Cinnamon Swirl Goodness

I've decided I need to come up with other things to use my pretty pink mixer for besides sweets.  Baking all of these items has been delicious and fun, but has not been kind to my waistline.  Especially now that I'm not training for a marathon, the equation looks like this: Same appetite + More time for baking - Crazy running miles = Increase in size. Not good.  So, making other "non-dessert hopefully better for me" items begins now.  After this post, that is.

First,  I wanted to tell everyone that I re-tried making the dulce de leche for the oatmeal cookies the correct way.  I let the can of milk simmer in water for 3 hours then let it cool down, as the recipe said.  But, I tell you what. I thought the way I made it tasted better.  I'm not entirely sure what I did to mine when I cooked it soley in a pan, but my version didn't taste so much like "caramel-colored" sweetened condensed milk.  It tasted more like a sweet, chewy, caramel spread.  The correct way produced prettier, brown colored goodness, but wasn't as tasty.  Just so you know.

Onto this week's baked creation.  Ever since my boyfriend, Ryan, gave me my pretty pink mixer, he's been asking me to make him cinnamon swirl coffee cake.  He LOVES the stuff you can get at Starbucks and always talks about his mom making it for him for special occasions.  So each week I ask him, "What do you think I should make?" He says, "Ooo, cinnamon coffee cake!!" I say "Eh. How about blondies with ____ (insert M&M's, cinnamon, etc.)??" He says "Or that." But I felt generous this week and decided that by golly, I was going to make him cinnamon swirl coffee cake. 

Honestly, after searching some of my favorite blogs for recipes, I ended up just google searching for one and came up with King Arthur Flour's recipe for a cinnamon streusel coffee cake.  The website is actually very user friendly and included tips and tricks for perfecting this recipe, as well as comments from fellow bakers. I used this recipe for their Cinnamon-Streusel Coffee Cake. 

I followed the recipe to a T.  It gave you options for types of milk and yogurt, etc. I used skim milk and non-fat greek yogurt for those two items.  Also, it says to bake the coffee cake for 55-60 minutes. I had to leave mine in for an extra 15 minutes (total of 75 minutes) because the thing just wouldn't cook in the middle!

Here is a picture of me trying to multi-task. I have the milk simmering away on the stove in that pot, while I'm trying to alternate adding flour with the milk/yogurt to the mixer. Disaster.

Good thing I have an automatic swiffer.

Finished product=cinnamon swirl goodness.  My favorite part of the whole thing is the streusel topping. So so good. Ryan's reaction..."this is better than Starbucks!" I'm pretty sure he has to say that, but I'll take it!