A bright white plate speckled with yellow crumbs houses an unassuming slice of breakfast originating from a ring of swirled decadence.

I am not sure who decided to put the word ‘coffee’ in front of the word ‘cake’, but this kind soul revolutionized acceptable breakfast foods and helped rid the world of unnecessary judgment. Hats off.

Cake is good. But cake baked with layers of chocolate streusel is better. Every forkful contains subtle nuances of flavorful ambiance, delicate in sweetness yet rich in comfort.

Even if coffee is not your hot beverage of choice, grab your favorite cow coffee mug, fill it with something soothing, and cozy up with a slice of this cunning cake any time of day.

Chocolate Streusel Coffee Cake

Streusel
¾ Cup Flour
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1 Tbs. Cocoa Powder
½ Cup Cold Butter
4 Graham Crackers

¾ Cup Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (Optional)

Mix together the flour, sugar, and cocoa powder
Crush the Graham Crackers into the mixture, leaving nice sized chunks for a satisfying crunch
Cut the cold butter in with the topping
Set aside

Cake
1 ½ Sticks Butter, Room Temperature
2 Cups Sugar
2/3 Cup Vanilla Greek Yogurt
4 Eggs
2 Tsp. Vanilla
2 Cups Flour
¼ Tsp. Baking Soda
½ Tsp. Salt

Cream together the butter, Greek yogurt, and sugar
Add the vanilla followed by the eggs, one at a time
In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt
Gently incorporate the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, being mindful not to over mix (whatever the heck that means)

Come Together
Preheat oven to 325°F
Generously butter a Bundt cake pan
Sprinkle half of the streusel topping into the bottom of the pan (which is actually the top of the cake…  it’s crazy!)
Using a rubber spatula, heft globs of the cake batter on top of the first layer of streusel, using just shy of half the batter
Dot the top with leftover chocolate cream cheese frosting
Cover that with the remainder of the streusel
Spread the rest of the cake batter on top in an even layer
Bake for 1 hour, or until a butter knife comes out clean

Allow to cool before inverting the Bundt onto a plate or platter

The exterior of the cake along with the graham crackers gives the cake a pleasant crunch, while the cake stays tender and the inside layer offers richness from the baked-in frosting.

At this time, a simple glaze could be whisked together and drizzled on top to up the elegance – and sugar – level. I made the decision to opt out of that addition because lazy, but also because the extra effort in this instance would be an unnecessary, albeit delicious, bonus.

Plus I am all out of powdered sugar! So maybe next time…

Recipe adapted from Cinnamon Streusel Bundt Cake