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10/5/11

Streusel Coffee Cake (when I was out of eggs and brown sugar)



Remember this past Spring when I made this coffee cake? Over the past 3 weeks or so I've been thinking about it and craving it.  Life has been so busy with the relocation that I didn't have time to even think about baking and of course I didn't have a yellow cake mix on hand.  Yesterday when I stopped the grocery store for some basics, (I just returned from a house hunting trip 1000 miles away in the new state and of course needed groceries after being gone for 9 days)  somehow a yellow cake mix found its way into my cart. 

When I came home I laughed at myself when I realized I was a little short on the amount of cinnamon needed, out of brown sugar and I was completely out of eggs.  I had a dozen when I left to drive down south, but my college aged son had been home last weekend and went on a deviled egg kick and used them all up! I had used the last of the brown sugar making cookies a few weeks ago and because I'm trying to 'use up' the groceries in the house in preparation for the move, I don't buy basics anymore unless I need them for a particular recipe.

No worries.  Play with your food.  Recipes are just guides anyway.

Here is the recipe and at the bottom I'll post what I did differently.

Streusel Coffee Cake 

1/3 c graham cracker crumbs
3/4 c brown sugar
1 1/2 t ground cinnamon
2/3 c butter, melted

1 regular sized package yellow cake mix
1 c water
1/4 c canola oil
3 eggs

1 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 t vanilla
water


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a tube or bundt pan.  Make the streusal by combining the crumbs, sugar, cinnamon and butter.  Sprinkle half in the bottom of the pan.  Set the other half to the side.

Mix the cake mix with the water, oil and eggs.  Beat on low with 1 minute, beat on medium for 2 minutes.  Spread half the batter in the pan, sprinkle the reserved crumb mixture over the batter and then pour the rest of the batter on the over streusel.  Bake for about an hour but watch as all pans and ovens are different.  Test for doneness when the center is done.  Let it cool for about an hour, loosen and turn out of the pan.  Make the powdered sugar glaze with the vanilla and just enough drops of water to make it a drizzle consistency.  Drizzle over the cake.  Serve warm, room temperature or cold. 

 *How I substituted ingredients:

Instead of oil and eggs:  I used about 3/4 cup real mayonnaise.  (When substituting mayonnaise for eggs in a recipe, the mayonnaise also replaces the fat in the recipe as well).
Instead of brown sugar:  Use white sugar and mix in a tablespoon of molasses.  Blend and press with a fork until incorporated.
Instead of the full amount of cinnamon:  I just used what I had on hand, which was about a teaspoon -and because I was doubling the amount of streusel (it's my favorite part) I thought it might be too faint but it was simply delicious and perfectly yummy!

Unfortunately for me, this cake is most excellent with coffee... and I'm the only one home this week... and I love it so much that there is a good chance I'm going to eat the whole darn thing myself! Print Friendly and PDF