Cinnamon Coffee Cake

It has been rather a busy time for me this last week or so with company staying however, it’s been a blast cooking and baking. I didn’t have time to take photos to blog at a later stage because the food was whisked to the dining table whilst still hot and my guests devoured it with glee! There’s nothing better than watching your guests enjoy what you have cooked or baked to boost morale. Hopefully I will be recreating some of the baking I did in the future and posting photos and recipes for you. Apologies to my ‘dear’ blogging friends that I haven’t visited in the last week, but hopefully now things have quietened down my end, I will be calling by very shortly!

Today I baked a wonderful tasting cinnamon coffee cake; yes it looks most rustic with all the charm of homemade written across it. It’s not one of the prettiest cakes I have ever baked by any means but the taste I can most certainly vouch for. It has a hidden seam in the centre of cinnamon, pecan nuts and demerara sugar and finishing with the same topping on the top. The sponge has a wonderful moistness to it having sour cream added to the mixture. A faint hint of vanilla lifts the taste buds then that rich creaminess of the sponge followed by a sweet cinnamon pecan crunch takes you to new heights. This cake would equally be nice served hot or cold and with custard, cream or ice cream, not forgetting that hot steamy cup of coffee to accompany!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Ingredients
100g (4 oz) unsalted butter
175g (6 oz) caster sugar
2 eggs
150ml (5 fl oz) sour cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g (4 oz) plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
100g (4 oz) pecan nuts, chopped
2 tsp ground cinnamon
25g (1 oz) demerara sugar

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/350°F/Gas mark 4.

Grease and base-line a deep 20cm (8 in) round cake tin and lightly dust with a little flour tapping out any excess flour.

Cream together the butter and caster sugar until fluffy and light in colour. Beat in the eggs a little at a time then beat in the sour cream and vanilla extract. Carefully fold in the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix together the demerara sugar, nuts and cinnamon.

Spoon half the cake mixture into the prepared tin. Sprinkle over half the nut mixture. Add the remaining cake mixture and top with the remaining nut mixture.

Place in the preheated oven for about 35 – 40 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes and then turn out onto a wire rack to finish cooling.

This cake is equally as delicious served warm.

*Note* – granulated sugar could be substituted for demerara in this recipe.