The state of things in the Cho-Alt household have been in shambles as of the last 36 hours. Between the million of packages Reuben ordered to get his home brewing closet going and all the products making their way into our living room for holiday themed photoshoots, we have enough cardboard laying around to build a mansion on the side of the highway. Oh and we’ve both succumbed to a pesky cold that is hitting us at the worst possible time and making any movement away from the bed or the couch feel impossible. So we are sick people surrounded by cardboard.

I’ve decided to take my first few sick days. Sick days don’t really exist when you work for yourself. Yesterday’s sick day consisted of catching up on Riverdale (what is happening?!!!) and the 16TH SEASON OF GREY’S ANATOMY. Geez, I remember watching that show my freshman year of high school and listening to How to Save a Life by the Fray over and over again on my little ipod mini. Whoa.

I also tested a mini batch of overnight french toast yesterday and going to develop a chicken laksa recipe today, so sick days still involve quite a bit of work in between couch time watching non-Reuben approved tv shows.

This Cinnamon Matcha Streusel Coffee Cake makes me miss peaceful weekends that aren’t full of dumpling workshops, mountains of dishes, and lugging boxes full of kitchen equipment across town. Don’t get me wrong, I do love my job now, but I’m in the thick of a dumpling marathon and I just can’t wait for the month long break I scheduled for myself where we will have completely free weekends to be lazy, run errands in the suburbs, and make cozy breakfasts in the morning.

I recently switched my workshops from Sunday to Saturdays so that Reuben could enjoy Sunday football in his jammies (JK, Reuben doesn’t wear jammies). I forgot how sacred Sundays were for me. I’m a creature of habit and I love my rituals. My favorite Sunday ritual was going to the Clement Street Farmers market at 8am, before everyone else got there and the fog was still sticking to the ground, snagging my vegetables for the week and tasting all the fruit samples. I would then proceed home, make a classic breakfast of eggs, a salty meat product, and a side of fruit while Reuben brewed some coffee for us. We would then watch public access cooking shows until some sort of sports would come on and continue to be lazy pandas all day on the couch. The rest of the day would consist of cookbook reading, maybe some laundry, and potentially a face mask.

Fingers-crossed we get those lazy weekends back soon!

Matcha Streusel

If streusel wasn’t already the best thing in the world, we just added matcha to it! This Cinnamon Matcha Coffee Cake… or should it be called Cinnamon Matcha Tea Cake if you’re going to enjoy it with a mug of hot matcha instead??? The name coffee cake always perplexed me. The point is that this cake is so yummy! The cake base is a classic sour cream coffee cake, which is rich and dense with a nice tangy flavor. The Streusel is a simple blend of Aiya Matcha, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and rolled oats. It’s crumbly, sugary, and has just enough of a caffeine kick to get your day started. Matcha has a natural grassy and bitter flavor thats complimented nicely by the cinnamon and sugar.

This loaf would make an excellent addition to your next brunch table, breakfast potluck, or even a Friendsgiving! OMGGGG IT’S NOVEMBER SO SOON!!

Cinnamon Matcha Coffee Cake

makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream

Streusel Ingredients:

1/2 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 tbsp Aiya Matcha Culinary Grade Matcha Powder
1 teaspoons vanilla
4 tbsp butter, melted
½ cup rolled oats

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with non-stick spray and line with parchment paper.

2. Using a standmixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in eggs and beat for another minute until combined. You can also whisk vigorously by hand.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

4. Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream, mixing after each addition. Cake batter will be thick and light.

5. To make the streusel, combine all topping ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork until crumbly.

6. Spread half the cake batter into the loaf pan. Sprinkle half of the matcha streusel topping over the cake batter. Spread the rest of the cake batter into the loaf pan and top with remaining matcha streusel topping - it might look like a lot of streusel but you want to add all of it.

7. Bake the coffee cake for 55-65 minutes. If the top is browning to fast, cover with foil for the last 15-20 minutes. Test for doneness by inserting a toothpick into the center and checking if the toothpick comes out clean or with a few crumbs sticking to it. 

8. Remove the coffee cake from the oven. Allow the coffee cake to cool in the pan for 10 minutes then remove from the pan and allow to cool on a wire rack. Enjoy warm or allow to completely cool for later.

Thanks, Aiya Matcha, for sponsoring this post!