Cinnamon Streusel Cake: Sometimes You Just Gotta Have It!

Have you ever been appalled, or just otherwise annoyed, by the pathetic lack of streusel in an otherwise respectable-looking cinnamon streusel cake? If you're nodding your head right now, read on.

For the disappointed among us, here's an interestingly satisfying cake. It comes out looking very striped, with two pronounced layers of streusel--one in the middle and one on top. The recipe contains a full cup of chopped pecans, within the streusel layers only, but if you don't want to include nuts you can quite safely leave them out without harming the integrity, or the dignity for that matter, of your creation.

For the top I made a simple glaze of sifted confectioners' sugar, a few tablespoons of heavy cream (but you could use water or milk, if you prefer; the cream adds richness) and several judicious drops of almond extract. And while we're on the subject, I must tell you that I adore the smell of really high quality almond extract. It's just luscious.

In that same vein, I urge you to use the best cinnamon you can get your hands on for a cake like this, a cake whose whole focus and raison d'etre is the cinnamon. After trying a few brands, my personal favorite is Penzey's Extra Fancy Vietnamese Cassia. Yum. (Let me say that again for added emphasis . . . Yum.)

It's substantially more concentrated than the cheaper stuff and, like Penzey's almond extract, the scent of this cinnamon is out of this world. I mean like from another planet out of this world. Some really good planet, where the aliens bake incredible stuff, and probably even wear cute aprons.

Cinnamon Streusel Cake

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a ten-cup bundt pan (or use baking spray, which is a much easier tactic with this type of pan; it gets in all the pesky nooks and crannies, and never leaves that awful residue that regular cooking spray sometimes leaves on your good pans).

For the streusel:
1 cup AP flour
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tiny pinch of salt
1 tbsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup cold butter, cut into chunks
1 cup well-chopped pecans


For the cake:
2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups granulated sugar
2/3 cup of sour cream
4 large eggs
1 tbsp. of vanilla extract
2 cups AP flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda

For the streusel, mix flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add in the pecans. Set aside.

For the cake, in a large mixer bowl, beat the sugar, butter, and sour cream for a few minutes until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Scrape the bowl as needed. Beat in the vanilla.

Gradually beat in the flour and baking soda on low speed until blended. Scrape the bowl down to the bottom to make sure all the flour is mixed in.

Spread half of the streusel into the bundt pan, evenly all around. Pour/spoon half of the batter evenly over the streusel. Over that, sprinkle the other half of the streusel. Cover that carefully with the remaining half of the batter. Smooth the top.

Put it in the oven on the middle rack. Check it at about 45 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, cover it lightly with foil. Bake for about one hour total, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean (I like to check it with the toothpick in a few other spots too, just to be on the safe side).

Cool the cake in the pan for only ten minutes. Invert it onto a cooling rack to finish cooling. If you like, glaze the cake, but only after it is completely cooled.

For the glaze:

In a medium bowl, using about one and a half cups of sifted confectioners' sugar, stir in two to three tbsp. of heavy cream. Continue adding additional cream, just a teaspoon or so at a time, until the desired consistency is reached. Keep stirring until all lumps are removed and the glaze has achieved the texture you like. Want it thicker? Add more confectioners' sugar, a bit at a time. Flavor the glaze with almond extract or, if you prefer, with vanilla extract. Probably no more than 1/2 tsp. is needed at most, depending upon the strength of your extract and your own taste. Generously drizzle on the glaze, evenly all around, letting it drip down the sides of the cake.

Another glaze option is to add some cinnamon to the confectioners' sugar; mix the cinnamon into it really well before you add in the liquid. The piece of cake pictured just below has been glazed in this way and the very top of the cake was sprinkled with a tiny bit cinnamon sugar as an added garnish.

Now, before you slice the cake get out a really sharp knife. Why? Because the very top of your cake may have an especially firm toffee-like quality from the cooled caramelization of the brown sugar in that top streusel layer. It will seem especially hard and candy-like if you have not used nuts in the streusel. (The entire inside of the cake will be predictably perfect, tender, and soft though. Don't worry.) If you decide you don't like that hard aspect of the top crust, then alter your cake the next time you make it by distributing all of the streusel inside of the cake, with no streusel base-layer touching the bottom of the pan (thus no heavy carmelization will occur).

