overnight coffee crumble cake

So college football season has begun and once again all is right with the world.  My husband (and admittedly I, too) have been counting down the days until college football since early this summer.  We have a schedule of every single SEC game posted on our refrigerator.  We have begun the yearly college football pick ’em with the family (and did pretty terrible the first week).   And we have tickets to the game between our two teams next week.  We are serious and we are prepared.

I made this coffee cake as a special beginning of football season breakfast because I could make it mostly on Friday night and then stick in the in the oven on Saturday morning while we watching College Gameday.  It was easy to mix together, and since you can make the topping the night before as well, all that a Saturday morning requires is spreading the topping over the cake, letting it sit at room temperature for 30 minutes, sticking it in the oven, and stirring together a simple milk and powdered sugar (and optional bourbon) glaze.

The cake part of this yellow and rich and just full of vanilla comfort.  And the topping is all the warmth of cinnamon and toasted nuts that you want out of a welcome to fall coffee cake.  A word about me and nuts–I think I’m starting to like them more.  While I will never ever be a nuts in brownies type of person, because as I feel like I’ve said (or perhaps read?) too many times to count the nuts are just a filler for where chocolate should be, I’m enjoying them in more and more things, especially toasted on top of cinnamon breakfast items like this coffee cake and my favorite to-date breakfast bread.

This recipe makes a whole 9 x 11 pan of coffee cake, so I would recommend this for a crowd.  And while I’m not really sure what happened to mine to make it look less than brunch worthy (somehow the topping got scooted the center and the edges of the cake puffed up around the sides of the pan), it didn’t take away from the flavor, which seemed to taste just utterly of early fall.  And yes, I know it’s still 90 degrees outside.  But I’m choosing to ignore that and concentrate on our cooler mornings and the few trees that seem to be starting to change colors (even though I think they might just be dead).

Overnight Coffee Crumble Cake
adapted from Southern Living Magazine December 2011

Prep Time: 25 minutes
Wait Time: 8 to 24 hours
Bake Time: 35 minutes

Serves 10-12

For the cake:
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the glaze:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons milk
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)

1. To prepare the cake, beat butter at medium speed in a large bowl until creamy, 1-2 minutes.  Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the mixture is light and fluffy, 1-2 more minutes.  Add the eggs, 1 add a time, beating after each addition.
2. In a medium-sized bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.  Then stir in the vanilla.
4. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.  Then pour the batter into the pan, using a spatula to make sure it spreads out evenly.  Then cover tightly and chill overnight (8 to 24 hours).
5. To make the topping combine the pecans, walnuts, almonds, brown sugar, flour, melted butter, and cinnamon together in a medium-sized bowl.  Stir until moist and crumbly.  Refrigerate overnight.
6. When ready to bake the cake, remove from refrigerator and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Spread the crumble topping evenly over the cake.  Bake cake for 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.
8. While the cake is baking, make the glaze.  Combine the powdered sugar, milk, and bourbon in a small bowl and stir until it forms an icing like glaze.  When the cake has baked, remove it from the oven and drizzle the glaze evenly over the cake.  Serve cake warm.