chocolate cinnamon coffee cake

Have I mentioned yet that I am convinced Mark Bittman is a Baking God? So far, everything I have made out of his cookbook, "How to Cook Everything", has been a hit. So it is no wonder that this coffee cake came out realllllly delicious, too.

The walnuts were chopped up, and then drenched in this flour, cinnamon sugar, and butter mixture. This recipe didn't have chocolate chips in it, but I decided to add them because I was in the mood for chocolate. And I am so glad I did because the chocolate part of the coffee cake got rave reviews.

Ohhhh....the cookbook kind of has an eerie glow to it, huh? Maybe it was because I baked this around 1am. For the record, baking after midnight is the best time to bake. The kitchen is free and cleaned, and I get to bake in my PJs...aka U of M PJ-shorts and an old running t-shirt from the high school days. This way, I don't get flour on my clothes for the day. Because who cares if I go to bed with flour and chocolate drippings all over my t-shirt? :)

Quick Coffee Cake
From Mark Bittman's "How to Cook Anything"

1 stick butter
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 cups walnuts or pecans
2 tsp. baking powder
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan. Combine 3 tbsp. of flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 1 tsp. of cinnamon, and 3 tbsp. butter with the nuts. Set aside.

Combine remaining 2 cups of flour, the baking powder, salt, adn the remaining 1/2 cup or sugar, 1 tsp. of cinnamon, and 5 tbsp. of the butter, cut into bits, in a bowl. Mix well with a fork or electric mixer until all of the flour is coated with some of the butter.

Still on low speed, beat the egg into the butter-flour mixture, then the milk until blended. Pour half the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle over it about half the streusel mixture. Sprinkle chocolate chips over streusel. Add the remaining batter, then the remaining streusel.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Devour.