Second Try: Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Have you ever tried out a recipe that you expect to be so divine that the heavens will part and rainbows will shine, but what really ends up happening is some kind of rainshower with plenty of clouds?

I shared a Coffee Cake Recipe last Spring from Rachael Ray magazine that landed somewhere between the cloud at the end of a rainbow and a slow, steady drizzle. Not my best work--a bit too soupy. I put the recipe aside and forgot all about coffee cakes until I stumbled across a Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake recipe from Southern Living.

For the most part, I consider Southern Living to be the litmus test of all good recipes. I was not disappointed with this one. Two girlfriends joined me one morning several weeks back and raved about the taste, so I knew I had to share it with you. (Locals, if you are reading this, I claim this one for MOPS brunch days!)

Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
from Southern Living, 2004

Cake:
1 cup semi sweet chocolate morsels
1 (16 oz.) package pound cake mix
1 (8 oz.) sour cream
1/2 cup milk
2 large eggs

To Make Cake: Stir together chocolate morsels and 1 T of the cake mix. Set aside. Beat sour cream, milk, eggs, and remaining cake mix at low speed for 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium, beat 3 more minutes. Spoon half of the batter into a lightly greased 13 x 9 in pan (I used and recommend an 8 x 8!!). Sprinkle morsel mixture on top. Spread remaining batter on top, Sprinkle with streusel mixture. Bake at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Streusel Topping:
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 T all purpose flour
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1 c. chopped pecans
2 T melted butter

To make Streusel: Combine first 3 ingredients, stir in pecans and butter til crumbly

*As usual, I was distracted while baking, and I ended up mixing the morsels/cake mix combination and the streusel topping together in a bowl. I decided to go with the flow, and after putting the first layer of batter into the 8 x 8 pan, I put a thin layer of the morsel/cake mix/streusel down. I added the second layer of batter and then a hearty topping of morsels/cake mix/streusel to the top. This actually turned out perfectly and I'll continue to make it this way!*

I'd keep writing, but the drool keeps messing up my keyboard.

Come back later this week for some crafty stuff, a neat blog-related Giveaway, and a Weekend Bloggy Reading link-up on Friday morning!

Linking to Jen's Tasty Tuesday and Jennifer's Tutorial Tuesday!

Special thanks to today's Sponsor, Crafty Girls Workshop.