Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake

I saw this in a www.gojee.com email.  It was on their "top three" list last week.  It looked absolutely delicious.  I read the recipe carefully (ha) and noticed that the Gojee chef  had gotten the recipe from one of my favorite cooking blogs "Smitten Kitchen".  I didn't think about the recipe too long before I decided that I had to try it.  I mentioned it to my son.  He thought it would be a great cake to make on Martin Luther King Day.  Of course, I agreed right away.  He did most the work but I separated the eggs, assembled the cake and put it into the oven.  I guess you could say I acted as his assistant on this cake.  It was nice to have someone to bake with.  After he mixed up the cake and I put it into the oven I dove into the Smitten Kitchen blog post about this cake. I read the recipe carefully again and (thankfully) noticed a note at the bottom of the blog.  Apparently, when Smitten Kitchen originally posted this recipe back in 2006 an ingredient (salt) was inadvertently left out. Obviously, when the Gojee chef copied the recipe from Smitten Kitchen it was before they made the correction to the recipe because my version from Gojee does not contain any salt.  The cake tastes and looks great anyway.  Maybe it has a different consistency than if it did contain the salt.  I don't know, but we will definitely be making it again. According to the Smitten Kitchen post, this was her mother's "go to" cake recipe that everyone requested during her childhood. So it seems that this recipe has been around for a long time. The chef at Smitten Kitchen is Deb and her husband Alex is her assistant.  They are great!  Their blog is fantastic so check it out.

Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Chip Coffee Cake

From www.smittenkitchen.com via www.gojee.com

Ingredients:

For the cake:

1 stick butter at room temperature

1-1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs, separated

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

2 cups (16-ounces) sour cream

3 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda

3/4 teaspoon table salt

To assemble:

2 cups or 12 ounces semi- or bittersweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate bars
1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Instructions:

1. In the bowl of the mixer, whip the egg whites until they are stiff. Take out of the bowl and set aside. 

2. Sift the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Set aside. Cream together the butter and sugar. Mix in the egg yolks and vanilla.

3. Alternately mix in sour cream and then dry ingredients into butter mixture until both are used up and the batter is smooth and very thick. In a medium bowl, beat eggs whites until stiff, then fold into batter.

4. Spread half of the cake batter into a greased 9-x-13 pan.   Sprinkle with the half of the cinnamon and sugar and half of the chocolate chips (1 cup).

5. Dollop remaining cake batter over filling in spoonfuls. Use a rubber or offset spatula to gently spread it over the filling and smooth the top. Sprinkle batter with remaining cinnamon-sugar and remaining chocolate chips. With the palm of your hand, gently press the chocolate chips a bit into the batter.  

6. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes rotating halfway through. When the cake is done, a tester will come out clean. Cool on a cooling rack.

Enjoy!

The Creative Cook

P.S.  These are my own crappy pictures.  I did not steal them from anyone else.  Why would I?  I got a wonderful new camera last year for my birthday (thanks honey) but I still need to learn how to use it.

Three Onion Soup

This is a very nice, easy alternative to French Onion Soup for a cold winter day.  We all enjoyed this soup very much.  This recipe is from the Epicurious website.  

3-Onion Soup
serves 4

Ingredients:

4 medium leeks

1 medium onions, sliced thin
2 large shallots, sliced thin
1 teaspoon olive oil

1 large potato (Yukon Gold)
1 cup red wine
1 tablespoon sherry
1-1/2 cups water
1 cup chicken broth (low sodium, low fat)
1/2 cup grated Gruyère (2 ounces)

2 teaspoons Balsamic vinegar

Directions:

Chop enough white and pale green parts of leeks to measure 2 cups.  Wash leeks well in a bowl of cold water.  Lift from water and drain in a colander.  Heat oil in a 10-inch nonstick skillet over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then cook chopped leeks, onion, and shallots, stirring frequently, until edges are golden brown, about 15 minutes.  Add red wine and sherry and deglaze skillet, scraping up brown bits.  Transfer mixture to a saucepan.

Peel potato and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.  Add potato, broth, and water to onions.  Simmer, covered, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are very tender (approximately 20 minutes).

Purée one cup soup in a blender (use caution when blending hot liquids) and stir into remaining soup.

Serve soup sprinkled with cheese and drizzle with vinegar.

Enjoy!