(I first saw this recipe on the McCormick Spice Company's website. I made a few minor adjustments to their formula, nothing major. What can I say about McCormick? That they have decent, affordable, everyday herbs and spices. And that's good because, let's face it, not every day can be a Penzey's day, right?)


(To comment on this post, or to read any existing comments, please click on the word "COMMENTS" just below.)

Today I told myself I would rest, but it didn't quite work out that way! I ended up going to the store, paying bills, doing some laundry and then heading to Picadilly to get "some annuals". I just planned on getting some for one pot (which I did) but I also ended up buying quite a few perennials and grasses that I have been looking at since March. I was teased mercilessly from my co-workers that I can't stay away.

I wasn't smart today and forgot to put sunscreen on so I can already feel pain in my shoulders. Breaking in the skin for the summer, I guess. I've been very good the past couple of years, but always seem to burn the first time!!

After planting today, and deciding what I'm going to put in a large spot that is in my front, I'll start taking pictures of the gardens. My backyard is pretty boring, because everything is very small, but I'm anxious to start keeping track of sizes, when I planted and compare to two to four years from now.

Brian and I had been planning on putting a water feature in a corner of our backyard, but after thinking about it for awhile, I figured it would be too far from where our deck is going to be, and the sound would be lost. So, I will be tagging a Pinus leuc. (heldreichi) 'Mint Truffle' Bosnian Pine to put in that corner so we have some constant green in the back yard since everything else is decidious. This type of bosnian pine has very dense foliage with inward curving branches so it will be perfect. I'm also interested in a dwarf spruce called, Picea pungens 'St. Mary's Broom'. It only gets 30"x30" and is great for the smaller places in my gardens that happens to be right up against my grass. I'll put this in front of some ornamental grasses that I have planted. I have a hard time paying the price for this specialty shrub (a whopping 80 bucks!) but since I'm winding down on purchasing this year, I guess I can splurge.

I have a few more things to plant on Friday, and then on to my vegetable garden on Sunday!! :)

Happy Mother's Day

I went to Target today and started to browse through the Happy Mother's Day cards that are prominently on display. I read through them, getting a bit teary eyed with some, snorting at others...but none of them said what I feel right at this time in my life. If I had a card written by Hallmark, for a daughter who thought she could have lost her mother this year...but was given more time it would say,

Mom,

I was reading through all of the Happy Mother's Day cards and even though they seemed sweet, and certainly said wonderful things...a huge part was missing. My sincere and deep gratitude for having you alive. Today.

7 months ago we got news of cancer, and that it was bad. I look back on the day with reeling emotions because although I tried not to think of death, it was heavy on my mind. All I could think about was how would I ever make it without you in my life? During my childhood to my growing up and having my own children, you have always been there for me. Through the pregnancy, and my wedding, through having three boys and the laughs, terrors and jitters that brings. Through the good times and the bad, we have remained best friends. I never thanked you enough for being home everyday so I could be safe with you after school. Thanks would never be enough for all of the sacrifices you made so we could attend recitals, plays, softball, youth group events. All of it was because of you. I truly believe an award should be handed to you for all that you have gone through these past months, and how you can still laugh and hope that life will be the same once all this is over. You are my hero. No one ever could measure up.

The thought of me trying to live a life fully without you is incomprehensible. I thank God every day that you are still here in my life. In two weeks, we hope to hear "remission". I cannot wait until we have another 34 years of life together as best friends.

I love you, mom.

Happy Mother's Day

Heather

This post is part of a world wide blogging tribute to Moms led by TheBlogFrog

Cookie Decorators Do What Comes Naturally . . .

It's been a while since I've embarked on making a big batch of decorated cookies, probably because it's a fairly time consuming endeavor, not to mention the fact that you need a generous space in which to lay everything out while you're working on them, along with a completely undisturbed spot in which to let the iced cookies dry. If you're like me, you don't have nearly enough room in your house to leave this sort of stuff just lying around for a couple of days. Space is at a severe premium in my household. (Let's call it the "bungalow syndrome.") In any case, though, I think I may be gearing up to create a batch any day now. I just have that . . . that. . . well, that feeling. Do you ever get that feeling? I know you do.

