The Best Coffee Cake You'll Ever Have

How insanely delicious does this coffee cake look?! Having a piece of coffee cake with a strong cup of coffee is one of life's simple pleasures. Wouldn't you love to whip one up on a lazy Saturday morning? Sarah and Dulcie from Two Tarts have agreed to reveal their killer coffee cake recipe with a surprising ingredient...

The Best Coffee Cake You'll Ever Have
By Sarah Welle and Dulcie Wilcox of Two Tarts—and founders of the new Colorado Crafted, an online shop of gift boxes of hard-to-find artisan foods in Colorado.

How lovely it is to live in a world where it is perfectly acceptable to eat cake first thing in the morning. We are not sure how or when a cake topped with streusel became breakfast fare, but we are not here to argue. Rather, we are here to introduce you to our new favorite coffee cake—dotted with raspberries and scented of almonds —with the hopes that you will continue this tradition of cake for breakfast.

Many coffee cakes are made with things we don't often have on hand, such as sour cream or buttermilk, but this coffeecake is made with kitchen staples—butter, brown sugar, almonds, frozen berries. A splash of almond extract is our secret ingredient, and it complements the raspberries perfectly. We're all accustomed to the taste of vanilla extract in our baked goods, so swapping in almond extract adds a new level of flavor that people can't quite put their finger on. They just know they like it!

Recipe: Raspberry Almond Coffee Cake
Adapted from Joy of Cooking

You'll need:
For the streusel topping:
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 tbsp. butter

For the cake:
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup sugar
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
5 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. almond extract
1 cup frozen raspberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

To make the streusel topping: In a small bowl, combine almonds, brown sugar and 3 tablespoons butter. Using your fingers, work the butter into the sugar and almonds until blended.

To make the cake: Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the 5 tablespoons of butter. Using either your fingers, a pastry blender or two knives, work the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Don't allow the butter to melt or form a blended paste with the flour.

In another bowl, whisk together the egg, milk and almond extract. Pour over the flour mixture, and stir until just barely combined. Add the frozen berries, and fold in until just mixed through.

Spoon batter into prepared loaf pan. Top with the streusel topping, distributing evenly. Bake for about 55 to 60 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack for ten minutes.