This is our family's hands-down favorite breakfast. It is requested for every birthday and every special occasion, including Christmas. So, so very good.
CINNAMON & TOASTED PECAN COFFEE CAKE
For The Caramel:
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup heavy cream
Pinch of salt
1 cup chopped pecans, toasted
For The Streusel:
1 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
8 tablespoons unsalted butter, sliced
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon table salt
For The Cake:
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/4 lowfat vanilla yogurt OR sour cream
2 eggs
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
Preheat oven to 350°; coat a 9" cake pan with nonstick spray.
Stir together brown sugar, cream, and salt for the caramel. Pour into prepared pan and spread to coat the bottom. Sprinkle pecans over the caramel.
Process brown sugar, flour, butter, cinnamon, and salt for the streusel in a food processor. Pulse until small clumps form; set aside. Do not over- or under-process.
Whisk buttermilk, yogurt (or sour cream), and eggs together for the cake in a measuring cup with a pour spout.
Sift flour, baking powder, soda, and salt and mix to combine.
Cream butter and sugar with a mixer just until combined. Alternately add dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry. Blend each addition just until incorporated. [Overmixing will make the cake tough. Alternating the dry and wet ingredients will help to minimize overmixing].
Spread [a little less than] half the batter over the caramel, being careful not to mix in the nuts as you move it around. [Using a little less than half saves more batter for the next layer where it’s more difficult to spread because of the streusel layer underneath]. Then sprinkle with half the streusel. [You want an even distribution of streusel that goes all the way to the edges]. Carefully spread remaining batter over that and top with remaining streusel.
[Place cake pan on a baking sheet (or put a large piece of heavy-duty tinfoil on the rack underneath the cake pan that extends well past the edges—this is because some of the “goo” from the cake sometimes spills over during baking.)] Bake 50 - 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool cake for 5 minutes on a rack, then run a paring knife around the sides to loosen. Invert onto a serving platter while hot, then let cool slightly before slicing. Due to the sticky top, an electric knife is best for cutting, but a sharp, thin-bladed knife is fine too. It’s important to unmold the cake when hot or the caramel could harden and stick to the pan making it near-impossible to release.