Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

16 squares, or 8 slices*
Total price: NY $4.18 (with extra milk and eggs)
Price per square: NY $0.26


"Recessionipes Entertains: It’s a Pity Party! (Part 2)"
(If you missed Part 1, check it out here.)

Happy National Coffee Cake Day!

Unfortunately, as we were putting the finishing touches on this post, Blondie officially got the boot. Blondie, to paraphrase an editor from the now defunct Domino magazine paraphrasing Dinner at Eight: “Darling, that’s fabulous! ALL the best people are getting fired these days!”

Blondie’s report on the coffee cake: "I was thrilled to be invited to your blogger’s home for brunch this past Sunday, and because my mother raised me right, I wanted to bring something. Those of you who bake know that a homemade sweet treat is always welcome, and if, like me, your employment looks iffy, you want to keep the meal invitations coming! So in keeping with the Rec(ession)ipes theme, I made this Apple Streusel Coffee Cake.

I love this cake because it's quick, and can be made almost completely with staples already in your kitchen. I put the whole thing together while my laundry was in the dryer. It requires no special equipment beyond a knife to chop apples and a wooden spoon to mix the batter - you don't even need an electric mixer. In terms of ingredients, I indulged my farmers' market craving, and spent all of two dollars for two beautiful large Ida Reds ($1.80/lb). Everything else was already in the kitchen."


Ingredients
For the Cake:

• 1 1/2 cups flour total, equal parts white and whole wheat, sifted*, then measured (staple)
• 2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder (staple)
• 1/2 cup sugar (staple)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (staple)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (staple)
• 1 egg (NY $0.99 for 6)
• 1/2 cup milk (can be skim) (NY $ 1.19 for 1 qt.)
• 1/4 cup vegetable shortening, melted*** (shortening melts very quickly, so use low flame, and keep an eye on it)
• 1 1/2 cup chopped apples (about two large apples), any semi-tart to tart variety (NY $2.00)

For the streusel topping (aka, the crumb part that everyone likes):

• 1/2 cup sugar (staple)
• 1/4 cup flour total, equal parts white and whole wheat (staple)
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnnamon (staple)
• 2 tablespoons butter (right out of the refrigerator is fine) (staple)

Instructions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Sift flour together with other dry ingredients.

Beat the egg, then add the milk and melted shortening.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry then add the raw apples and mix well.

Pour the batter into a well-greased 8-inch square pan.

To make the streusel, stir together the dry ingredients, then cut in butter using a pastry blender**** until it forms pea-sized pieces with the dry ingredients.

Finish combining with your fingertips until you have small clumps.

Sprinkle topping over the batter. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Adapted from Foodnetwork.com

*Confession: we went for slices.
** I don't have a sifter, and probably never will. A fine-mesh sieve works perfectly well.
***As far as staples go, this may be a bit of a cheat - I happened to have vegetable shortening in the house (confession: from the last time I made this cake), but if you don't, and you want to keep to staples, butter would probably work just as well.
****If you don't have a pastry blender, butter may be cut in using two butter knives in a criss crossing motion, or just work it in with your fingertips. If you like to make struesel toppings, or any kind of fruit crumbles, you may want to get a pastry blender - it cuts time in half, easily.

Thanks for the great recipe Blondie! We’ll let you all know when “Desserts on the Dole: Baking & the Breadline” goes live!

Nutrition Facts

Approximate values per serving

Calories 150.3	Vitamin A 1.5 %	Iron 4.2 %
Total Fat 5.2 g	Vitamin B-12 1.1 %	Magnesium 4.5 %
Cholesterol 19.0 mg	Vitamin B-6 2.6 %	Manganese 24.2 %
Sodium 160.0 mg	Vitamin C 1.3 %	Niacin 4.3 %
Potassium 79.5 mg	Vitamin D 0.7 %	Phosphorus 7.0 %
Total Carbohydrate 24.7 g	Vitamin E 1.4 %	Riboflavin 3.8 %
Fiber 1.9 g	Calcium 5.7 %	Selenium 14.1 %
Sugars 12.5 g	Copper 2.6 %	Thiamin 4.8 %
Protein 2.4 g	Folate 2.7 %	Zinc 2.8 %