Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake

I love coffee cake.  In my opinion, there's nothing better than waking up in the morning to a hot cup of coffee and some sweet coffee cake on the side.  This coffee cake is super moist, light, and has just the right amount of sweetness.  I love the combination of raspberries, vanilla, and almonds.  If you're a big almond fan, I recommend using half almond extract, half vanilla extract.  The almond extract really compliments the sliced almonds on top of the cake.  Another thing I love about this coffee cake is how pretty it looks!  There is a beautiful, pink, raspberry swirl running all through the cake, and the top is garnished with sliced almonds and sweet drizzle of icing.  There is so much delicious flavor going on in this cake.  You can serve it warm with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream, and/or you can serve it at room temperature.  In my opinion, I liked it best at room temperature the next day - or even the second or third day - because it gets moister over time.  I'm not sure how it tastes after the third day because it never lasted that long in my house.


Yield: an 8-inch round cake (about 8-10 servings)
***recipe doubles well in a 9-inch pan

Ingredients:

• 1 cup fresh raspberries
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or half vanilla, half almond extract...your choice)
• 1 egg
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
•  
• 1/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
• 1 teaspoon milk
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray an 8 inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
2. Combine raspberries and brown sugar in a bowl. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Combine sour cream, butter or margarine, 1 teaspoon vanilla (or half a teaspoon almond, half vanilla...if using), and egg, and add to flour mixture. Stir just until moist. Spoon 2/3 of the batter into the prepared pan. Drain raspberry mixture, and spread it evenly over the batter. Spoon remaining batter over raspberry mixture (It's okay if the filling doesn't completely cover the top). Top with almonds.
4. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool for 10 minutes on a wire rack.
5. Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, and 1/4 teaspoon vanilla. Stir well. Drizzle glaze over cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

This is the best coffee cake I've ever had!  And I know I say that a lot with all of my recipes ("this is the best           I've ever had!"), but I'm telling the truth! I only post the best of the best recipes for that specific food on my blog.  So I'm telling you again: this is the best coffee cake EVER.  It's seriously a hundred times better than anything I've ever had at Starbucks or other coffee shops.  It's so good with a [cup of coffee] in the morning.  It tastes best after it sits overnight because all the strawberry-cream cheese-almond flavor from the filling seeps into the almondy-buttery-cakey layer underneath.  Coffee cakes are generally supposed to be dry so that they soak up coffee well, but this is much more moist than any coffee cake I've ever had...it's almost more like a pound cake.  It also looks so pretty and would be the perfect addition to any brunch or holiday event. Or serve it as dessert! And because it calls for strawberry jam and not fresh strawberries, you can make it any time of year and bring a nice touch of spring to your table.  The only not-so-great thing about this cake is that there's definitely nothing "light" about it, but ---> it's worth every calorie-loaded bite.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons white sugar
• 6 tablespoons cold butter
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 egg, beaten
• 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
• 
  
• FILLING:
• 4 ounces (half a package) cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 egg
• 5 tablespoons strawberry jam
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour and sugar. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Remove 1/2 cup and set aside. To the remaining crumbs, add baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the sour cream, half an egg and almond extract; mix well. Spread evenly in the bottom of a greased loaf pan.
2. For the filling, in a small bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and half an egg until blended. Pour over batter; spoon strawberry jam on top. Sprinkle with almonds and reserved crumbs.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted comes out clean (do not over bake!). Let stand for 15 minutes.  Run a knife around the sides of the pan to loosen before slicing or removing from pan.

***note: when warm/fresh from the oven, the almond taste is almost overpowering.  It settles down when completely cooled; for best results, I would recommend serving this at room temperature.

***You can also double this recipe and bake in a 9-inch spring form pan.  If doing this, you may need to bake it another 5-10 minutes longer.

Blueberry Coffee Cake

This is the best coffee cake I've ever had...not to mention incredibly unhealthy.  But it's totally worth it(: This more dense than your usual coffee cakes and has a heavy, moist texture.  The cinnamon swirl gives it a wonderful oomph of spice and sweetness.  Before you taste it, you may say you will just limit yourself to one piece...but I promise, you won't be able to.  It's absolutely divine.  10 stars. This can also be a perfect dish to bring to a Sunday brunch, and everyone will ask for the recipe.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 5/8 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup blueberries
•  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 9 inch Bundt pan.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the sour cream and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the batter just until blended. Fold in blueberries.
3. Spoon half of the batter into the prepared pan. In a small bowl, stir together the brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Sprinkle half of this mixture over the batter in the pan. Spoon remaining batter over the top, and then sprinkle the remaining pecan mixture over. Use a knife to swirl the sugar layer into the cake.
4. Bake for 55 to 60 minutes in the preheated oven, or until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool in the pan over a wire rack. Invert onto a serving plate, and tap firmly to remove from the pan.