Weekly Recipe: Quick Breakfast Cake

I love coffee cake for breakfast (or anytime) but rarely make it because of the amount of butter most recipes call for.  I have a general rule that I try to steer clear of recipes that call for more than 1 stick of butter.  The exceptions to that rule are cakes because I know I won't be eating the whole thing (hopefully) and I feel like the butter is more spread out.  It's not but just humor me.

As I was making my weekly menu a week or so ago, I knew I wanted to have breakfast one night.  I love pancakes but Wes often thinks we have too much food when I pair pancakes with another breakfast item for dinner.  Tisk, tisk.  So I looked for a way to get my sweet fix without lugging out the griddle.  It's not lighter than pancakes would have been but because it was different, he didn't notice.  Hee, hee!

This coffee cake is exceptional.  With only 1 stick of butter, it fits into my boundaries, yet it tastes equally as delicious as the full fat versions.  And with only 7 ingredients, you can whip this up in a jiffy!  I added a couple blobs of cream cheese to the top for some extra calories and that proved to be a worthy decision (my waistline thanked me). 

Quick Cream Cheese Breakfast Cake

adapted from Southern Living

Cake:

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

2 large eggs

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup milk

1 tsp vanilla

2 oz cream cheese, softened

1 T. powdered sugar

Streusel:

1/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 T. melted butter

1 T. flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup almonds, toasted

1. Combine brown sugar, butter, flour, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Stir in almonds.

Preparation

• 1. Preheat oven to 400°. Beat butter and 1/2 cup sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition.
• 2. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition.
• 3. Pour batter into a lightly greased 9-inch round cake pan. Stir together cream cheese and 1 Tbsp. powdered sugar. Dollop cream cheese mixture, 1 tsp. at a time, over batter. and top with Streusel.
• 4. Bake at 400° for 22 to 24 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Drizzle with Vanilla Glaze, if desired.

Optional Vanilla Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1-2 T. milk

Stir together powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 T. milk, adding additional milk if necessary.  Stir until smooth.

      Linking up to Remodelholic, Lady Behind the Curtain, Crazy for Crust and This Chick Cooks!