Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

Well, I just couldn't keep out of the kitchen for long. I went to the library on Saturday and I found this fantastic book from the Pillsbury company called "Muffins and Quick Breads." It had so many yummy recipes that I sat in the parking lot at Harmon's for almost 20 minutes just trying to decide which one to make (you know how good I am at making decisions :) ). Suddenly I realized that I had only 30 minutes to get my grocery shopping done, get home, unload my goods, and get to the church for a service project! I made a mad dash through the store for apples, plain yogurt, and few things to eat the rest of the week. Luckily I had everything else for the cake. Miraculously I made it to the church in time to go help serve at the soup kitchen.


This is what it looked like before I baked it and without the streusel topping. Gorgeous!



It was a fantastically simple cake to make and it looks so gorgeous! I really like this book because most of the recipes are low fat (substituting yogurt or applesauce for butter/oil/eggs). Because of the yogurt, the cake was amazingly moist. The streusel topping was sweet and crunchy. The apples were vibrant and soft-crisp. It was a contrast of textures and flavors that was a perfect for fall.



Surprisingly everyone in the lab loved it. Even Michelle (who is my hardest critic) said that this was one of her favorites. It's definitely a "do-over" recipe.

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

Coffee Cake:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon Baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
¼ cup margarine or butter, softened
½ cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons nonfat plain yogurt
2 cups thinly sliced, unpeeled apples

Toppings:

¼ cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons brown sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons margarine or butter

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray an 8- or 9- inch round spring-form or 8-inch square pan with non-stick spray.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, mix well. Beat margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla, blend well. Alternately add flour mixture and yogurt to margarine, beat well after each addition. Spread batter in pan and arrange apple slices over batter.

In a small bowl, combine all topping ingredients except margarine. With pastry blender or fork, cut in margarine/butter until crumbly. Sprinkle topping evenly over apples.

Bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes. If desired, remove from pan.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great post! I am glad you included the recipe because I can't wait to try it. I got a lot of apples at the farmer's market on Saturday so I am all set! The cake looks fantastic!! Now take the book back to the library so I can check it out..ha!

Anonymous said...

Oh just curious...what kind of apples did you use???

jen jen said...

it looks pretty good!!!!

Nicole said...

Looks Yummy! I'm gonna have to try that one for sure. I'm missin' you! When are you movin' down?