans, spread 1 1/3 cups batter in each pan. - Sprinkle the filling evenly atop the batter.
Spread the remaining batter atop the filling. Use a table knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter, as though you were making a marble cake. Don’t combine filling and batter thoroughly; just swirl the filling through the batter. - Sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan.
- Bake the cake until it’s a dark golden brown around the edges; medium-golden with no light patches showing on top, and a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes for the 9″ x 13″ pan, 50 to 55 minutes for the 9″ round pans. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back.
- Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 20 minutes before cutting and serving.
Serve cake right from the pan. Carolyn’s plops a big scoop of butter right on top for extra yumminess.
Enjoy!
If you live Southern California’s Inland Empire, please visit Carolyn’s and see for yourself. Be prepared to wait. It’s a very popular place. Don’t worry. The sweet smell of cinnamon will keep you company.
