Streusel Coffee Cake

Both my husband and my mother-in-law are what I like to call coffee purists. These two don't bother sullying the drink with cream and sugar. In fact, my husband tells the story of when he first started drinking coffee when he went to add cream and sugar, and his mother called him a wimp. He's drunk it black ever since, and winces when any sugar is added.

But the nice thing about having a straight black cup of strong coffee is that it complements pastries really well, so it's no wonder those two are also big fans of coffee cake.

A couple of years ago my mother-in-law compiled all of her "classic" recipes into a book that she gave each of the ladies of the family, and her streusel coffee cake recipe was included. I like to make it on weekends when we do our big breakfasts, and since we've been on our whole wheat kick, I've also converted this recipe to whole wheat. But since her original recipe is quite tasty itself, I'm including both versions below.

Streusel Coffee Cake
Original Recipe 2 c all purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1/2 c white sugar 1/2 tsp salt 6 tbsp butter, melted 1 egg, beaten 1/2 c milk 1 tsp vanilla Streusel (Both Recipes) 2 tbsp flour (any kind) 1/2 c brown sugar 1 tsp cinnamon Dash of nutmeg 2 tbsp butter	Whole Wheat Recipe 1 3/4 c white whole wheat flour, sifted 3 tsp baking powder 3/4 c raw sugar 1/2 tsp salt 6 tbsp butter, melted 1 egg, beaten 1/2 c milk 1 tsp vanilla
Directions 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Combine egg with milk and vanilla in a separate bowl. Mix in melted butter. Add sugar and beat until smooth. Add liquid mixture to flour and stir until well blended. 2. For the streusel, mix sugar, flour, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Cut in 2 tbsp solid butter. Pour half the cake batter into a greased and floured 8 or 9-inch square baking pan. Sprinkle half the streusel over batter. Pour in remaining batter and top with remaining streusel. 3. Bake 25 minutes (30 minutes for whole wheat version) or until done. Cut into squares while still warm and serve.
Yield: 12 servings	Calories per serving: 225 calories