Saturday, August 16, 2008

Starbucks Coffee Cake

Here’s the thing, I do not drink coffee therefore I do not go to Starbucks. However, when it gets really cold outside, which is only about 2 weeks in February; I will drink a tall hot chocolate, no whip. (The whipped cream takes up too much room in the cup, and cools down the hot chocolate too quickly.) My husband on the other hand was an everyday customer of theirs until he got a Keurig. All to say, I have no idea if this coffee cake tastes like their coffee cake since I am not addicted to their brew. My husband has tried their cake before, but at the time of this post he had not tried mine.
This is another recipe from Picky Palate who received the recipe from a friend. Apparently, the recipe below was trimmed a bit because a whole recipe makes a lot of cake. I found the measurements to be puzzling at first because I was a little leery of the quantities. I will assure you they are written correctly. I first thought that the topping was not going to come out having so much flour, cinnamon, and vanilla. Nope, it was right. I did also have to use the longest length of baking time that was given. I was troubled by the fact that the topping was so heavy, while crumbling on the surface of the cake, some of the batter seeped through and caused the top of the cake to have a strange appearance when it was finished. The solution for that was to go ahead and pre-cut all the pieces before serving.
Finally, if you are like me and never go to Starbucks to drink something that requires a college degree to be able to simply place an order. Or, perhaps you have been there but have not had a one of their tasty treats; let me describe this to you. You have your standard yellow cake as a base. Then on top you have a thick, thick layer of streusel topping. The streusel is extremely heavy causing the cake to fall slightly and be very moist. However, even in the moist parts you still get a bit of a crunch. The cinnamon and vanilla really shine through all the different layers and textures. I think I would have preferred it baked in a round pan because the cake has a tendency to rise to high along the edge taking away from the moist, almost gooey, crunchy center.
So, what have we learned today from The Baking Redhead? Save some money! Buy a Keurig and make this cake.
Oh and two more things. Number 1, if you only have unsalted butter add 1/2 tsp of salt to the topping mixture. (1/4 tsp per stick)
Number 2, BabyGirl said,
"Happy Birthday Mia and Granddad! "

Starbucks Coffee Cake from Picky Palate
1 Box Yellow Cake Mix (plus ingredients on back of box)
Topping:
2 Sticks cold salted butter
2 1/4 Cups flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons cinnamon
1 ¾ Cups sugar
1 1/2 Tablespoons vanilla
Powdered sugar (for dusting)
PREHEAT oven to 350.
PREPARE cake mix in large bowl according to directions on box. Spray 9X13 pan with non-stick spray. Pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until center is just barely set.
WHILE cakes are baking, prepare crumb topping. In large bowl of electric mixer combine, butter, flour, cinnamon, sugar and vanilla until all crumbly.
IMMEDIATELY after cake is removed from oven, break crumb topping into marble size pieces with fingers, sprinkling over top. Put back in oven and bake an additional 10-15 minutes (topping will begin to look a little less wet/raw). Let cool fully then dust with powdered sugar, using a sieve.CUT into squares and serve.
*You can double the recipe by using an 8 or 9 inch baking dish in addition to the 9x13 inch dish, feel free to double it to make more if desired. 2- 9X13 inch baking dishes would also work fine.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I made this, and it was good. However, I think it would be much better with some pecans, and make in a bundt pan with some sort of streusel in the middle. But then you don't have the Starbucks recipe. Well, nobody said Starbucks was the best - eventhough I do like their cafe mochas! Everyone at the office sure liked it!