Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon-Pecan Filling

October is National Cookie Month.  Tate's Bake Shop is offering a few food bloggers an opportunity to taste their award winning Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Cookies.

Owner Kathleen King made her reputation--and a thriving bakery business-- on her famous chocolate chip cookies.  Her bakery is located in the Hamptons-- a place I hope to visit someday.

Last December , I was one of the fortunate bloggers who was able to taste Tate's Chocolate Chip cookies-- and Tate's Bake Shop offered a giveaway to one of my lucky readers .  My family and I really loved these cookies, that are thin and crisp and buttery.  They disappeared really fast. I also received a signed copy of the Tate's Bake Shop Cookbook, and I  made the recipe for chocolate chip cookies. They were delicious, but not quite as crispy as the authentic cookies that Tates Bake Shop can ship to you! 

Denielle contacted me, again, and asked if I'd like to sample their Whole Wheat Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies.   I love cookies, but I asked her if there were any other options.  She cheerfully offered to put together a breakfast package for me, and said that she'd also let me choose a lucky recipient to receive the same.  A week later...

...I received a box with their Sour Cream Coffee Cake and a bag of their Granola.  The very next morning, I opened up the package, and started fresh hot coffee brewing.

The coffee cake was carefully wrapped. Look at all of those pecans!

We each cut a generous slice, and my husband particularly loved all of the pecan-cinnamon. Heaven!

The granola was wholesome, and generously mixed with golden raisins, hazelnuts, almond, and honey...

Here. Take a look!

My favorite way to eat granola is with vanilla yogurt.  It's really delicious!

The coffee cake was gone, by the next day.  I picked up my copy of the Tate's Bake Shop cookbook, and looked through the many recipes I had bookmarked. Aha!  On Page 128, I found the recipe for Sour Cream Coffee Cake.  I loved that 2 cups of sour cream is used.  I love the moistness and tang of sour cream in cakes.  My mind was made up, that this would be our Saturday morning breakfast treat.

The recipe lists 2 cups of chopped pecans.  I decided to cut it back to 1 cup of pecans.  Your choice.

I used 1/2 cup of brown sugar (rather than white), the chopped pecans and 1 Tablespoon cinnamon.

Mix it up, and set aside.

For the batter, I creamed one stick of room temperature butter (the recipe listed 2 sticks of butter, but I reduced it) with 1 1/2 cups sugar, until it was light and fluffy.  I then added 2 eggs, 2 cups of sour cream, and one tablespoon of pure vanilla.  The dry ingredients were 2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1 Tablespoon of baking powder and 1/4 teaspoon salt. 

I dumped all of the dry ingredients at once, and pulsed my stand mixer a few times...then I folded the batter just until it was mixed.  (I think this method was used, so that the dough isn't overworked. )

I love using Baker's Joy spray.  My cakes no longer stick, and I've had my share of bundt cake disasters. The batter is very thick, and I put half into the prepared pan and spread it evenly.  Then, I layered half of the pecan-cinnamon mixture evenly.  I added the remaining batter and finished it off with the remaining pecan-cinnamon mixture.  Then it hit me... I should have used a spring form pan, so that the cinnamon topping would remain on top!  Too late, now...

Bake at 350 for 1 hour and ten minutes, is what the recipe says. HOWEVER, I could smell the heady aroma of cinnamon wafting from my kitchen, and throughout the house.  I checked the cake at 50 minutes, and a toothpick left just a few crumbs attached. Done!

I waited about five minutes, and placed a wire cooling rack on top of the cake-- then flipped it. The cake slipped right out. I placed another wire cooking rack on top and flipped the cake again.

There. The topping is where it belongs.  The moment has arrived, as I sliced into the warm cake...

The texture looks very promising.

VERDICT:  The cake had a very tender texture, indeed.  It was moist, and the sour cream gave just the right amount of tang.  Reducing the amount of butter, from two sticks, to one worked out fine, in my opinion. We loved the cinnamon-pecan filling, and I don't regret cutting back on the amount of pecans. I love pecans, but I wanted the cinnamon to be equal.  I think using brown sugar was another bonus.  Everyone went back for seconds. This is a great recipe, and I'll definitely make it again.

Thank you, Tate's Bake Shop for your generous gift.  You, too, can have the opportunity to receive the same breakfast treats that I did, plus a signed copy of the Tate's Bake Shop cookbook!  

