Rum Raisin Coffee Cake w/Browned Butter Icing

Confession time: the "rum" I used was actually rum extract. I rarely buy rum, but when I do I don't use it for baking. ☺ For the record, I buy rum during the holidays to make hot buttered rums, and ultimately, those hot buttered rums served as the inspiration for this coffee cake. Sort of. At least they inspired me to use browned butter icing. Seeing as how it's June and not rum season, I decided to buy the rum extract. If you keep real rum on hand and want to use that then I say, "Go crazy nuts!!" I'm just not sure how much real rum you would use so you'll have to experiment. That' not a bad thing. Note: I did not actually wait until the coffee cake was completely cooled before I added the icing. Consequently, the icing melted and was a little runny. I recommend that you wait for the cake to cool. If not, it's all good. It still tastes great and when you cut that first slice, the icing will run to the bottom of the pan.

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.

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.

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.  ☺

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.

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?"

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.