I've somehow managed to accumulate a hefty stockpile of tin/aluminum and copper cookie cutters over the last couple of years. Deciding which ones to use is part of the initial dilemma when you undertake a decorating project. There are so many designs and cutters to choose from. It seems best, though, to focus on only a few at a time so you can really concentrate on getting things to look just the way you want. And, this approach allows you to try numerous icing variations on each cut-out you've selected.

Though not critical, it can be fun and helpful to choose a theme when you're planning what you'll do. For example, you might want to zero in exclusively on sports cookies, seasonal cookies, apparel cookies, baby/wedding cookies, animal cookies, flower cookies, etc. The options are pretty broad. As the cliche goes--most cliches being true--you're limited only by your own imagination. So, feel free to fire up your imagination and put your spatula in gear.



Once you become addicted to this type of cookie decorating, and you've indulged in the inevitable urge to buy unique and unusual cutters, there is no turning back. I only wish I could afford to buy many more of the big sturdy copper cutters that are available primarily through websites; they're great, but they don't come cheap. Their appeal lies not only in the fact that they're rigid and made to last, but copper cutters are also charmingly pretty and shiny. One good source for these is CopperGifts.com. Stores like Williams Sonona and Sur la Table sell them too, but my impression has been that their selection can't begin to compete with the sources you can find online. Local cake decorating stores usually carry a pretty good selection of smaller aluminum cutters. (In my neck of the woods, near Detroit that is, Heinrich's and Baker's Delight are two such stores that are worth visiting for cutters.) You can even find places that will make custom copper cutters in the shapes and sizes that you want but, again, that type of thing requires some serious cash.


It's a wise idea to look at images of decorated cookies online, and/or in books, to get interesting ideas before you actually haul out all your supplies. Check out a few sites like Rolling Pin Productions, or Knead a Cookie for inspiration, and don't be intimidated by their more elaborate designs. Perhaps my favorite book dedicated to cookies like this is Cookie Craft, by Peterson and Fryer. The text is extremely encouraging and makes the whole endeavor seem completely approachable, the designs are cute, and the recipes are reliable. Hey, any girl worth her salt can teach herself to make cute, colorful, appetizing cookies (boys, too--I'm not sexist).

In starting a big batch of decorator cookies, keep in mind that the cookies themselves can--and for the sake of your sanity really should--be baked ahead of time. If very carefully packed, they can even be frozen until you're ready to use them. In my experience the quality of the cookies doesn't suffer at all, once defrosted, if you've wrapped them extremely well to start with. Baking the cookies ahead of time makes sense not only because it saves time and stress, but also because these are not the sort of cookies that dry out quickly since they don't have much moisture to start with. They are quite firm and thus are remarkably durable, provided you've used a recipe expressly formulated for just this type of cookie (I highly recommend the dough recipes in the book Cookie Craft, mentioned above).























In terms of icing, I think that Toba Garrett's glace icing recipe is exceptionally good. She's a legendary decorator-cookie maven and her basic recipes have been widely disseminated on the internet. Just search on a term like 'Toba Garrett's glace' and you'll get a lot of hits. Though glace takes significantly longer to dry than royal icing, it is--in my opinion--far prettier when it's dry and it tastes delicious, much better than royal icing tastes. It's definitely worth a try if you're never given it a whirl. Royal icing has its own qualities, though, so don't ever make the mistake of writing it off completely. Cindy, my first cake and cookie decorating teacher, does wonderful, innovative things with royal icing and she prefers it. It's just a matter of personal preference.


