Overnight Coffee Cake for Two - dairy free (or not)

Happy (belated) Valentine's Day, dear readers. I hope you got whatever it is that you were hoping for. The bakery was (predictably) crazy. There was a line at the door before the store opened, and there was a steady stream river all day.

A coworker tried to explain ahead of time that on Valentine's Day, people go crazy for hearts. I didn't really believe him, but he was right. We had a run on heart-shaped fruit tarts, creme brulee, cake, and cookies.

Mr Official Taster came home with flowers and a cold. Dinner plans got postponed, and I made this instead. I've had the recipe saved for quite a while, and I'm glad I finally got around to it. It's perfect if you're celebrating Valentine's Day this weekend, or if you just want to make someone you love breakfast.

Overnight Coffee Cake for Two - dairy free (or not)
adapted from The Best of America's Test Kitchen 2011

First of all, this could also work for four. Next, the magic of this recipe is its versatility (and its size). Bake it right away, freeze it for later, or put it in the fridge for a fresh, warm breakfast. Add some dried fruit, citrus zest, or change out the spices (I'm thinking ginger would be a surprisingly good flavor). If you use fresh fruit, toss about a 1/4 cup with 1/2 teaspoon of flour before you stir it into the batter. You can play with the sugar and flour too. I used all white whole wheat flour and all brown sugar, but if you want a lighter cake (in both flavor and color), use white sugar and all purpose flour. Or try subbing a small amount or almond flour or whole wheat flour. This morning, I topped it with some sugared raspberries.

To make this "regularly," use regular butter in the streusel, and use regular sour cream and melted+cooled butter instead of vegetable oil. 

Streusel
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp flour
1 Tbsp cold vegan butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp chopped almonds, pecans, or walnuts

Cake
2/3 C flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp (or a pinch) cinnamon
1/8 tsp (or a pinch) salt
1/4 C vegan sour cream (I used Tofutti brand)
1 large egg
1/4 C brown sugar
2 Tbsp vegetable oil (I used grapeseed)

In a small bowl, combine all of the streusel ingredients with a fork or your fingers until it resembles a course meal. Set aside. (If you own a mini food processor, this seems like it would be a good time to use it. I don't own one, but I use a regular sized one when I make the topping to my fruit crisp)

Grease a 6-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment. In a small bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. In another small bowl, mix together the sour cream, egg, sugar, and vegetable oil until smooth. Fold the wet mix into the dry mix. Do not overmix- expect there to be some flour lumps.

Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Evenly sprinkle the streusel on top. Wrap tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 24 hours (or freeze).

When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 350F. Unwrap cake and bake 25-30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in the middle comes out free of batter (but with a few crumbs attached). Remove from oven, and allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan. Run a knife or mini spatula between the side of your cake and the pan, flip out (you won't lose the streusel, pinky promise), remove parchment paper and flip back right side up to serve.

If you freeze the batter, bake from frozen and increase the bake time to 40 minutes or so. On the other hand, if you're baking it right away, reduce the bake time to about 20 minutes.