posted by Mimi Hiller 10-26-98 3:28 PM
DELUXE CHOCOLATE CHIP COFFEE CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE CHIP STREUSEL
Chocolate chip streusel:
1-1/2 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1 cup (firmly packed) light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/8 teaspoon salt
11 tablespoons (1 stick plus 3 tablespoon) unsalted butter, cool but not cold, cut into rough chunks
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips
Chocolate chip coffee cake batter:
2-3/4 cups unsifted all-purpose flour
1/4 cup unsifted cake flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups (one 12-ounce package) miniature semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup (firmly packed) light brown sugar
2-1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
To finish the cake: (optional)
Confectioner's sugar, for sprinkling
Make the chocolate chip streusel:
Preheat the oven to 350. Film the inside of a 13-by-9 inch baking pan with nonstick cookware spray. Set aside.
Combine the flour, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, and salt in the bowl of a food processor. Place the butter
chunks on top, and the vanilla. Pulse the mixture until the mixture is reduced to a slightly moist, coarse grained,
streusel like texture. Pour mixture into a bowl, and stir in the nuts and chips. Set aside.
Make the the chocolate chip coffee cake batter:
Sift together the all-purpose flour, cake flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt onto a sheet of waxed paper.
(I just place the dry ingredients into a largish bowl, and use a whisk to evenly disburse all of the ingredients.) Place the chocolate chips in a small mixing bowl and toss with 1-1/2 tablespoons of the sifted ingredients; set aside.
Cream the butter in the large bowl of an electric mixer on moderate speed for 5 minutes. Add the granulated sugar
and continue beating for 2 minutes. Add the light brown sugar and beat for 2 minutes longer.
Blend in the vanilla extract. On moderately high speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating for about 30
seconds after each is added. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl frequently to keep the batter even-textured.
On low speed, alternately add the sifted flour mixture in 3 additions with the buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. Stir in the floured chocolate chips. Scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Lightly smooth over the top with a rubber spatula. Crumble large and small lumps of the streusel mixture evenly over the top of the batter, using all of it. Bake the cake for 50-55 minutes, or until set.
The baked cake will pull away slightly from the sides of the baking pan. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 1
hour. Just before cutting the cake, shower the top with confectioner's sugar, if you like. This cake is best eaten
when freshly baked. Leftover squares of cake can be revitalized by warming them in a 325 oven for 10-12
minutes.