Black Forest Honey Streusel Coffee Cake

First, I want to say how excited and privileged I felt to be able to receive 'The New Southwest' cookbook by Meagan Micozzi. It's truly a stunning book. I'm a graphic designer by trade (for over 25 years now) and love the fact that there are pictures with every recipe. I had difficulty picking just one, but decided on the coffee cake since I've never made one with honey.

I changed the title to just 'honey' and not Sonoran honey, since I live in Colorado. I used local unfiltered raw honey from Black Forest, Colorado. I substituted almond-coconut milk for the buttermilk simply because I just prefer it. I also could not find ground canela and used ground cinnamon like Meagan suggested. I felt there was too much streusel topping and ended up using only about 2/3 of what is recommended in the recipe and I added some pumpkin pie spice to give it some zing!

I recommend serving this cake warm with a dusting of powdered sugar, but it's equally great at room temperature with a good cup of coffee.

Black Forest Honey Streusel Coffee Cake
by Holly
Adapted from The New Southwest: Classic Flavors with a Modern Twist

For the cake:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2/3 cup local honey
2/3 cup almond-coconut milk, unsweetened
Powdered sugar (optional), to dust on top

For the topping:
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/6 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Heat oven to 350˚F. Coat a 9 x 9" baking pan with cooking spray and dust with flour.

For the cake, in a large bowl, add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt, whisk until blended.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time until blended. Add the vanilla extract.

Add the flour mixture, honey and milk, alternating by thirds until completely incorporated. Pour the batter in the pan.

For the topping, combine the butter, sugar, flour and spice, using a fork until pea-sized crumbles are formed. Spread on top of the batter.

Bake the cake for 40-42 minutes on center rack. Test with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool pan on rack for 10 minutes before serving. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy warm.