So go ahead, choose your recipes, your cutters, clear your space, pull out your supplies, and do what comes naturally. And whatever you do decide to do, always remember that perfection in cookie decorating is not the true aim. Enjoyment is the aim. (Repeat after me, "Enjoyment is the aim." Very good. Keep saying that.) Go with the flow. After all, they're only cookies. Or, as Cindy might reassuringly comment to her students as they struggle to get the hang of a technique in her cake/cookie decorating classes, "It's only sugar, ladies. It's not the end of the world." I second that. It's about as far from "the end of the world" as one can get. Hey, that gives me an idea . . . how about a cookie decorated to look like a globe? A relief map? A crystal ball? A gypsy fortune teller? A soothsayer? Etc., etc., and so on, and so forth . . . you get the idea.

Waiting time

I was lucky enough to go and visit my parents yesterday for about four hours. Mom is doing pretty good. Even though she doesn't feel great, her spirits are higher. It's because she knows she's done! We talked of eating steaks and salads and hopefully celebrating her "birthday"...which is day one of remission. Mom has her CT Scan on Thursday, and then in two weeks she'll have her CA125 results. If the scan looks good and her numbers went down, they should give us the good news. With the way the numbers have been going, and the fact the treatments seem to be working, dad and I figure her CA125 number should be at 11. It's going to be a long two weeks to hear that number!

We then talked about mom continuing her Avastin trial (if it is, indeed, Avastin) and other options that might be coming up in other trials. Most importantly, we talked about getting her strength up because she is so weak. The prayers seem to be working...mom and dad seem to be getting along well. I thank you so much for all of your thoughts! I promise I will let you know the results as soon as they come in.

I've been bad...

or is it good? Went to Picadilly on my day off to add to my collection. I've been eyeing the Peonies for weeks. I just HAD to get one for my front gardens. I'm still deciding if that's what I want growing just on the other side of my deck, or to mix it up with other things. I have to see the size of the deck and what the sunlight will be like once it is up before making my mind up.

Here is the Peony I just bought.

Paeonia Karl Rosenfield

I also am starting my vine collection to add height to my backyard gardens. I bought the Shiro Bana Akebia which has beautiful foliage that rises up, up and up some more with white flowers that smell like chocolate in the spring!

In front of my Amur Maple that doesn't grow much directly from the ground, but on upper branches, I wanted some instant color to look at when I'm in my kitchen, so I picked the Homerun roses that are very disease and mildew resistant. Blooms are incredible red from late spring until fall.

I then was talking to my boss about wanting some beautiful vines (clematis, climbing roses, wisteria, etc.) and he told me to grab the climbing hydrangea that doesn't sell well because it needs to be planted and doesn't show a lot of growth in a pot. The climbing hydrangea takes 3-5 years to really get going, but once it does, watch out!! Covered in hydrangea blossoms with fantastic foliage...and isn't scared of the sun. The best part...it was FREE!! Hey, I can be patient when it's free!

Lastly, I bought a the 'Golden Carousel" barberry that is electric chartreuse during the spring and summer, and then changes to multiple colors in the fall. I fell in love with it last fall, but was afraid to plant that one late. It also will go in the backyard...After looking up pics on line, there just isn't any pictures to do this plant justice.

With weather being rainy off and on today and tomorrow, I probably won't get to planting these until Monday. Which is fine, since it's closer to Mother's Day no frost zone. I told you I was impatient!! Pretty soon I'll invite you all over to see what's been planted. May is always a fun time to stroll around...but I know Brian wants his grass to look better before there is any strolling at all. The boys' high traffic playing football has slowed a lot of the growth, and the dog's urine has not helped any. Thank goodness for a slow spring to help it dig it's roots in.

Next weekend...planting my veggies on Mother's Day with my boys! :)

Fantastic news

Mom had her CA125 test results come back yesterday, and the number is.....



Wait for it....






14!!
Now, remember...she had the last chemo on Wednesday, so they'll take another test in three weeks to see what her numbers are.

Please pray for mom and dad to be able to do this last one. I will be able to go over to mom and dad's house on Sunday it looks like, so that will give them the break they need. Both are worn out, both are having cabin fever, and both are driving each other crazy. Pray that they might have some time to themselves after this is all done (I mean away from each other...ha ha) and then have the heart grow fonder and all of that. Mom's talking about going to visit her sister in St. Louis, and dad's talking about going to his reunion in August. A nice break for the both of them.