Much needed rambling

I've been in such a mood lately. Call it hormonal, but it certainly has had an effect on my productivity. Sorry I haven't been present for awhile here. I've no other excuses other than lack of inspiration. I've been unable to write anything original, to make anything original, and to study at all, really, for my very upcoming exam. In fact, the couch has nearly absorbed me, I'm surprised I haven't become one with its threads yet. Its pillows have been subjected to my intense hugs all week, so at least its getting something out of me. Moving on though, time seems to have flown by recently even though the minutes slog, and before I was even close to cognizant of what was going to happen, this week slipped by and fell into the category of dud-weeks. Lots of television, which has its own special place in the world of procrastination, very little puttering around in the kitchen, and many naps on the couch. I'm hoping that change is in the air with the oncoming of April, and that despite all the rain and pollen that seems to be coming along with it, I'll be motivated to get back on track. Here's to hope, that pesky little parasite that just won't die.

 

Anyways, today is Pinky's birthday. We're going out to a nice restaurant this evening, doing the old Baltimore tradition circuit (rather than go get sushi in DC as originally planned). All of these are good things, considering that it's been raining on and off all morning and the outside world just looks like a soggy mess. There's really no need to drive so far away just to eat, and even for today, despite my moaning and groaning, I'm all for supporting the lazy theme. After all, it's nearly 4 PM and we're all still on the couch, most of us flailing around in REM, the best of all possible dream states. 

I'd like to note though, that napping is still such a double-edged sword, because it's very difficult to get to REM in such short time, if you care at all about dreaming. If you don't, then sometimes, naps are a much needed power booster between getting up too early and having a little bit of time before the stresses of the evening hit. Other times though, as in my case, naps just sap you of even more strength. I'm usually a victim of the nap-strength-suck, after all, I am a lover of dreams. Dreams have always been the impetus behind many of my screen-plays and writings, the source of inspiration in daily life, the much needed escape from conscious day-to-day problem solving. If I don't reach REM, as with naps, I usually wake up groggy and grouchy, often with a mild headache that amplifies as the day goes on, which eventually keeps me up well past my original bed time. 

I try to avoid naps. While they don't seem to bother the dog, who uses naps as his priority method of passing boredom, I'm not so good with them. Oh, to be a dog.

Here is a recipe for Oatmeal Crumb Coffee Cake, a.k.a Pinky's birthday cake. I wanted to do a "breakfast cake" for him, not only because it would contain an element of surprise, but also because the evening possibility was taken away from me by restaurant time. And he loves crumble-toppings and coffee cake. Overall, things went well. Only mishap, thank god, had nothing to do with the recipe. While trying to sing, walk and carry the cake into the main room, I accidentally blew out half of his candles by myself. Woops.

I warn you, this cake is moist beyond belief. I thought my banana bread recipe was moist, and boy was my moisture-gauge meter off. Sorry to keep using the word moist, but this coffee cake is so moist that each bite almost explodes with syrupy moisture, and I suspect it will stay this way for a couple of days. And not only is it moist on the inside, it's crunchy on the bottom from the crumb-topping and has wonderful textures throughout. A slice of this cake goes fantastically well with a cup of coffee, though I do drink my coffee black. So, if you add lots of sugar to your coffee, then the cake might be a bit sweet. Do see the notes in the recipe below though to avoid this.

Oatmeal Crumb Coffee Cake
1 bundt pan

crumb topping
8 TB unsalted butter, cold
6 TB all-purpose flour
1/2 C rolled oats
1 C packed light brown sugar
1 C pecans or walnuts, chopped
1 TB cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg
granulated sugar, to sprinkle
batter
2 1/2 C cake flour*
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)
12 TB salted butter, softened
1/2 C of plain Greek yogurt
1 C of buttermilk
1 C granulated sugar*
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
juice of 1/2 a lemon

*Note: You can easily make cake flour using all-purpose flour with cornstarch (actually, this is what I did). Just subtract 5 TB of all-purpose flour from the total amount (from the 2 1/2 cups) and add in 5 TB of cornstarch. You can also think of it as removing 2 TB of flour for every cup of all-purpose flour and adding 2 TB cornstarch back in.

 *Note: I found this coffee cake to be a bit sweet, so I'd recommend using 3/4 C of sugar next time.  
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and butter a Bundt pan very well (make sure to cover all the nooks and crannies or else the cake will stick or break when inverted).

First prepare your crumb topping (a traditional streusel has a ratio of 1:1:2 for sugar to butter to flour. This is a little off, which is why I decided to call it crumb). Mix together all your ingredients, except the butter, in a large bowl. Then chop the cold butter into small cubes and add to the bowl. Using your hands, rub the crumb mixture until the everything is evenly coated and the butter is in small pea-size lumps. You can also do this in a food processor, but I was trying to be quiet to avoid waking up Pinky and ruining the surprise, so by hand is fine. Once ready, place this bowl in the refrigerator.

Prepare your batter next. I also did this all by hand, because I didn't want to over-mix the batter and cause gluten to develop, which would toughen up the cake. Sift together all your dry ingredients in one large bowl. In another bowl, to prepare your wet ingredients, cream together your sugar and butter. Add your vanilla, and then your eggs one by one, mixing each one completely into the batter and scraping down the sides before adding another. Once all the egg is added, mix in your yogurt and lemon juice. The wet ingredient mixture should look chunky at this point.

Now mix the wet and dry ingredients together. With your cup of buttermilk ready at hand, fold your flour gently into the wet ingredients in 3 parts, alternating with the buttermilk. It will be flour, buttermilk, flour, buttermilk, and remaining flour (make sure to end on flour). Once all the flour is evenly incorporated, although the batter should still be lumpy, pour it into the bundt pan. Pour half of the batter into the bundt pan, shaking to make the top even. Then cover with half of the crumb topping. Pour the remaining batter into the bundt pan over that, and sprinkle with remaining crumb topping. Dust with with extra granulated sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour, or until the top is browned and crispy. Remove from oven and let rest at least 30 minutes. You must let it cool or else the bundt will break when trying to remove from the pan. After cooled, run a spatula along the edges to release, invert, and voila. Oatmeal crumb coffee cake for breakfast.