When I woke up this morning the windows were iced over once again, and there is another 3” of fresh snow on top of the dirty gray snow that has been piling up over the last 2 months. I feel like this winter will never end, and as I make a pot of coffee I realize its going to be another depressing day and I’ll need to cheer myself up before heading out into the cold. I think a good old-fashioned cinnamon coffee cake should do the trick!

In addition to being quick and easy to make, this recipe will fill your home with the scent of cinnamon and nutmeg, and hot slice topped with a swirl of vanilla glaze is the perfect accompaniment to your morning coffee!

Ingredients:

The cake:

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract works too)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons 1 % milk

Streusel topping:

1 ¾ cup all purpose flour
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 ½ sticks unsalted butter (butter must be cold)

For the glaze:

1 cup powdered sugar
2 tablespoons cream or milk (I used 1% milk and it still came out right!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla bean paste (vanilla extract works too)

Instructions

Preheat the over to 350 ºF. Butter a 9-inch cake pan and set aside.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars. Add the eggs and vanilla paste to the butter mixture and blend until fully incorporated. Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until just combined. Add the Greek yogurt and mix until just incorporated, about a minute or so.

In a separate bowl combine the ingredients for the streusel and using a fork or pastry cutter, cut in the cold butter until you have a crumbly mixture. Pour half of the batter into the buttered cake pan and smooth it out to cover the bottom. Sprinkle 1/2 of the streusel mixture on top of the batter and then cover with the remaining batter. Sprinkle the remaining streusel on top of the batter.

Place the cake pan into the oven and bake for 50-60 minutes until a toothpick can be inserted into the center and it comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow the cake to cool completely.

In a small bowl mix together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until smooth, and drizzle over the cooled cake and serve with a glass of cold milk or a cup of hot coffee. Cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.