Cinnamon Buttermilk Coffeecake

Cinnamon Buttermilk Coffee Cake

You'll rise and shine really fast once that fragrant cinnamony smell wafts through the air from the oven. The great thing about Cinnamon Buttermilk Coffee Cake is that it bursts with flavor and so easy to make. The addition of buttermilk makes the cake moist.  Another great thing about this recipe is most of the ingredients are readily available at home. A perfect afternoon snack, a breakfast pastry, or an after-dinner dessert! 

A word about Saigon Cinnamon -- sometimes referred to as Vietnamese cinnamon  has some distinctive characteristics that set it apart from the other cinnamon varieties. The flavor is more intense than regular ground cinnamon so you would use less than regular cinnamon. It will not surprise you that I am a huge fan of this spice as it's an ingredient regularly included in my recipes and it enhances a lot of dishes.
Ingredients: 

• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup butter
• 2 large eggs 
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon vanilla 
• 2 cups sifted flour 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda 
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon Saigon or 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Streusel Topping

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 1/3 cup cold butter
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon or 1 tablespoon Saigon cinnamon 
• 1 cup walnut pieces

Streusel Directions:

• Cut butter into small pieces. In a food processor add butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and walnuts. Pulse a few times to blend and refrigerate for 30 minutes. 

Cake Batter Directions:  

• Grease a metal 8 x 8 pan and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 
• In a small bowl sift dry ingredients. In a larger bowl cream butter, sugar, and then egg and vanilla. Alternate adding dry ingredients with buttermilk into the cake batter. 
• Recrumble streusel topping. 
• Place half the batter into the pan and sprinkle with half of the streusel mixture.  
• Spread the remaining batter over the top and add the rest of the streusel mixture. Use a sheet of wax paper to press the cake mixture down into the pan. Remove the wax paper and bake for 28 minutes.