I’m usually okay all day without sweets and don’t have to have dessert however breakfast is when I really want to have something sweet. French toast is by far my favorite breakfast. Coffee cake is definitely in my top three. What I enjoy about coffee cake is the texture, the cinnamon, and the filling nature. I gave up coffee almost a year ago yet I still really enjoy this breakfast treat. I’ve made this recipe a bunch of times usually without the pumpkin and apples. I usually add blueberries to the original recipe. I wanted to switch up the recipe for the holidays and get a pumpkin recipe together. I didn’t grow up eating pumpkin for the holidays and it wasn’t until I began teaching cooking classes that I first made and tried a pumpkin pie. I was surprised how similar to sweet potato pie it tasted. I actually really liked it. I started experimenting with different pumpkin recipes. There is a pumpkin cake recipe with a ganache that I will be sharing soon. Back to this coffee cake recipe I’m sharing with you today honey child, it is amazing. The smell in the house when this is baking is what dreams are made of. Seriously I wish I could add the smell to this blog and the taste is just as amazing. Do yourself a favor and make this recipe sometime soon and let me know how you like it.

Serving size: 12

Active time: 20 minutes

Inactive time: 1 1/2 hours

Ingredients:

1 package (9 oz) yellow cake mix

1 package (4.6 oz) vanilla pudding mix, instant or cook and serve

2 eggs

1/2 C. sour cream

1/4 C. butter, melted

1 C. organic granulated sugar

1 T. ground cinnamon

15 oz pumpkin

2 (21 oz) Comstock apple pie filling

Procedure:

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a small bowl mix the cinnamon and sugar. Sit it to the side.

3. Open the apple pie filling cans, place them in a strainer and rinse the apples free of the sugar, seasonings, and thickeners. Place the rinsed apples in a small bowl and sit it to the side.

4. In a large bowl add the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, sour cream, butter, and pumpkin. Using an electric hand mixer, rubber spatula, or whisk to combine all of the ingredients. Mix until smooth and combined.

5. Lightly oil a 8 x 11.5 x 2″ glass pan. Add half of the batter to the pan and spread it with a rubber or off set spatula to level. (Note: this is a very thick batter and takes a bit of patience to spread evenly). Then add half of the sugar and half of the apples on top of the batter. Repeat these steps with the other half of the batter, sugar, and apples.

6. Place the coffee cake into the middle of the oven and allow it to bake for 1 1/2 hours. Check the center of the center with a toothpick to make sure it is thoroughly baked. Allow the cake to cool for 15-20 minutes and enjoy.

Notes and Variations:

• The apples on top of the cake will caramelize and make for an appetizing texture.
• This recipe is perfectly sweet it can really be eaten anytime of day.
• A variation for this dish is omitting the pumpkin and apples and adding 2 C. of frozen or fresh blueberries. The baking time changes to 1 hour. This recipe is equally delicious.
• C=cups
• T=tablespoons
• t=teaspoons
• oz=ounces