Mocha Latte Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel

It's September already and this month's cake selection is a Mocha Latte Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel by Rebecca Firth's The Cake Book.

I've really enjoyed this cake cookbook and have found quite a few recipes I will try again.  This cake is one of those.

The recipe looks long, but it's really two things - the streusel and the cake.  There's a ton of buttery streusel on top and I like that!

There aren't really any unusual ingredients except for the espresso, which I keep on hand for lots of other recipes.  If you don't have espresso for the cake part, use instant coffee and for the liquid part, make it strong.

The batter is delicious (had to lick the mixer paddle, you know), but I could use even more coffee flavor.  I'd add about a teaspoon more of  the powdered espresso.

The cake itself is chocolaty and soft, like a coffee cake, but reminds me more of just a good chocolate cake.  You could frost it with a buttercream instead of the streusel and it would still be a hit.

Rebecca uses parchment paper to line her cake pan, but I find that clumsy and the paper won't lie flat.  Because of that, I use aluminum foil.  It works great.

This cake is heavy in the pan before you bake it, so use two hands to put it in and take it out of the oven.  I think the streusel is the main weight because the batter itself is pretty fluffy.

Be sure and let it cool in the pan before lifting out or the cake might 'bend' on you.  Let it cool completely after you lift it out, then pull the aluminum foil (or parchment if you use that) out.   

This Mocha Latte Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel is substantial and would be good for breakfast, brunch, or dessert.  I liked it best with coffee or milk.

You might also like Cranberry-Walnut Coffee Cake on this site.  It's delicious and will be great to plan on for the upcoming holidays.

Be sure and check out the other Cake Slice Bakers' selections below the recipe!

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Mocha Latte Coffee Cake with Pecan Streusel

Yield: 16

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Additional Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

Chocolaty coffee cake with a crunchy, buttery streusel.

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Ingredients

• Pecan Streusel:
• 1 ¼ Cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ Cups light brown sugar, packed
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 10 tablespoons butter, room temperature and cut into chunks
• ¼ Cup pecans, finely chopped and toasted
• The Cake:
• 1 ½ Cups granulated sugar
• 10 tablespoons butter, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon finely ground (or instant) espresso
• 1 tablespoon cinnamon
• 2 large eggs, room temperature
• ¾ Cup sour cream, room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 ¾ Cups all-purpose flour
• ⅓ Cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoon sea salt
• ¾ Cup brewed espresso or very strong coffee
• ¾ Cup chocolate chips, plus more to sprinkle on top

Instructions

1. The Streusel: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt. Using a pastry blender or your hands, work the butter into the mixture until it's crumbly. Toss in the pecans and place in the refrigerator if not using immediately. Cover if in refrigerator over an hour.
2. The Cake: Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease a 9x13" baking pan and line with aluminum foil, pressing gently into the corners. Spray foil with baking spray. Use enough foil to where it hangs out a couple of inches on the ends of the pan for easy lifting after baked.
3. In a stand mixer bowl, mix the sugar, butter, espresso and cinnamon on medium until light and fluffy, 4-5 minutes. If it's just being clumpy, add one or two teaspoons of the room temperature sour cream to it to loosen it up.
4. Scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to make sure everything's mixed in well. Add in the eggs, one at a time, making sure the first is well blended before adding in the second. Add in the sour cream and vanilla and mix for 1 minute more.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt, and fold into the butter/sugar mixture until just combined, about 15 seconds. Turn mixer on very low and pour in the hot espresso/coffee, streaming it down the inside of the mixing bowl to cool it a little. Remove bowl from stand and stir in the chocolate chips.
6. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top a bit with a spatula or back of a large spoon, so that it's fairly level. Sprinkle the streusel evenly over the top, all the way to the edges and corners. Sprinkle with a handful more of chocolate chips if you wish.
7. Bake in the center of the oven for 50-55 minutes until puffed up and lightly golden. The center will be soft, but a toothpick inserted will come out almost clean with a few crumbs.
8. Let the pan cool on a cooling rack for 50-60 minutes, then lift out the cake and remove it from the pan to finish cooling.
9. Store at room temperature, or freeze after 2-3 days if you haven't finished it.

Notes

Easy to throw together, but read the recipe before starting (and make sure ingredients are at room temperature!)

I will add another ¼ cup of pecans next time - they were delicious in the streusel.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 439Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 12gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 68mgSodium: 502mgCarbohydrates: 59gFiber: 2gSugar: 32gProtein: 5g

Nutrition Values are Approximate

Each month The Cake Slice Bakers are offered a selection of cakes from the current book we are baking through. This year it is The Cake Book: Beautiful Sweet Treats for Every Craving by Rebecca Firth. We each choose one cake to bake, and then on the 20th - never before - we all post about our cake on our blogs. There are a few rules that we follow, but the most important ones are to have fun and enjoy baking & eating cakes!

Follow our Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest pages where you can find all of our cakes, as well as inspiration for many other cakes. You can also click on the links below to take you to each of our cakes. If you have a blog and are interested in joining The Cake Slice Bakers and baking along with us, please send an email to thecakeslicebakers at gmail dot com for more details.

The Cake Slice Bakers also have a new Facebook group called The Cake Slice Bakers and Friends. This group is perfect for those who do not have a blog but want to join in the fun and bake through this book.