Sonoran Honey Streusel Coffee Cake - The New Southwest Cookbook Giveaway!!!

Before we talk about the Giveaway, let me just

Do you ever have one of those days...where you wonder if you shouldn't have even stepped foot in the kitchen that morning?

Saturday ended up being a day of discoveries.

I discovered that my dishwasher door is being weird...it's sticking shut while the handle that you squeeze to unlock it just sorta disappears into itself.

I also discovered that my oven takes foreeeeeeeeeever to heat up to the proper temperature. As in, after the preheat phase....and the required 45 minute baking time, the temp was 100' below the needed 350'F mark. That happened as I was baking this delicious coffee cake. I opened the oven door as the timer went off...toothpick in hand, ready for the plunge (do you know that this is probably the only reason I own toothpicks?) and I stopped breathing...in total disbelief as I tugged on the rack and witnessed the soppy center sloshing around.

My mind raced....did I set the timer right? Forget to put in an ingredient? Did I measure everything correctly? Is my oven ON? (oh yes....the heat is steaming up my glasses, it's definitely on). I double checked the recipe...everything looks good there. So I got out my oven thermometer, pushed the rack back in, along with my mess and reset the timer (a few times)......

Aaaaand that's when I broke out the bourbon. It was well past 5:00pm, so it was an overdue action anyway. (But that's another story for a different post).

I could tell the cake was finally cooked when it smelled delicious as the aroma filled the house.

Anyways...the moral of this story is...when things aren't going right...don't just give up. Think a minute...try and salvage the situation before you toss in the towel. I mean...what's the worse that could happen? You might have to toss it anyway. But....maybe not....

Thank God that wasn't the case this time because the is one good coffee cake. Especially if you're a honey lover....as in Pooh bear kind of honey lover. I suggest you use your favorite honey for this recipe if you can't get Sonoran honey. But then again....is there such a thing as a honey that doesn't taste good? phhht....silly bear.

And the topping....oooh my oh my. It almost caramelizes and gets crunchy. This might be my favorite streusel.

Sonoran Honey Streusel Coffee Cake
Printable Version

for the cake:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ground canela (or cinnamon)
1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup Sonoran honey (or your favorite local honey)
2/3 cup buttermilk

for the topping:
6 TB cubed butter, chilled
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350'F

Line a 9" square baking dish with parchment paper

Cream together the butter and sugar until light an fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla and continue to mix until incorporated.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, canela (or cinnamon) and salt.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture gradually, alternating with the honey and then buttermilk. Mix until just combined. Pour into your prepared pan.

In a medium bowl, using your fingers, combine the chilled butter cubes, brown sugar and flour until you have uniform crumbles. Sprinkle over the batter evenly.

Bake for 40 - 45 minutes or until a cake tester toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan.

Slice and serve and totally enjoy the richness of this coffee cake.

I've only tried 3 recipes from this book, two of them were my choice (the first one was chosen for the group). It was really hard to pin down just two. There are so many more I have tagged for trying later....such as an almond-crusted pear tres leches cake (holy cow!!) and the stacked squash enchiladas...and and...roasted crema. Ok, I'll stop there (for now). My mouth is watering. You should see all these photos! And did I tell you? In the front of the book is a whole section dedicated to the southwestern pantry. What you should have, what it is, what it looks like, what you do with it. If you're just getting into making southwestern food....fear not, Megan will hold your hand right through the learning stage.

And now for some more good stuff.......

The contest! And I'm not the only one giving away The New Southwest Cookbook.

There are more than a dozen of us participating. And that means there are more chances for you to win. Woooo hoooo!!!

1. Mandatory Entry: Leave a comment on this blog post letting me know what your favorite Southwestern dish is.
2. Tons of optional entries in rafflecopter widget.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Hippocrene will be supplying 14 copies of The New Southwest by Meagan Micozzi for this giveaway, in conjunction with The New Southwest Cookbook Spotlight. Contest is open to anybody with a shipping address in the USA. Submissions will be accepted via the rafflecopter widget through 11:59 pm ET on Sunday, November 3, 2013. Fourteen winners will be chosen by random draw, verified, and be notified by email (from Heather at girlichef) within 48 hours of the close of this contest. The winner should respond within 24 hours of notification, or a new winner will be drawn in their place. Good Luck!

This post is part of The New Southwest Cookbook Spotlight sponsored by Hippocreneand hosted at girlichef.