the case of the sinking streusel

When I think of a streusel topping, an image of a crumbly, golden brown sprinkling of absolute delight promptly comes to mind.


Well, it promptly comes to mind right after this:


By definition, a streusel is a crumbly mixture of fat, sugar, and flour and sometimes nuts and spices that is used as topping or filling for cake. So naturally, that's what I was expecting to see when pulled my coffee cake muffins with a streusel topping out of the oven, but it's not what I got. Nope, I got something far more exciting--craters!


My guess is that because the proportion of sugar-to-flour was so lopsided, the sugar overwhelmed the binding power of the flour (hee--that rhymes) and that resulted in those sunken pits of caramelized goodness. Whatever the reason, you'll find no complaints here. In addition to that sweet surprise, the muffin itself was quite lovely--light, moist, and spicy, full of nutty crunches and fruity chews.


Bonus--Eb got a workout.

Cratered Coffee Cake
(adapted from this recipe)

2 cups starter (hello, Eb!)
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon (don't you judge me)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup dried cranberries

Pseudo-streusel:
1 cup packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon (I repeat, don't you dare judge me)
1/4 cup margarine

Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and lightly flour a 9x13-inch baking pan, line a muffin tin with cups, or spray down your silicone baking molds.
In a large bowl, stir together the starter, oil, eggs, and sugar. In a smaller bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir in the pecans and cranberries and toss to coat. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix well; break up any flour clumps that form. Pour into the prepared pan(s) and sprinkle with the topping (see below).

To make the pseudo-streusel, combine the brown sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a mixing bowl. Cut in the margarine until the mixture resembles very coarse crumbs.

For a cake, bake the batter for 30-40 minutes. For muffins, bake 20-25 minutes. For mini muffins, bake 15-18 minutes. Test with a toothpick for best results, but be sure to test the muffin part and not the caramel caverns.


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And hey--don't forget about the giveaway!