Little Women: Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Little Women: Recipe #9

For my final Little Women recipe, I made a nice cinnamon coffee/crumb cake. This dish isn’t mentioned in the book as the previous recipes have been, but it does strike me as something the March family would have eaten, as they are always having tea and coffee and cakes of all sorts. I am also dedicating this recipe to Mr. Friedrich Bhaer, “Jo’s Professor,” as the streussel topping suggests German origin. A coffee cake like this seems like a nice marriage between American cuisine and German, which is fitting for Mr. Bhaer!

In the second half of Little Women as a whole, food isn’t mentioned or described as much as it previously was when we were first getting acquainted with the March girls. In the first half, Ms. Alcott writes with vivid, gorgeous descriptions in order to create a wonderful ambiance in which we can imagine our girls living - but come the second half, more thought is put into the advancement of the plot rather than painting pretty vignettes.

Ingredients:

For the Cake:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 1/4 tsp baking soda

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup sugar

• 2 Tbsp melted vegan butter (I used Miyoko’s)

• 1 cup oat milk (I used extra creamy Planet Oat brand)

• 1 tsp apple cider vinegar

• 1/4 cup canola oil

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1/4 tsp almond extract
  

  For the Topping:

• 1/3 cup flour

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1/2 tsp salt

• 3 tsp cinnamon

• 4 Tbsp vegan butter (I used Miyoko’s)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

2. Line a square baking pan with parchment paper (see photo) - parchment paper must be hanging off the edges of the pan a bit.

3. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Stir in sugar.

5. Slowly mix in melted butter, oat milk, apple cider vinegar, oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract (one at a time).

6. Pour batter into parchment-lined pan.

7. Now for the topping! In medium mixing bowl, mix together flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon.

8. Cut vegan butter up into small pieces and toss into the flour/sugar/cinnamon mix. Using your hands, mix it well until mixture isn’t just powder - there should be a nice moist substantial feeling to it. If it still feels too powdery, add more butter.

9. Spread topping mixture over the cake batter evenly - using your fingers.

10. Bake for 50 min until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Let cool, and carefully remove from the pan and peel off parchment.

11. Serve alongside a nice big cup of coffee or a lovely oat milk latte :)

12. Enjoy!