Coffee Coffee Cake

I don't mind the taste of coffee, but I never drink it simply for the fact that if I get involved with this realm of drinks, all I'll want is a 400-calorie mocha fancy whatever every single day. However, I think my world has changed a bit after making this Coffee Coffee Cake.

When you first look at the list of ingredients for this recipe, it looks like a lot, but you actually reuse several of the same things for each component. I had never heard of instant coffee granules before this recipe. Truth be told, I'm still not entirely sure how it's used in coffee drinks, but it smells fantastic.

My biggest critique of this recipe is the amount of bowls you'll need—like, holy crap! first I needed a bowl for the coffee ribbon, which was just a bunch of rich ingredients like coffee granules and cinnamon. Then I needed a second bowl for the coffee crumb topping, which was created by smashing together butter with several ingredients. Then I needed a third bowl for the dry ingredients, and a fourth for the wet ingredients! I was lucky I actually owned four mixing bowls. If you don't have enough, you'll be fine mixing the coffee ribbon in a small pantry bowl. I must also add this recipe smells so good as you're making it.

Once all the elements were in their appropriate mixtures and I used a stand mixer for the butter, oil and sugar, it really was just a process of putting it all together. I accidentally added all of the flour mixture first rather than alternating it with the sour cream mixture, but I still got a good cake batter texture (also my taste test of the batter was delicious).

I found it really interesting how this entire Coffee Coffee Cake came together. I made sure to butter the entire height of the sides in my pan, as the picture in Dessert Person showed a cake with good height. First I added in half the batter, then sprinkled the coffee ribbon mixture over it, added the rest of the batter, then scattered the crumb topping. Usually I bake brownies in a 13"x9" metal pan, but you really need this pan size for how much batter you'll have.

After 42 minutes in the oven, this Coffee Coffee Cake came out looking pretty and smelling incredible. Cutting out the first piece is definitely a moment; the coffee ribbon is very visible in the middle of the slice, and overall I loved the different shades from the batter and the crumb topping. Whether or not you like coffee, it's hard not to fall in love with this Coffee Coffee Cake. My husband noted it's much more airy than other coffee cakes he's had, but I enjoyed that. It really tastes like several types of coffee drinks all in one. This is the kind of dessert that is pretty simple, includes most of what you already have in your pantry, and could quickly become a beloved family recipe. Personally, I'm not sure why anyone would drink coffee each morning when they could have it in a dessert!

I'm not surprised to learn Claire loves coffee after getting a better understanding of her flavor palette through her other dessert recipes. Check out her YouTube video on Coffee Coffee Cake!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE1RqKSa1z8