Thread by @lifesafeast

An excellent Chocolate Chip Streusel Coffee Cake recipe for the equally excellent @IAmJohnAles

Quick, easy, marvelous. The best coffee cake you'll ever eat; I've been making this for a very, very long time.

Light & fluffy cake, not too sweet, a crunchy streusel topping.

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Mine is studded with mini chocolate chips & chopped pecans or walnuts.

But you can change it up by adding or replacing chips & nuts with flaked coconut, slivered almonds, or fresh cranberries. Or just leave the streusel topping as is, by itself

Ready?

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INGREDIENTS streusel topping

2 tablespoons (30 grams) cold unsalted butter
2 tablespoons flour
5 tablespoons brown sugar, I use granulated/Cassonade or packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ to ½ cup mini-chocolate chips (I personally prefer ¼ cup)

MORE

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½ cup coarsely chopped pecans or walnuts
optional or trade-outs:
½ cup sweetened, flaked coconut
½ cup slivered almonds
(since it’s cranberry season, you can replace the chocolate chips with about 1 cup or a bit more fresh cranberries)

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INGREDIENTS cake batter

1 ½ cups (200 grams) flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (60 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/3 cup (75 grams) sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup (150 ml) milk

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Prepare the streusel topping: Put the butter, flour, cinnamon & sugar in a bowl and, using your fingertips, rub everything together until well blended, there are no more lumps of butter, and crumbs form. Try to break up clumps. Alternately, put the ingredients in a small

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robot mixer & whiz until well-blended & crumbs form.

If you like, toss the chocolate chips & pecans (or other ingredients) into the streusel. Alternately, you can sprinkle them on the cake separately.

Place the streusel in the refrigerator to chill while you preheat

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the oven & make the cake batter.

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C) - today my oven baked it at 350°F (180°C). Don’t even ask…

Grease (with butter) an 8 1/2-inch (22 cm) round springform pan - or a 9 x 9-inch (23 x 23 cm) square pan or similar.

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Prepare the cake :

In a small bowl, stir the flour, baking powder & salt together.

In a larger mixing bowl, cream the butter & sugar together on low or medium-low speed (so bits of butter don’t fly) until the sugar is all blended into the butter & the mixture is smooth;

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this takes a minute or 2. Add the egg & vanilla and beat well on medium-low until smooth & creamy and there are no more butter clumps.

Now beat in the dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with the milk in 2 additions. Scrape down the sides and beat for another

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minute until smooth & very creamy. The batter will be a bit thicker than a normal cake batter.

Scrape & spread the batter evenly in the pan.

Sprinkle on the streusel topping evenly across the batter and all the way to the edges. Or you can sprinkle on half the

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chips & nuts, then the streusel, then the rest of the chips & nuts.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes until a tester inserted in the center all through the cake comes out clean (except for the chocolate in the streusel which may cling to it). This time, my oven

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refused to go above 350°F (180°C) and the cake baked about 30 minutes but check regularly starting at about 20 minutes as cooking time may vary depending on pan & oven. The cake will be risen, the streusel browned & firm but not burned. Carefully (chocolate chips

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burn fingers) & gently press in the center of the cake slightly to see if it’s set then stick in the tester.

Remove from the oven onto a rack & let cool in the pan for 10 - 15 minutes.

Gently loosen & remove the ring from the springform - have a knife ready to slide

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between streusel/cake & pan if it sticks - and allow to finish cooling on the pan bottom or before sliding or lifting it carefully off the bottom & onto a cooling rack to finish cooling and then onto a serving platter.

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This cake is hard to resist and loved by all, including my persnickety son who does not have a sweet tooth and my team of French employees 😉.

You now know what to do: share a photo of it on Twitter when you make and tag me. Also share the recipe with your followers...