Lightened Up Streusel-Filled Coffee Cake

I'll be honest with you...I really thought it would take longer for me to recover from the sugar coma of the holidays...but 2 weeks into the new year, I found myself with a wicked craving for cinnamon coffee cake!  I found the original recipe for this delicious treat in the Holiday catalog 2011 for Penzeys Spices.  Have you ever been to Penzeys?  I got to visit one for the first time over the holidays...and I was in heaven.  I have been getting their catalogs at home for about a year now.  I love them.  Filled with great recipes using Penzeys products.  I drool over them and make a mental wish list as I browse the pages.  Once inside the store, I was sort of dazed.  LOL  I made some choices I am happy with, and have been using them in my daily cooking.  I am looking forward to another trip there soon though!

Back to the coffee cake....

I lightened up the original recipe by reducing the sugar, using low fat buttermilk, and omitting the nuts.  The result was outstanding.  ( or maybe it was just because I had such a bad craving! )  It is an easy recipe that comes together quickly.  The original recipe does say the batter can be made ahead, layered in the pan, and then refrigerated overnight and baked off the next morning.  I haven't tested this tough.  It is best eaten warm...and leftovers can be reheated gently in the microwave.  Take care to not overwork the batter, as a less tender cake will result.  I imagine it would also make awesome muffins!

I was happy to find out once it was cut into 16 servings, each serving worked out to a respectable 4pp.  Not bad for a buttery, cinnamon-y, warm sweet treat!   If you prefer bigger pieces, you could cut the cake into 12 servings, making each piece 6pp. 

Lightened Up Streusel-Filled Coffee Cake

adapted from Penzeys Spices Holiday Catalog 2011

Printable Recipe

Servings - 16   Serving Size - 1/16th of cake   Points Plus per Serving - 4 Points+

Calories - 143.4,   Total Fat - 4.9g,   Carb. - 25.7g,   Protein - 2.1g,   Fiber - 0.3g

Servings - 12  Servings Size - 1/12th of cake   Points Plus per Serving - 6 Points+

Calories - 191.2,   Total Fat - 6.5g,   Carb. - 34.2g,   Protein - 2.8g,   Fiber - 0.5g

Cake Batter:

1 1/2 cups cake flour

3 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup unsalted butter, cold room temp and cut into small pieces (not freezer cold, but not mushy, still firm...but easy to cut into) 

1 egg

3/4 cup low fat buttermilk ( you could use 1/2 cup skim milk instead, it won't change nut stats much)

2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Streusel Filling/topping:

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

2 TBS all purpose flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

2 TBS unsalted butter, melted

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Spray an 8" x 8" baking dish with a cooking spray with flour added ( like baker's joy)   OR grease and flour pan.  Set aside.   In large mixing bowl, combine the cake flour, baking powder, salt and granulated sugar.  Cut in cold butter pieces with a pastry blender until the mixture is like fine cornmeal.  ( you could also do this in a food processor to save time)  Set aside. 

2.  In a small bowl, combine the ingredients for the streusel filling/topping.  Set aside.

3.  In another small bowl or glass measuring cup, combine the egg, buttermilk and vanilla extract.  

4.  Pour the wet ingredients into the large bowl with the dry cake ingredients.  Mix to just combine.  DO NOT OVERWORK...or you will get a tough cake. 

5.  Spoon half the cake batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle half the streusel mixture on top.  Top that with the remaining batter and then repeat with remaining streusel.   ( Unbaked cake and be covered with plastic wrap and  put into refrigerator at this point for baking at a further time.  Just bring it out of the refrigerator and let it come to room temp and remove plastic wrap before baking)

6.  Bake cake at 375 degrees F for 20 - 30 minutes, or until done.  Best enjoyed warm! 

Hungry for more Coffee Cake recipes? 

Give this amazing Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake a try!