This coffee cake may be from Chicago, but you can enjoy it anywhere! The moist golden cake is extra rich from the cream cheese, perfect for the classic streusel topping. That topping is the real star of the show: crunchy, cinnamon-flavored, buttery, and sweet. You might be tempted to eat the streusel all on its own. Chicago Coffee Cake takes less than an hour to make, so you can have a gorgeous cake ready for tea time or dinner.
Ingredients
For the cake:
- 1/2 cup margarine, softened
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 cup milk
For the topping:
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 4 tablespoons flour
- 4 teaspoons cinnamon
- 4 tablespoons margarine
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –Grease and flour a 9×13-inch baking pan.
Step 3 –In a large bowl, cream the 1/2 cup margarine, the cream cheese, and 1 1/4 cups sugar together until light.
Step 4 –Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Set aside.
Step 5 –Sift 1 3/4 cups flour, the baking powder, and the baking soda together.
Step 6 –Alternate adding both the flour mixture and the milk into the cream cheese mixture, starting with 1/3 of the flour mixture and 1/2 of the milk, and repeating until all of the ingredients are just incorporated.
Step 7 –Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan.
Step 8 –Mix the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the remaining 4 tablespoons flour, the cinnamon, and 4 tablespoons margarine until crumbly.
Step 9 –Spread the crumbly topping mixture over the batter in the pan.
Step 10 –Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35-40 minutes.
Step 11 –Let cool completely before serving.