What if you could just roll out of bed and have chocolate swirl coffee cake waiting for you for breakfast? Or, what if you could take a little nibble right before you went to bed with a cup of tea? Well, I am here to tell you that you can in just under an hour and a half! Seriously, I know it sounds daunting and it could possibly be the last thing that you ever dreamt of doing but you should do it. Besides, most of my time baking this coffee cake was spent twiddling my thumbs and watching the paint dry on the wall. No…wait, it was spent reading The Girl Who Played With Fire by Stieg Larsson and talking with a friend on the phone while the cake was in the oven! And it was in the oven for over an hour! If that doesn’t sound too appealing to you, than maybe you should just eat a lemon and call it a day.

None of these options suiting your fancy??? At least take a look at some of these sick pics, take a deep breath and realize that you will not be having any of this cake. That is unless your buddy happens to be peering over your shoulder and jots down this recipe. Just some food for thought.

Yours truly,

Dave aka The Male Baker

Makes one 9-by-13 inch pan and serves 16
Inspired by Baked.

Ingredients:

Crumb Topping:

¾ cup               All-purpose flour
¾ cup               Packed golden brown sugar
½ tsp                Salt
¾ cup               Toasted pecans
6 tbsp                Cold unsalted butter, cut into 1 inch pieces

Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl:

½ cup              Sugar
1 tsp                  Dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp                  Cinnamon

Cake:

3 ½ cups        All-purpose flour
1 tsp                  Baking powder
1 ½ tsp            Baking soda
½ tsp                Salt
1 cup                 Unsalted butter, softened
2 ¼ cups         Sugar
4                         Large eggs
2 cups              Sour cream
1 ½  tsp           Pure vanilla extract

Method:

Crumb Topping:

• Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl. Add the finely chopped pecans until incorporated.
• Add the soft butter until mixture looks like coarse sand. Cover and refrigerate.

Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl:

• Mix ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.

Sour Cream Cake:

• Preheat the oven to 350° F and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
• Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a medium bowl.
• In the large bowl, cream the butter until smooth. Scrape down bowl and add sugar.
• Beat until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping bowl as needed.
• Add the sour cream and vanilla and beat just until incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three additions, scraping down the bowl before each addition and beating only until each addition is just incorporated. Do not overmix.
• Pour one third of the cake batter into the prepared pan. Use an offset spatula to spread batter evenly in pan. Sprinkle half of the chocolate cinnamon swirl mixture over batter, covering the entire surface of the batter. Spoon half of remaining batter over the swirl mixture and spread it evenly. Top with remaining swirl mixture, then the remaining batter, and spread the batter evenly. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the top of the batter.
• Bake in the center of the oven for one hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes. Now scarf it down and enjoy!