A nice cake to have in your back pocket, ready to go with ingredients you most likely have in your cupboards already. Because sometimes you just need cake. Especially if it is one like this with its chocolate-y cinnamon-y goodness.
Do you need to whip the egg whites? Yes, it is an extra step and an additional dirty dish. I know, I know! The egg whites add a lovely loftiness to the cake. You can, of course, add the eggs all at the same time to the batter, without separating and whipping the whites; the cake will still be very tasty, just not as airy.
My boys did not want nuts in this. You can always add some with the chocolate chips, if that is your fancy. Dried fruit might also be a nice addition. You do you; this is your back pocket cake.
Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Coffee Cake
Yield: one 9 x 13 cake
Ingredients
Cake
3 oz unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups (16 ounces) Greek yogurt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
Filling and topping
10 ounces bittersweet chocolate (bar, coarsely chopped or chips)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Directions
Heat oven to 350°F (175°C). Butter a 9-x-13-inch baking pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 cup granulated sugar. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Whisk flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt together into a separate bowl. Alternately mix in yogurt and then dry ingredients into butter mixture until both are used up and the batter is smooth and very thick. Set aside while whipping the egg whites.
In a medium bowl with a clean whisk, beat eggs whites until stiff, then fold gently in a scoopful and then all of the whipped whites into batter.
In a small dish, combine the cinnamon and remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar for filling and topping.
Spread 2/3 of the cake batter in the bottom of prepared pan and spread smooth. This will be a little tricky with the parchment, but do your best. Sprinkle with half of cinnamon-sugar mixture and roughly half of chocolate chips. Dollop remaining cake batter over filling in spoonfuls. Use a rubber or offset spatula to gently spread it over the filling and smooth the top. Sprinkle batter with remaining cinnamon-sugar and remaining chocolate chips.
Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, rotating halfway through, until a tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Let cool in pan.
Enjoy!
You can make this ahead, but don't cover the cake with film as it will soften the crackly top. Nonetheless, you can store loosely covered and it will be an awesome breakfast the next day.