Chocolate streusel coffee cake

10
Points®
Total Time
45 min
Prep
20 min
Cook
25 min
Serves
16
Difficulty
Moderate
Make this rich and decadent breakfast cake the next time you have overnight guests or plan to host a brunch. Pair it with an assortment of fresh fruit, yogurt, and even eggs to make it part of a meal. The dried cherries lend a delicious tart flavor that pairs beautifully with the chocolate and almonds. You could easily use walnuts or pecans instead of the almonds if you’d like. Regular whole-wheat flour is milled from hard winter wheat, which is high in gluten, making it ideal for bread and rolls. So, don’t make the mistake of using whole wheat pastry flour which is made from soft wheat and is very finely ground, making it more suitable for cookies and pastries.

Ingredients

Packed brown sugar

½ cup(s)

Unsweetened cocoa powder

2 Tbsp

Canola oil

2 tsp

Ground cinnamon

½ tsp

Semisweet chocolate

4 oz, (1/2 cup)

Whole wheat flour

2¼ cup(s)

Sugar

¾ cup(s)

Baking powder

1½ tsp

Baking soda

½ tsp

Table salt

½ tsp

Plain fat free yogurt

1 cup(s)

Egg

2 large egg(s)

Canola oil

¼ cup(s)

Almond extract

½ tsp

Dried cherries

½ cup(s), coarsely chopped

Almonds

3 Tbsp, sliced

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Spray a 9 x 13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.
  2. To make the streusel, with your fingers, rub together the brown sugar, cocoa, oil, and cinnamon in a small bowl until well blended. Stir in the chocolate chips; set aside.
  3. To make the cake, whisk together the pastry flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the yogurt, eggs, oil, and almond extract in a medium bowl. Add the yogurt mixture and cherries to the flour mixture; stir just until the flour mixture is moistened.
  4. Spoon half of the batter into the pan; spread evenly (the layer will be thin). Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spoon the remaining batter over the streusel and spread gently (it doesn’t have to cover completely). Sprinkle evenly with the remaining streusel and the almonds. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a rack 30 minutes. Serve warm. Yields 1⁄16 of cake per serving.