This week I dreamed up a double chocolate coffee cake. Nothing too complex or out there – I just wanted to make a really good coffee cake to eat for breakfast. Or dessert. I was inspired by one of my favorite recipes, which I’ve mentioned before, blueberry buckle. You cook it for a surprisingly long time because the cake batter is insulated by a compact, generous streusel topping. This is a full on chocolate version with no berries. I’ve been snacking on this since the moment it came out of the oven. And I’m proud to support eating chocolate for breakfast!

I’ve always loved chocolate. Probably more than any other food. My sweet tooth fluctuates, but I snack on something chocolate pretty much every night. So, to be able to snack on something chocolate in the morning, too, helps achieve my ideal day. As much as I love chocolate, I’ve never been a huge fan of sickly sweet chocolate desserts with 18 components of fudge, cake, frosting, sprinkles, etc. This chocolate coffee cake is more simple, and fit for the people like me who prefer the cake over the frosting.

I’ve talked about struggling with perfectionism before, which is a lifelong struggle for me, and a lot of us. So, this week things got a little difficult. I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I have so many racing thoughts when I go to bed. I’m coming up with recipes and remembering all the things I have to do the next day and thinking about all the worst case scenarios. But, then I take a step back and remember how lucky I am. How good my life is, and how life isn’t supposed to be so serious. I have to convince myself to let things go and to not chase perfectionism. My recipes don’t need to be flawless in every way. My photos can be a little out of focus. I can forget to take a photo of a crucial step and just leave it out. It’s not that serious. 

I had trouble sleeping one night because I was rearranging the order of hundreds of recipes I’ve planned on my notes app, curating them by color. All while feeling a responsibility to make my recipes a) unique, b) not too complicated, c) impressive and just complicated enough, and d) colorful and artful. I overthink a lot. This recipe should be more complex. No, less difficult and fancy. More down to earth. But more unique. But also simple enough for people to want to make. And then, I also have to take the perfect photo of the recipe to get the perfect painting. And the painting process is a whole other story. 

I was pushing myself to make two blog posts / recipes a week, but I decided to take a break this week. It’s been nice to pause from painting and to allow myself to want to paint instead of feeling obligated to. With all the goals and self imposed restrictions and perfectionism, it’s easy to forget about why I’m doing this in the first place. Because I love food. Art. Because I want an outlet to be creative. And I want to feel good, like a kid again. So there is no use in being a perfectionist or worrying that I’m not good enough. Chasing unrealistic goals. I need more patience. With time, with myself. 

So, the recipe this week is simple. And I really enjoyed making it. In fact, when I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t get this out of my head. It was on my list simply because I really wanted to eat it. Not because it was ingenious or fancy or would make a gorgeous painting. Just because I liked the sound of it. And that’s what I’m trying to lean into – make things that you just want to eat. In fact, I almost didn’t photograph this or paint this or share this at all. But I found myself reaching for my camera and wanting to capture the beauty of the streusel and the chocolate coffee cake bater and the slices arranged artfully on my cutting board.

And I challenged myself too this week to be more vulnerable and authentic and honest. Usually I’m in such a rush to complete all of my responsibilities that I let the writing portion of this fall by the wayside. I write up something simple and quick right before Sunday when I post this. But, I remembered that part of why I love this is to use my blog as an outlet. Like a journal. And to enjoy writing with no rules or restrictions. To share my struggles and feelings so that anyone reading this may feel less alone or unique in their mental health struggles. I hope this genuinely helps convince someone to stop chasing perfectionism.

I could write all day about personal things that have been on my mind. Personal struggles and fears and anxieties. But I also don’t want to overshare for the sake of being interesting or vulnerable. I’ll find a good balance. For now, what I’m comfortable saying is that life is hard. Even if you have a really good life on paper. And it’s okay to admit that things are hard. It’s not a contest, and you don’t have to disrespect someone else’s trauma or struggle to validate your own. I struggle sometimes just with overthinking. Anxiety. Fear. General existential dread for no reason. So, let this be a break to remind myself that it’s okay, and normal, and reflecting on these things helps me reset. 

