Mocha Crumb Cake...Quick and Easy Dessert

Mocha Crumb Cake...Quick and Easy Dessert. I made this cake some time ago, and never posted it until now. I sort of felt the photos didn't do the cake justice....lighting wasn't right that day. And by looking at it, you'd probably agree that it really isn't much of a cake. But this cake was really good...granted it was a simple cake. It's one of those cakes that can be whipped up in no time... with basic ingredients. And I just love that....just because sometimes you need a quick cake dessert that can be made with available pantry items....ok, maybe you might also need a bit of butter, milk, and an egg:). But they're items most of us usually have in the house.

When I first saw this cake posted on One Perfect Bite, I thought it would be worth trying... just because I loved the simplicity of the recipe, and because I'd never made a chocolate cake with a chocolate crumb topping before. I've made plenty of cakes, muffins, pies, and bars with all sorts of crumb toppings...but never a chocolate crumb. So, I thought the idea was really neat and bookmarked it. I made the cake... and my husband and I just loved it.

I'll admit the cake isn't fancy at all... just a chocolate cake. But the mocha flavor and crumb topping bring it up a notch....making an ordinary chocolate cake into something....well, really good. And the really neat thing is that when you need a quick dessert...this recipe comes in handy. It definitely beats using a cake mix. The cake has the right amount of sweetness...not overly sweet and would go extremely well with ice cream. A dusting of icing sugar will also work just as well...or even a drizzle of coffee flavored icing. Not a heavy dessert at all...a light and tender sort of cake.

The cake also freezes very well, but then most cakes do:)... nevertheless, it's still nice to be able to do so. While the original recipe has you bake the cake in an 8 inch pan, I chose to bake mine in 4 small tart pans, about 4 inch in diameter. I would like to make it in an 8 inch pan as well....probably get a bit more height.

Because my husband quite liked this cake, I am posting it as a reference for myself and for those of you who would like to give it a try. Hope you enjoy...

Tip: You can easily add some mini chocolate chips to the crumb topping... or nuts, or dried fruit, etc.

You will need: adapted from One Perfect Bite and from a collection of Starbucks recipes( or Starbucks copycat recipes...not exactly sure)

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2/3 cup granulated sugar

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa( I used dark)

1 tablespoon instant coffee granules*

pinch of salt

1/4 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/3 cup milk

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

1 TBS water( you could use a bit of coffee as well, I used some Irish Cream)

powdered sugar, for dusting or making glaze

*I ground some whole coffee beans into a fine powder and used that instead of the instant...

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degs F. Coat an 8-inch round pan with a bit of butter( I used 4 small tart pans). Set aside.

2. Spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level it off. In a mixing bowl, combine and whisk the flour, sugar, cocoa, coffee and salt. Cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles a coarse meal...

Reserve 1/2 cup flour mixture for topping, and set aside.

3. Combine remaining flour mixture, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk together until combined.

4. Add milk, vanilla, and egg. Beat at medium speed of a mixer until blended....I just used a fork to combine everything.

5. Spoon batter into an 8-inch round cake pan or smaller pans.

6. Combine the reserved 1/2 cup flour mixture and water; stir with a fork.

7. Sprinkle crumb mixture over batter.

8. Bake at 350º deg F. for about 30 minutes or when cake springs back and toothpick comes out clean. If using smaller pans, the time is close to 15 minutes(my oven).

9. Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm....plain, with a dusting of powdered sugar, a mocha icing, or with some ice cream.