Apple Cider Pecan Coffee Cake w/Apple Cider Icing

Pumpkin pie, hot cocoa, apples, and apple cider are all Fall favorites. Well, at least they're my favorites. I wish I could say that I lovingly make homemade hot spiced apple cider from freshly juiced apples...but I can't. The truth is that I buy instant hot apple cider just like I buy instant hot cocoa. I use the Alpine Spiced Apple Cider. You can usually find it next to the hot cocoa at the grocery store. This coffee cake is inspired by my husband's apple cider pancakes: it's yummy and not too sweet, which is just how I like my coffee cake. The key here is to not reconstitute the spiced cider mix. In other words, don't add water; just add the mix directly to the dry ingredients.

Peanut Butter Coffee Cake w/Chocolate Swirl

Baked goodies with peanut butter are totally awesome! I love peanut butter cupcakes, peanut butter frosting, and peanut butter cookies. It was time to take a break from the Fall baking and make something with peanut butter...just because. The chocolate swirl is really just sugar mixed with cocoa powder. Instead of cinnamon sugar, think of it as chocolate sugar.

Brown Sugar Swirl Coffee Cake w/Brown Sugar Icing

I've always liked a simple brown sugar streusel topping on a coffee cake. It's kind of hard to have a streusel topping on a bundt cake, so I thought I would move the streusel to the center and make a swirl. The icing is my second brown sugar icing recipe. For this one, I used dark brown sugar because I think it has a richer flavor than light brown sugar, but go ahead and use whichever one you have.

Buttermilk Vanilla Coffee Cake w/Pumpkin Spice Icing

The cake itself is a very basic vanilla buttermilk coffee cake. In fact, I would go so far as to say that it can be the basis for many coffee cake creations. Perhaps I'll give it it's own post. At any rate, I wanted the pumpkin flavor to come from the icing instead of the cake. This would be a wonderful treat to have with that pumpkin spice latte you've been craving.

Maple Walnut Spice Coffee Cake w/Maple Icing

Fall is absolutely my most favorite season. Besides pumpkin, my other favorite fall flavors are maple and spices - especially cinnamon. This time of year, I also use pumpkin pie spice in my baking. If you don't have pumpkin pie spice then go ahead and use cinnamon with nutmeg or allspice if you've got it. This time I used pure maple syrup in the icing, folks. However, since real maple syrup is a little pricey, I used maple extract in the cake. And really, there's nothing stopping you from drizzling extra maple syrup on top of this coffee cake!

Good Morning Carrot Coffee Cake w/Cream Cheese Icing

This coffee cake is based on the Morning Glory muffins, which have lots of healthy stuff...at least that's what I tell myself. Yes, the ingredients list is long. But, honestly, the bulk of the prep work is shredding the carrot and the apple and mashing the banana. Some may say, "This is really a carrot cake posing as a coffee cake." And? ☺

Spiced Chai Latte Coffee Cake w/Honey Icing

Fall is my favorite time of year and with it comes pumpkin spice lattes and warm chai tea in the cool afternoons...with a generous slice of coffee cake. Coffee cakes are also good for the BFD menu, or breakfast for dinner. For this coffee cake, I used the Oregon Chai Tea Latte Mix. Whichever brand you use, make sure that it's already concentrated, or you'll have to do it yourself. In this case, I reduced the amount of water by half.

Pineapple Coffee Cake w/Macadamia Coconut Topping and Orange Icing

If I had called this coffee cake the Hawaiian Coffee Cake, then that would have sounded like such a cliche. I mean really just because it has pineapple, macadamia nuts, and coconut doesn't necessarily make it Hawaiian, does it? And besides, it's not like Hawaiian Coffee Cake is any easier to say than Pineapple Coffee Cake with Macadamia Coconut Topping and Orange Icing. ☺

Gluten Free Pumpkin Oat Coffee Cake w/Apple Topping

If you've visited my other blog, Soak the Beans, then you may know that at one time my oldest son and I were on a gluten free diet. Although we're no longer gluten free I do sympathize with my gf friends. This coffee cake is gluten free, egg free, dairy free, and soy free, but not fat free, sugar free, or calorie free. ☺ It goes without saying that you must make sure that your oat flour is gluten free. One way to do this is to make your own oat flour by grinding up gluten free oats in a blender or a food processor until it's the consistency of flour.

Espresso Swirl Coffee Cake w/Mocha Icing

So, after purchasing the Medaglia D'Oro for the Mocha Coffee Cake,  I realized that I needed more recipes that used powdered espresso. Espresso swirl sounded good. So, if you want a mocha-flavored cake but the mocha cake is too much for you, then try this one. It's a basic vanilla sour cream coffee cake with an espresso swirl and a mocha icing. Delicious, but not necessarily nutritious.

Granola Bar Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is a variation of the Coconut Coffee Cake w/Chocolate Icing. I like granola bars that have chocolate chips and coconut in them. So, I used the basic cake recipe from Coconut Coffee Cake and I tweaked the topping. While I don't necessarily think that granola bars are healthy, I do enjoy them every so often with yogurt. I think a dollop of Greek yogurt would be perfect with this cake.

Mocha Walnut Coffee Cake w/Espresso Icing

If people can eat chocolate muffins then they should have no trouble eating a chocolate coffee cake. OK, a mocha coffee cake. I used Medaglia D'Oro espresso powder (a.k.a instant espresso) because quite frankly, it was easier to adjust the taste than if I had brewed a cup of coffee. Also, espresso powder can be used in other baked goods or for making espresso ice cream.

