Cinnamon Coffee Cake

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He who goes to bed hungry dreams of pancakes. ~ Maltese Proverb

I made Cinnamon Coffee Cake today. I normally make cakes at least once a week for breakfast and snacks for the boys. Ben likes cakes with coffee in the mornings too. It goes very well with coffee.

Cinnamon is a small evergreen tree 10-15 m tall native to Sri Lanka and Southern India. The bark is widely used as a spice. It is principally employed in cookery as a condiment and flavouring material, being largely used in the preparation of some kinds of desserts, chocolate and spicy candies and liqueurs. In the Middle East, it is often used in savory dishes of chicken and lamb. In North America, cinnamon and sugar are often used to flavor cereals and fruits, especially apples.

To prepare the cinnamon coffee cake, I use the following ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (if using self-rising, eliminate next 2 ingredients)
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts (or pecans if you prefer)
• 1 stick margarine or butter, melted
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup sour cream

In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, salt, and baking powder.

Stir in walnuts.

In other bowl, beat butter or margarine and sugar, by hand, until smooth. Mix eggs, vanilla and sour cream into butter/sugar mixture.

Pour the mixture all at one time into dry mix and stir until well mixed. Pour into a greased 9" baking pan.

For the toppings, I used the following ingredients: 1/2 cup packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons flour 2 tablespoons butter or margarine cut into small pieces 1 tablespoon cinnamon. Rub with fingers until texture resembles cornmeal. Sprinkle crumble topping evenly on cake mixture. Lightly swirl knife through mixture.

Bake 30-35 minutes in a preheated oven at 375 degrees Celcius or until cake pulls away from side of pan.