Our girl Sarah from Offbeat + Inspired is back this month with an amazingly delicious recipe for Lemon-Basil Whole Wheat Coffee Cake. Yeah, you heard that right- sounds incredible right? It’s the perfect summertime variation on coffee cake, which happens to be one of my kids’ favorite foods!
Take it away Sarah!
They say breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and luckily many breakfast foods are basically cake. Ergo, the most important meal of the day is cake. Flawless logic, right? I’m not quite sure how muffins, pancakes and coffee cake made the cut when it came to deciding which foods were socially acceptable to eat first thing in the morning, but hey, I’m not arguing.
This Lemon-Basil Whole Wheat Coffee Cake has all the fixings of a decadent treat, but you can get away with enjoying it any time of day. It’s topped with buttery, sugary crumbles and has a layer of creamy and tart lemon curd. Fresh basil and lemon zest give it a bright pop of flavor that’s perfect for the summer months. It’s also made with whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt, so you can feel even better about eating cake for breakfast.
[Recipe at the bottom!]
Lemon-Basil Whole Wheat Coffee Cake
Adapted from Food Network
Topping
¾ cup whole wheat flour
2/3 cup brown sugar
½ teaspoon ground ginger
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
5 tablespoons room temperature butter
In a medium bowl, whisk all the ingredients together except butter. Cut butter into small pieces and add to the mixture. Mix with your fingers until the ingredients are incorporated and have a crumbly texture. Set aside.
Cake
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature (plus a little butter for greasing the pan)
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup plain nonfat Greek yogurt
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1 cup prepared lemon curd
Preheat the oven to 350. Line a 9-inch round cake pan (or similar sized baking dish) with tin foil and grease the foil with butter.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl bowl. Set aside.
In a large bowl, using a mixer on medium-high speed, beat together the stick of butter and the sugar for about 2-3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each one. Add in the vanilla and then reduce the mixer speed to low. Pour in the flour mixture and the yogurt, a little bit at a time, alternating between the flour and yogurt. Turn the mixer off and fold in the lemon zest and basil with a spatula. The batter will be thick.
Spread half the batter in the prepared baking dish. Spread the prepared lemon curd over it. Then evenly spread the second half of the batter over the lemon curd. Sprinkle the cake batter with the prepared topping. Bake until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about an hour. Let cool 15-20 minutes in the pan and then lift out by holding the edges of the foil. Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack. Peel away the tinfoil and top with a bit more fresh basil, if desired. Slice and serve with tea or coffee.
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Be sure to let us know if you try Sarah’s recipe! Snap a picture and tag us on Instagram @EastCoastCreative
Sarah recently posted her own DIY Citrus Salt Scrub recipe on her blog- make sure you pop over and check it out!
Looks delicious! I would love to try the combination out. I love all 3 elements individually so wonder what it would be like as a collective.
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