Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Pumpkin Pie Spice Coffee Cake

When I saw a sponsored opportunity for International Delight coffee creamers, I hesitated a bit. I usually drink my coffee with plain old milk.

Then I saw they were looking for a recipe, and OH YEAH I can do that. I love creating recipes with different products -and the weirder the better. It's my own little version of Chopped. Except I don't have a time limit or judges or multiple ingredients that don't make any sense.

I like using products in unusual ways, so I scurried off to the store to see what flavors I might use. I brought home two of the seasonal flavors - Chocolate Mint and Pumpkin Pie Spice. I figured I'd taste them and then decide what to make.

Before we go any further, I have to say that I was pleased to see that these contain sugar. Not that I was excited about sugar, but I was happy that they didn't have corn syrup.

The chocolate mint would have worked well for cupcakes or a cake, but I wasn't in the mood for that. I decided to make coffee cake.

I figured that the pumpkin pie spice flavor would add a nice dimension to a coffee cake. And then I remembered the graham cracker streusel from a coffee cake I made recently, and I decided to use graham crackers for the topping on this cake. It made sense. Pumpkin pies often have graham cracker crusts, right?

The graham crackers are intentionally left with some larger bits along with the completely crushed pieces, which creates some great texture in the topping.

International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Coffee Cake

Topping
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs and pieces
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
Pinch of salt
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) butter

Cake
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 stick (4 tablespoons butter)
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 cup International Delight Pumpkin Pie Spice Creamer

Heat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9-inch square baking pan with baking spray.

To make the topping:

Crush the graham crackers so that you still have some larger pieces - about the size of a pea - along with some finely crushed crumbs. Combine the graham crackers with the  cinnamon, sugar,  and salt.

Melt the butter and pour it over the graham cracker mixture. Stir to combine and set aside.

To make the cake:

In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk to combine.

In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a bowl, using an electric hand mixer) beat the sugar and butter together until smooth (this is easier if the butter is a little soft.) Add the oil and eggs and beat until you have a smooth mixture, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the flour mixture and mix slowly until the flour is incorporated until the mixture is smooth. Add the International Delights creamer and beat until the creamer is completely incorporated and the mixture is smooth, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Pour the cake into the prepared pan. Smooth out the top. Sprinkle the cracker mixture over the top evenly.

Bake the cake at 350 degrees until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean - about 35 minutes.

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 -15 minutes, then turn the cake out and let it cool completely on a rack. If you prefer, you can leave the cake in the pan and slice and serve directly from the pan. Or, of course you can slice and serve while the cake is still slightly warm.

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This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.
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