Harry Potter and Coffee Cake

Hello, almost weekenders! Three cheers for Fridays!

What a week it has been. Late last night and into the early morning, I had the pleasure of going with a group of friends to the midnight showing of the final Harry Potter movie. Not only was the movie enchanting, but the entire evening of festivities was wonderfully enjoyable. We arrived at the theatre around 8:45 pm to find over a thousand people waiting in anticipation. People were decked out in HP gear, talking in English accents, and casting spells on each other. There was even a wizard band. You don’t believe me? Check it out yourself.

For real.

Now, I’m not a die-hard fan. I haven’t read the books; I haven’t seen all the movies. But, the excitement was contagious and I thoroughly enjoyed the anticipation and the motion picture. I am even inspired to read the books! Crazy, right? Downfall to the night: we got back around three this morning, and I had to work at eight. I definitely didn’t get the beauty rest that I wanted. However, one thing made my Harry Potter hangover not so bad. Six words: banana, chocolate chips, cinnamon, coffee cake.

On my day off yesterday, I really wanted to bake something. I checked the pantry and fridge, assessed my ingredients, and searched around the web for something delicious. I came across several recipes for coffee cakes and adapted them to fit my interests, taste buds, and ingredients. Thus, I bring you: banana coffee cake with chocolate chip and cinnamon streusel.

Ingredients:

1 cup chocolate chips (milk or dark chocolate- your preference!)

½ cup brown sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

¾ teaspoon baking soda

¾ teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon salt

¾ cup white sugar

1 ½ cups flour

½ cup butter (room temp.)

1 egg

3 large mashed bananas (I usually use frozen bananas; they are easier to mash once thawed)

1 6-oz package of Greek yogurt (some recipes call for buttermilk-I prefer yogurt)

1.       Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.       Grease a 9x9 or 8x8 inch baking pan

3.       Make streusel topping- stir brown sugar, chocolate chips, and cinnamon together

4.       Mix flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda in a separate bowl

5.       With an electric mixer, beat sugar, butter, and egg together for two minutes

6.     Mix in mashed bananas and yogurt

7.       Gradually add bowl of dry ingredients

8.       Blend well

9.       Pour half of this batter into the baking pan

10.   Pour half of streusel mixture on top of batter

11.   Repeat steps 9 and 10, layering the remaining batter and streusel

12.   Bake for 44-48 minutes, or until a fork or toothpick comes out clean

13.   Allow to cool for a few minutes

14.   Enjoy with coffee or English tea

Easy-peezy, lemon squeezy.

I brought this coffee cake into work this morning and it was hit. So, TRY! You will have no regrets J

Till next week, flowers.

XO.