Cinnamon Pecan Coffee Cake

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My mom came to visit this past Thanksgiving, and while she was here she made an amazing coffee cake. It was moist, delicious, and had several of the flavors that I love including cinnamon, brown sugar, and pecans.

Three of my grandchildren spent the day with us while she was here, and they, too, had some of the coffee cake and BEGGED me to make it again for Christmas. So, of course, I did! I made it with one variation, though, and that is that I made it with a gluten free cake mix because one of my granddaughters has ulcerative colitis and so cannot have wheat gluten. It was so good, and you truly could not tell that it was gluten free! I will share the recipe with you and then indicate the modifications that I made to make it gluten free at the end.

Here's what you will need -

• 1 Bundt pan, either silicone or metal

• 1 cup finely chopped pecans (I love pecans so I measured with my heart)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 cup light brown sugar

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon nutmet

• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, cut into small cubes and chilled (salted or unsalted, either is fine)

• 1 box (15.25 oz) yellow cake mix

• 1 package (3.4 oz) instant vanilla cake mix - make sure it is instant, not the cook-type

• 1/2 cup vegetable oil

• 1 cup water

• 4 large eggs

• 1 cup confectioners' (powdered) sugar

• 2 tablespoons milk

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat your over to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Grease and flour the Bundt pan. I use Baker's Joy, which makes that really easy.

First you'll prepare the streusel, which will be the deliciousness in the middle of your coffee cake. In a medium bowl, combine the chopped pecans, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the chilled butter and mix it together with your fingers until it forms a crumble that has the texture of wet sand. Make sure to mix it well enough so that you don't see any dry pockets of flour. Once that's done set it aside.

Next, combine the cake mix, dry pudding mix, oil, water, and eggs in a large bowl. With an electric mixer on low speed, beat the ingredients together for 30 seconds, and then increase the speed to medium-high and beat for 2 more minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Sprinkle half of the streusel mixture in the bottom of the prepared Bundt pan, which will make it the top of the cake once it is baked and inverted. Top that with half of the cake batter mixture, add the remaining streusel as the middle layer, and then top that with the remaining batter.

Bake the coffee cake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of it comes out clean. Cool it in the pan on a wire rack for 10-15 minutes, and then invert the cake onto a wire rack to cool completely before glazing. This period should take about 2 hours.

Once the cake is cool, prepare the glaze by whisking together the confectioners' sugar, milk, and vanilla extract until it is smooth, and then drizzle it over the top of the cake.

And that's it! Enjoy it with a cup of coffee or by itself. It truly is wonderful both ways. It does not need to be refrigerated and can be kept wrapped securely at room temperature on your counter for 2-3 days - unless you eat it all first!

The modifications that I made to make it gluten free for my granddaughter were simple - I subbed the yellow cake mix for a gluten free yellow cake mix and the flour in the streusel for gluten free flour. That's it, and no one could tell the difference. And of course, my granddaughter loved it!