Honey Lemon Coffee Cake w/Honey Lemon Icing

I like honey lemonade and honey lemon cough drops, so I thought why not a honey lemon cake. It's got a subtle lemon flavor and would go well with either coffee in the morning or lemonade in the afternoon. I don't ordinarily bake with honey because (1) honey is expensive and (2) I find that baked goods made with honey are, surprisingly, not very sweet. Maybe I'm just too used to refined sugar. Anyway, note the reduced oven temperature. Baked goods with honey tend to brown more quickly than those made with sugar.

Triple Almond Coffee Cake

Instead of plain ol' vanilla, it's plain ol' almond - times three. Almond extract, almond paste and of course, almonds give this cake it's almond flavor. If you don't have almond extract, go ahead and use vanilla. Notice that the topping will actually go into the bottom of the pan since it's a bundt pan. Because the sugar in the topping will be extra gooey, make sure that the pan is well greased.

Lemon Berry Coffee Cake w/Lemon Curd Icing

It's mid-summer and I realized that I needed more lemony recipes. Lemons, berries, and buttermilk just scream "summer". OK, maybe not so much the buttermilk, but all three of them are perfect in a summer coffee cake. In spite of the fancy lemon curd, this is not a delicate cake. The words "old-fashioned", "country" and "picnic cake" come to mind when describing this cake. Ain't nothing wrong with that.

Low Fat Apple Banana Spice Coffee Cake

I've hesitated posting a low fat coffee cake recipe. My philosophy on baked goods is "If you have to ask, you can't afford it." I say this as someone who has lost 50lbs in a year. I'm not trying to be flip, but the ugly truth is that you need some fat in baked goods to make them taste good. Nevertheless, I realize that others might count calories and fat grams. I've done a couple of things to try to retain the taste and texture: (1) I've substituted oat flour for some of the wheat flour as oat flour contains more fat; (2) I've added spices and orange zest for flavor. There is no icing or crumb topping on this cake...only chopped apples with cinnamon sugar.

Coconut Coffee Cake w/Chocolate Icing

Today, I decided to make a simple, not-too-sweet coffee cake with coconut. I don't bake with coconut nearly enough and that needs to change.  In my opinion, the coconut gives this plain old simple vanilla coffee cake an added flair and extra sweetness. That's why I called it Coconut Coffee Cake instead of Plain Ol' Vanilla.  ☺

Apple Cornbread Coffee Cake w/Honey Icing

It's almost a requirement at our house to slather butter and honey on the cornbread. When I came across the recipe for a peach cornbread coffee cake, I knew I wanted to try it. But, I'm not a huge peach fan. I mean, I can take 'em or leave 'em, and I definitely didn't want to used canned pie filling. The result: sauteed apples as a substitute for the peaches. I like apples and I like cornbread. I hope you will, too. 

Orange Coffee Cake w/Sugared Almonds & Orange Chocolate Icing

Yes, yes I do like orange and chocolate together. My kids don't; but I do. Besides, I can't always cook just for the kids. Sometimes I have to cook for me, and in so doing I broaden their horizons whether they like it or not. :-) If they don't like it, well that just means more for me! It's a win-win. Sugared almonds are the crunchy topping for this coffee cake. Believe it or not, they add just a little spice. Also, notice that I don't list "orange juice" as an ingredient, meaning that I didn't use reconstituted orange juice that you buy from the store. I actually squeezed the juice from a couple of oranges. I had some time to kill.

Buttermilk Banana Coffee Cake w/Maple Icing

I like bananas, but when it comes to banana in baked goods, I admit that I only make them so as to placate my conscience by not throwing away really ripe bananas. This time, I deliberately saved a banana to make a coffee cake. All kidding aside, a mashed banana makes for a moist cake. The key is a really ripe banana. As you look at it you should be thinking to yourself, "If I don't use it today, I'm gonna toss it tomorrow."

Lemon-Lime Coffee Cake

Lemon-lime sodas are okay. I can take them or leave them...usually I leave them. I do, however, like lemon and lime pastries - like lemon bars or key lime pie. I cannot promise that this coffee cake will taste like either lemon bars or key lime pie, but I will say that it is a scrumptious breakfast or afternoon treat. If you want more lemon flavor in your cake, then try adding 1 teaspoon of lemon extract.

Chocolate-Cinnamon Swirl w/Cinnamon-Vanilla Glaze

Chocolate, cinnamon, and vanilla - the holy trinity of baking. OK, maybe that's taking it a little too far, but nonetheless, these three delights work well alone, or in combination. This coffee cake is an easy answer to the question, "What am I going to serve for breakfast when I have guests?"

Breakfast Berry Granola Coffee Cake

Nothin' says "summertime" quite like berries. Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, strawberries - I love them all. I wanted to make a berry coffee cake for two reasons: (1) I just bought a gorgeous Fiestaware© 9x13 rectangular baker, and (2) our family went berry picking over the weekend. Here is one way to combine two breakfast favorites: berries and granola.

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake w/Brown Sugar Icing

Sour cream coffee cakes are my favorite. Hands down I think they are the best coffee cakes because they are so moist. There's nothing worse than a dry coffee cake - except maybe a warm beer or cold french fries. Chocolate chip cookies are also my favorite. Combining the two is pure bliss. Adding brown sugar icing is just...icing on the cake. Sorry.