Recently I posted about how I missed Fall and was hoping to see some of my old friend soon. Well, the universe heeded my call and has brought about a good few days of rain and some cooler temperatures. We still haven't seen frost, but the neighboring counties to the North have and I am fully embracing the refreshing cooler temperatures. Adding to that, last night I noticed a decent (ie: annoying) pain in my upper left part of my head and thought maybe I could take some aspirin and get some sleep and it would be better. Well, I woke up this morning to the same pain, same place, same annoyance. So, I can safely assume my fall allergies are making themselves at home in my body. I will let you know in a few days if I have to carry my eye drops and tissues in my purse just to survive the day.

To celebrate, or divert my attention from the pain, I decided it was high time I made one of my fall favorites: coffee cake. My husband participates in the Steemit Talk Podcast and I have been promising some yummy baked goods for him to take for snacks for the past 2 months or so. Today I made good on that promise. Unfortunately, I did not plan my morning appropriately and ended up having to interrupt their podcast, but at the same time I was honored to see all of the work and process they go through to put together such an awesome production every week. Seriously, if you haven't had the chance, go check them out. They have so much content and user participation that I just see all of the amazing things about Steemit rolled into one thing there.

^{This KitchenAid mixer has been the gift that keeps on giving for the past 4 years. Thanks again @quantumanomaly!}

So, as promised, I am posting the recipe to the coffee cake I baked and including some of the process behind the baking. I like this recipe because it is a nice incentive to actually get the kitchen clean when you have been putting it off, and it makes enough to share with all your friends or neighbors. It does take about an hour to bake, so it's perfect time to put the house back in order after making it a mess or just sitting down and reading a nice book with a cup o' joe while you wait for the cake to bake.

First off, the recipe. I use the King Arthur recipe. There are actually three separate recipes to put the entire cake together. One for the streusel topping, one for the filling, and one for the cake itself. I recommend putting the streusel and filling together first and getting them out of the way. Each of them are short and easy and you can put them out of the way until the cake batter is completed.

Oven should be preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Lightly butter/grease a 9x13 pan.

The topping:

1.25 cups granulated sugar
0.25 teaspoon of salt (if using unsalted butter)
1.5 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter.

The filling:

1 cup brown sugar
1.5 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder

The cake batter:

.75 cup butter
1 teaspoon salt
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
(Mix all of this together first)
3 large eggs (Add to sugar and butter mixture one at a time)
.75 cup of sour cream (or plain yogurt) I used sour cream
1.25 cups of milk
3.75 cups of flour.

For the topping, mix all of the dry ingredients first then add the butter. It will be clumpy, so don't worry if it isn't a consistent texture.

For the filling, just mix all the ingredients together in a separate bowl like the topping. It will be fine and powdery in texture. Set both bowls aside until the batter is done.

The batter is where it gets tricky. The first seven ingredients all go in the mixer and blend together no problem. Unless you need to enlist the help of your significant other to literally wrench off the lid to the vanilla extract. Then, mix the sour cream and milk together separately. Then you have to alternate between adding the flour and the dairy mixture to the sugar and butter mixture. I add about a cup of flour, then about a third of the the dairy mixture until the entire 3.75 cups of flour and 2 cups of dairy mixture is added.

^{@quantumanomaly to the rescue once again!}

Now it gets pretty simple. Add half of the cake batter to your pan. Throw in your filling then add the rest of your cake batter and spread the filling around with a knife. Add your topping and press the topping in as much as possible. You will have more than enough of each the filling and the topping, so don't worry about being neat or perfect . This cake is a messy process to build and eat; just go with it. I do tend to only use the 1/4 cup measuring cup and .5 teaspoon measuring spoon to eliminate the amount of dishes, but you're gonna be doing some cleaning up either way. Luckily you'll have an hour before the cake is done to put the kitchen back in place and you'll have a tasty treat as a reward.

^{After I mixed all the filling inside the cake.}

^{Topping pressed down to maximize streusel deliciousness.}

Now, place your cake in the oven for 55-70 minutes. Mine ended up being around 70 minutes because my oven isn't great, but the recipe online calls for 55-60 minutes tops. Either way, you can use a knife (this cake is too deep for a toothpick) to cut to the bottom and check to make sure the batter is cooked all the way through. In the mean time, clean the kitchen, enjoy a good book, take a bath, or just enjoy the smell of brown sugar and cinnamon infesting your house.

^{Twist the trusty penguin timer as far as it will go!}

^{Look at those scrumptious layers.}

^{You really can't have too much cinnamon.}

When it's done, share with everyone you can. It may not get rid of your headache, but this kind of joy deserves to spread among the world. Also, I feel like I should warn you, this cake will be dense and heavy to lift out of the oven, be careful!

Thanks again to @giftedgaia, @sykochica, @winstonwolfe, and @quantumanomaly for being such kind and gracious people and putting together the Steemit Talk Podcast every week. I promise next time I will plan more efficiently and if I do interrupt I will make sure my phone is on silent before I come inside. Also, to everyone that was in the chat room, you are all awesome as well. I look forward to seeing you all every week during the podcast.

Thanks for reading and I am so glad to be a part of such a wonderful community. If you love sharing recipes or stories, please reply or follow me. I love making new friends online and hearing all of your experiences with Steemit and life in general.

All pictures are my own.