Brown Sugar Swirl Coffee Cake w/Brown Sugar Icing

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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.

Brown Sugar Swirl Coffee Cake w/Brown Sugar Icing

Coffee Cake

1¼ cup unbleached white flour

1¼ cup whole wheat flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt

¾ cup sugar

1 stick butter or margarine, softened

2 eggs
1½ cup buttermilk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Filling

¾ cup dark brown sugar
¼ cup flour
4 Tbsp butter, cold
¼ tsp cinnamon

Icing

½ cup dark brown sugar

4 Tbsp butter

¼ cup half & half

6 Tbsp powdered sugar

¼ tsp vanilla extract

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Instructions
Generously grease a 10 inch bundt pan. Heat oven to 350° F.

For the topping
Combine dark brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon. Cut butter into small pieces and add to brown sugar mixture. Using a pastry blender, blend butter into brown sugar mixture until small, pea-sized chunks form. Set aside.

For the cake
In a bowl, combine whole wheat flour, white flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time stirring well after each. Alternately add buttermilk and flour mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Add vanilla and stir. Pour half of the batter evenly into greased pan. Sprinkle brown sugar mixture on top. Pour remaining batter over brown sugar mixture and spread evenly.  Bake 50-55 minutes. Cool 10 minutes in pan. Remove cake from pan and cool on a wire rack. Cool completely before icing.

For the icing
In a saucepan over low heat, melt together brown sugar, butter, and half & half. Bring to a boil and stir constantly for 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in powdered sugar one tablespoon at a time. Add vanilla extract and stir. Cool slightly before drizzling onto cake. In my opinion, don't wait until it's cooled completely otherwise it may be too thick to drizzle on the cake.

Inspiration recipe(s): Brown Sugar Icing

Enjoy!

~CD