 

There's even a forward, in the book, from Ina Garten. I'm a huge Ina Garten fan, so that's quite an endorsement!

• All you need to do is leave a comment on this post, and tell me what your favorite breakfast treat is. 
• If you would like a second entry, please join my Facebook Fan Page, and leave a comment that you have (if you are already a member, then leave a comment, too.)
• Increase your odds a third time, by tweeting this giveaway (I'm @foodiewife), and leave a comment telling me that you did so.

The giveaway entries are now closed.   I will randomly choose a winner, so please be sure that you have your email address on your blog profile, or be sure to leave it in the comment.   Good luck!

As a bonus, Tate's Bake Shop will give my readers a 15% discount, if you'd like to gift someone with their selection of fresh baked goods-- or if you'd like to try their famous chocolate chip cookies or treats, for yourself. The discount code is "COOKIE" and it's good for the whole month of October. 

A printable recipe card for this coffee cake is at the end of this post.

Pumpkin-Cinnamon Streusel Pancakes

Fall is a very strange season for those of us who live in California.  This weekend, while were away on vacation, it rained. Today, it was almost 90 degrees!  It's hard for me to accept that summer has officially ended-- especially, when I'm dressed in shorts, a tank top and flip-flops.   You see, October is that strange in-between time of seasons for most Californians. Fresh peaches and strawberries are still for sale, and I still have a few tomatoes that are clinging on for dear life-- with hues of pale orange. They're trying to turn red!  

I had plans, earlier this week, to do some bread baking and to retrieve my slow-cooker from the garage.  You see, I do enjoy rain and that is when I love to braise, and roast, and bake bread.  Instead, our Indian Summer has arrived.  So I had to change direction, and I made iced tea and decided that it was too hot for me to be in the kitchen. 

I'm not complaining, mind you!  As luck would have it, I'm on vacation for Fall Break in our school district. Craig and I just returned from a four day road trip to Wine Country (north of San Francisco in the Windsor, CA area).

This morning, I slept in, while Craig returned back to work.  I had a strong craving for pumpkin.   I had bookmarked this recipe from "Two Peas and their Pod", and even pinned it on Pinterest.  I set my timer for 15 minutes, and it took a little less than that to make the streusel and the batter.  Streusel is pretty basic to make-- flour, cinnamon and butter.  With my hands, I combined everything and then used a fork to make even "crumbs". Done.

The dry ingredients are flour (I only use unbleached), whole wheat flour, 2 Tablespoons of brown sugar, a pinch of salt and pumpkin pie spice.  Now, you can make your own spice blend, and I usually do. Somehow, while organizing my pantry, I discovered I had pumpkin pie spice. I decided to make good use of it. (Don't worry-- a printable recipe card is at the end of this post.)

For the wet ingredients, I used milk, pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling), egg, vanilla, canola oil and pure vanilla.  Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and whisk just until combined.

My griddle is set to medium-low, and prefer to add an even layer of vegetable oil with a paper towel. You can use non-stick spray, if you wish.  Measure about 1/3 cup of the batter and then sprinkle about 1-2 Tablespoons of the streusel, evenly.  Cook until bubbles begin to form; carefully flip over the pancake...

...then add more streusel on top.  Cook another 2-3 minutes.

These smell wonderful.  My son was very pleased that mom was making breakfast. That's a treat for him, since I normally work days and he works nights.  It's always a treat for me, to have breakfast with just the two of us.

I have, finally,  converted my husband and son to the virtues of Pure Maple Syrup.  If you are using pancake syrup, I beg you to spend a few dollars more and to try Pure Maple Syrup.  I find that I don't need to use a lot of maple syrup-- it's plenty sweet. Trust me, you will never go back!   I decided not to add more butter to the pancakes.  I figured since the streusel had plenty of butter in it, that would be enough. Let's see how these taste...

VERDICT:  The whole wheat to white flour ratio is just right.  The pancakes are surprisingly tender, while the whole wheat lends a little bit of density to the pancake.  The pumpkin-spice is perfect. Personally, I'm glad that I didn't add more butter, nor did I pour on a lot of syrup.  These pancakes are very rich and filling. I could only eat one, and it wasn't for lack of loving them.  I simply felt full, after eating one pancake. Amen.  My son could only eat two-- and he's a hearty eater.  The sweetness of the streusel was just slightly on the edge of being a little too much-- so I suggest adding the streusel only once the pancake has been cooked on one side, and flipped.  For those of you who have a strong sweet tooth, then be my guest and use the streusel on both sides.  There are a few pancakes left, and I have no problem heating them up tomorrow morning.  I'm sure they'll taste wonderful, with a cup of hot coffee.  I doubt I can ever have a pumpkin overdose!

