Pumpkin Yogurt Crunch Cake

Things have been really busy around here so far this year. Lots of visits with kids and grandkids, with more to come, lots of poring over seed catalogs and gardening books, and lots of cooking.

Lately I have not felt that a lot of the recipes I’ve worked on have been blog-worthy. I have a certain standard in mind for what I share here, and while I have some good ideas that I am working on, not many of them have gotten to the point where they are ready for prime-time.

This cake is a huge exception to that, however. It is perfect for this non-wintry winter we’ve been having, with bright, happy flavors, and some nice touches of warm spices.

And the crunch part. You saw the crunch part, right? That is really sublime, that crunch part.

I guess you could call this a coffee cake – the method and some of the ingredients certainly fit what is often called coffee cake. To me, though, it’s too good to relegated to the early part of the day, when most people would probably serve a coffee cake – you should have it for breakfast, lunch and dinner, as far as I’m concerned! Pumpkin Yogurt Crunch Cake is not terribly sweet, but incredibly moist and a bit dense, and utterly satisfying.

I make this in a 10 inch spring-form pan on Amazon.com, but it could be baked in a couple of 9 x 5 loaf pans, or 2 8 inch round cake pans. Just make sure that you butter and flour them well, so that the cake slips right out.

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Pumpkin Yogurt Crunch Cake

It is best if all ingredients are at room temperature before you begin.

Author: Donalyn Ketchum

Recipe type: Cake, Coffee Cake

Serves: 12 servings

Prep time:  20 mins

Cook time:  60 mins

Total time:  1 hour 20 mins

Ingredients

The Filling and Topping

• 4 ounces softened butter
• ¾ cup of light brown sugar
• ¾ cup white all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• pinch of salt
• ½ cup pecans, toasted and chopped pretty finely

The Cake

• 2¾ cups all purpose white flour
• 3 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup greek yogurt
• 1 cup canned pumpkin [not the pie mix]
• 4 ounces butter, melted

Instructions

1. Butter and flour a 10 inch spring-form pan. preheat the oven to 360º

The Filling and Topping

1. Place all of the topping ingredients in a medium bowl, and use a pastry cutter, or just your fingers, to mix everything together really well. The mixture will be crumbly with big lumps. Set aside.

The Cake

1. Measure the flour, baking powder, salt and spices in a medium mixing bowl, and whisk together until thoroughly combined, and set aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and brown sugar, until smooth.
3. Whisk in the vanilla, then the yogurt, and then finally the pumpkin.
4. Empty the flour mixture into the wet ingredients, and fold together with a rubber scraper, or a large wooden spoon, until completely combined. You don't want any dry spots of flour.
5. Scrape half of the batter into the prepared pan, and level out.
6. Sprinkle half of the filling and topping mixture even over the batter.
7. Scrape the remaining batter over the filling, and careful level it, take care not to disturb the filling too much.
8. Sprinkle the remaining topping evenly on the batter.
9. Bake in the preheated oven for about 60 to 65 minutes, turning twice to ensure even baking. Check for done-ness after 55 minutes - a toothpick or skewer inserted near the center, should have no more than a few moist crumbs on it.
10. When the cake tests done, remove it to a wire rack, and cool for 5 minutes.
11. If using a springform pan, carefully run an offset spatula, or butter knife around the edge of the pan to loosen the cake. Carefully remove the ring from the pan, and continue to cool the cake on the rack. For other types of pans, allow to cool about 15 minutes before loosening sides with a butter knife, and removing to a cooling rack. If you have to turn the cake upside-down to get it out of the pan, some of the topping may fall off, but just sprinkle it back over the top.
12. Serve slightly warm, or at room temperature. You can have it with whipped, lightly sweetened cream, vanilla ice cream, butter, or just plain.
13. Leftovers can be kept at room temperature for several days, but the cake should refrigerated for longer storage than that. Can be frozen.

3.5.3208

Yum

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