One of my favorite things in life is breakfast. I love everything there is about breakfast foods and I absolutely adore going out for brunch. So, for this post I thought I would share my go to coffee cake recipe. This coffee cake has a crumb topping made with cinnamon, chocolate chips and chopped walnuts. I also put this “topping” in the center of the cake, between 2 layers of batter, for extra yumminess. Let’s get started…

What you will need:

9 in. springform pan

For the crumb topping:

1 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

For the coffee cake:

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream or plain yogurt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit. Butter (or spray with a non stick vegetable spray) a 9 in. springform pan.  Line the bottom of the pan with a circle of parchment paper.

To make the crumb topping:

In a small bowl, stir together the chopped walnuts, sugar, cinnamon, chocolate chips and flour.  Set aside.

To make the coffee cake: 

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl (or bowl of your electric mixer), beat the butter until softened. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla extract.  With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture and sour cream (or yogurt) alternately. So, put some flour, mix, sour cream, mix, flour, mix… you get the idea (I hope). The batter will be thick.

Spoon half the batter in the prepared pan, smoothing the top with an offset spatula or back of a spoon. Sprinkle about half of the crumb topping evenly on top of the batter. Cover with remaining batter and spread that evenly with spatula or back of a spoon. Sprinkle the rest of the crumb topping evenly on top. Bake for about 40-50 minutes.  A toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake should come out clean. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. After about 10 minutes you can release the sides of the pan and serve. Enjoy with a cup of coffee!