I won't do a long post about our road trip, but... Craig and I drove to Bodega (Bay), one afternoon and I spotted this house. I quickly pulled over and grabbed my camera.  I got so excited that I found this house!

 Do any of you Alfred Hitchcock Movie Buffs recognize this house? 

It's where one of the most famous scenes from "The Birds" was filmed. This is one of my favorite classic horror films. 

...there's the church that was also in the movie.

... and one grave marker.

Our hot weather is supposed to stick around through next week.  I have to rethink my dinner plans.  Pumpkin, however, is something I enjoy year-round. I hoard pumpkin puree, by the way.  (Maybe that's why there's a supposed pumpkin shortage. Ha!) 

Country French Omelet

I have a back log of pre-recorded TV shows, and I am slowly whittling my way through them.  Last weekend, it was "The Barefoot Contessa" shows that I decided to watch.  Truthfully, I tend to fast-forward through most of my recorded episodes.  If something catches my eye, then I pay close attention.  This recipe comes from Ina's "Back to Basics" Cookbook that I own.  The episode was called "Postcards from Paris". I've never been to Paris, which also included the recipe for making Potato Basil Puree-- that I've since made, loved and posted on my blog. Had I not watched Ina's show, I probably wouldn't have made this particular recipe.  Maybe it sounded so "basic", but seeing things can be powerful persuasion.

The reason this recipe did win my attention is that my husband loves bacon. Seriously, all I have to do is start bacon and onions on the stove and he starts to circle around the kitchen.  I like bacon, but I limit how much I eat-- with the exception of our candied bacon.   My will power weakens, over the sweet and saltiness of preparing bacon, that way.   Potatoes, on the other hand, is one of my true weaknesses.  I had all of the ingredients, on hand,  to make this omelet (I consider it more of a frittata).  I love it when that happens!

Begin with slicing bacon into 1-inch pieces.

Add a little olive-oil into an ovenproof skillet, and cook the bacon until it's browned, but not crisp.

Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

While the bacon is cooking, cut 1 cup of diced Yukon Gold potatoes. My potatoes were small, so I used two of them, unpeeled.  Can you use any other kind of potatoes? Sure.  Yukons are just my favorite spuds to prepare as home fries, next to red potatoes.  Place the potatoes in the pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Continue to cook over medium-low heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until very tender and browned, tossing occasionally to brown evenly.

I always like to test the potatoes, to make sure they are fork tender. These took close to 20 minutes until they were ready.  At this point, I could eat a a plate full of golden fried potatoes. But, we have a few more steps to do.

 Remove with a slotted spoon to the same plate with the bacon. Pour out any remaining fat, from the pan.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, beat five eggs, milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together.

 

Add one tablespoon of unsalted butter, lower the heat to low, and pour the eggs into the hot pan.

 Chop about 1 Tablespoon of fresh chives. Fortunately, I have lots of this growing in our herb garden.

Sprinkle the bacon, potatoes, and chives evenly over the top and place the pan in a 350F preheated oven for about 8 minutes, just until the eggs are set.

 Lovely!

Ina slides her omelet onto a plate, divided in half, and serve hot. This actually made four servings for us. That's a good thing, because my son was hungry as well.

VERDICT:   Seriously? Bacon and potatoes?  Delicious, of course.  It was very satisfying, and the fourth serving was easily reheated the next day.  It was just as good. I think there are plenty of variations that would be great with this recipe.  Chopped bell pepper would add some pretty color.  Mushrooms would be nice. Sausage could work, too.  However, it's the simplicity of the ingredients that worked well. The chives are perfect in this recipe.   A printable recipe is at the end of this post.

I have several Food Network episodes to watch, from some of my favorite chefs-- like Anne Burrell.  While I fast forward through many of them, I'm sure I'll bookmark a few to make at a later time  Even if I don't make the recipe, I'm always open-minded to picking up a new tip or two.  I'll get through my shows, one weekend at a time!