Chocolate Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chip Streusel and The Problem of Forgetting

Do you ever put a cake in the oven and then look over your shoulder to survey the ingredients left on the counter and wonder, did I miss something?  Like, the vanilla, salt or even worse the sugar?  I'm so careful when I bake, I double check my recipe as I add each ingredient to the bowl.  I don't want to waste expensive ingredients or my time when I bake by leaving out something important.  But, today when I placed my chocolate coffee cake in the oven I scanned the containers of flour, sugar, spices etc. left on the counter and thought, I sure hope I didn't forget anything.  Lately I keep forgetting things, which is really frustrating-especially when I forget something that I need, like my makeup bag at the gym.  Forgetting stuff and dropping things in the kitchen, even lifting off the lid of the blender while it's still going-splashing purple smoothie all over my brand new cute pink sweatshirt, just to name one annoying thing I did in the kitchen last week .  Maybe I need to slow down and spend more time reading my favorite cookbooks, which I spent several hours organizing over the weekend.  So, on that note I found this recipe for chocolate coffee cake in the most unlikely place, a cookbook for muffins, hidden in the back of the book next to a recipe for gingerbread.  Don't get me wrong I'm not complaining, I just think it's odd.  Maybe the author ran out of muffin recipes but I find that hard to believe!  I read this recipe and realized that it was exactly the kind of chocolate cake that I've been searching for but didn't know it, probably due to my problem of forgetting.  My cake disappeared quickly which is always a good sign that this is a recipe worth sharing.



Ingredients and Directions for Chocolate Coffee Cake
Adapted from Muffins by Williams-Sonoma


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a 9x13 baking pan


For The Chocolate Chip Streusel

2/3 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup chocolate chips


For The Chocolate Coffee Cake

1&1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup cake flour
2/3 cup unsweetened Dutch process cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1&1/4 cups sour cream
1&1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

To make the streusel mix the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Cut the butter into small bits and cut into the flour mixture, using your fingers or a pastry cutter.  Stir in the chocolate chips and set aside.
To make the cake stir together the flours, cocoa powder, bakings soda, baking powder and sea salt in a medium bowl, set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, takes a few minutes.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after the addition of each egg.  Add half the bowl of dry ingredients to start, alternating with the sour cream and vanilla extract.  Continue to beat for a few more minutes until smooth and fluffy.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly.  Sprinkle with the chocolate chip streusel.
Bake for 40-45 minutes until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool on a metal rack and cut into squares to serve.