Greek Yogurt Coffee Cake

I don't like glazes. I have realized that, in many of the recipes that call for glazes of some sort, I skip it.  Maybe I am lazy, or maybe I don't think that adding a sweet and sticky sauce is necessary on an already-sweet dessert.  Either way, I skip it almost all the time!  Here's another time I skipped it.  But come on, does a coffee cake really need a cream cheese glaze?  I think not.  Especially when the coffee cake is so good on its own.

Coffee cake is Jesse's favorite, so I made it one night when we were having a baked potato bar.  Since cooking dinner wasn't going to take too much work, I decided it would be a good day to make a dessert, and I gave this a try.  I always have a big container of Greek yogurt in my fridge, and I love baking with it.  I think it keeps cakes and muffins extra moist (hate that word though) and gives them a little tang.  This cake also has a stripe of cinnamon streusel running through the middle of it which adds just the right amount of spice.  It's good for dessert, for a brunch, to have with tea or coffee... fine, have it for breakfast if you insist.

And if you want to add a cream cheese glaze to the top, go for it!  Glaze everything! Just don't make me do it :)

Recipe:

Greek yogurt coffee cake
from Two Peas and Their Pod
serves 10

Ingredients:
for cake:
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperatures
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups plain Greek yogurt
2 1/2 cups cake flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
for streusel:
1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
for cream cheese glaze:
3 ounces softened cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons milk, or enough to make it a glazing consistency

Instructions:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan.  Set aside.

2) Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 - 5 minutes until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs, one at a time.  Add the vanilla and Greek yogurt.

3) In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined.  Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

4) For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble.

5) Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a knife.  Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top.  Bake for 50 - 60 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.  Let cake cool on a wire rack.  Carefully transfer the cake, streusel side up, on a serving plate.

6) To make the cream cheese glaze, beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth.  Slowly beat in the powdered sugar.  Add the vanilla and milk.  Beat until smooth and glaze-like.  Drizzle over cooled cake and serve.