I found myself making this recipe on a cloudy day after a pretty busy and anxiety-provoking few weeks. Lots of responsibilities and reunions with beloved friends and doctors appointments and adult things. So, this was my moment to pause and just bake one afternoon. I popped on a podcast and grabbed some bowls and utensils. I found an almost empty box of cocoa powder in the cupboard, which was just enough. After forgetting to soften my butter, I microwaved it just the perfect amount. Then, I mixed sugar and butter and eggs and sifted cocoa powder and flour and fell into the flow state. My favorite place to be. 

When I finally finished mixing my chocolate coffee cake batter, I spread it in a greased and lined pan and let it sit as I created the streusel. Which is one of my favorite things to make for some reason. Just the simplicity and ease of smushing cold butter together with sugar and flour and cinnamon. It tastes like cookie dough left on a spoon that your mom gives you to lick. And sprinkling it all over the cake is fun. Once I popped it in the oven I slipped a little back into anxiety and rushing around trying to do 80 things, thanks to my ADHD. The cake bakes for over an hour, so it felt like it would never be ready. Finally, the timer went off.

I pressed down lightly on the cake top and decided it was done. I left it to rest on the cool, shaded counter and hopped in my car to do some errands. When I got home, I pulled the cake out of the pan with the parchment paper overhang and sliced it up. I decided to sit down with a fork and an actual plate and enjoy a small piece when it was still warm. The cake base was dense (in a good way) and purely cakey. Like the best part of a rich chocolate cupcake. The streusel is sugary and chocolatey and has a little pop of salt. The crunch against the spongy cake is so satisfying. I would take streusel any day over frosting. Most days. 

This chocolate coffee cake was random, spontaneous, and unplanned. So, I’m delighted with how it came out, and I’m excited to eat my last slice for breakfast in the morning. I’m excited to indulge in the little pleasures in life and enjoy the warm weather and spending time with people I love. My goal for this week is to balance my responsibilities with relaxation and to give myself a break. I want to take my time, not be in a rush, and let me mind relax. Somehow. It’s a lifelong process. If you’re going through something similar, take time to just relax and bake something. From scratch. Or from a box. Creativity helps a lot.

If you enjoyed this blog and my painting and recipe, you can check out 100’s of my recipe cards and art prints on Etsy. Use code THEFORKEDRING for 25% off. Thank you for reading!

Print Pin

Chocolate Coffee Cake

A double chocolate coffee cake with chocolate streusel

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword chocolate cake, coffee cake

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 1 hour hour 20 minutes minutes

Servings 8

Author theforkedring

Ingredients

• 6 tbsp butter soft + 6 tbsp (cold)
• 1 cup white sugar + 1/3 cup
• 1/3 cup Demerara sugar
• 1 1/3 cups flour + 1/3 cup
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder + 2 tbsp
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp coffee extract
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/3 cup buttermilk

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°F.
• Grease and line an 8×8 square cake pan.
• To make streusel, combine 6 tbsp cold butter, 1/3 cup white sugar, 1/3 cup Demerara sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp salt, and 2 tbsp cocoa powder. Mix with a fork until sandy and some medium clumps remain.
• In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, mix 6 tbsp soft butter and 1 cup sugar on medium for 4-5 minutes until fluffy.
• In a pyrex measuring cup, whisk together egg, egg yolk, vanilla extract, coffee extract, sour cream, and buttermilk.
• In a large bowl, sift 1 1/3 cups flour, 1/3 cup cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.
• With the stand mixer on low, alternate adding 1/3 of the flour mixture at a time with 1/3 of the egg and milk mixture. You will end with a thick chocolate cake batter.
• Transfer half the cake batter to prepared pan. Then, sprinkle over half of your streusel mixture. Place the rest of your cake batter on top and smooth. Then, top with the rest of the streusel mixture.
• Bake for 75 – 90 minutes until a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Slice and serve.

Notes

• If you prefer more streusel, omit adding half your streusel to the first layer of cake batter and instead place it all on top of the cake. 
• I use dutch-process cocoa powder, but you can use any kind. 
• You can also use regular milk or heavy cream instead of buttermilk if you don’t have it. I’ve seen other recipes use chocolate milk, which sounds great! Coffee milk would be great, too.