This is the cake that is described as being similar to the hot fireball candy you probably ate as a kid. The Saigon cinnamon does have that exact same smell!
First, you make a streusel similar to those made in cakes #6 & 8. It basically contains brown sugar, cinnamon and almonds. I tried stirring it with a fork when I added a little melted butter, but that didn't seem to work. I washed my hands (I'll be sharing the cake, after all) and stirred it up with my fingers, which worked much better. I'm convinced that there is no substitute for your own fingers when mixing certain things, like streusel.Based on my comments from cake #9, I cut the almond extract in half. The recipe calls for ONE TEASPOON which is crazy since that stuff is po-TENT.
I used the kitchen aid to mix all the ingredients for the batter, which turned out to be the consistency of cream cheese frosting, and therefore, hard to pour. Also, the recipe called for an 8" square baking pan. I do not own anything that small, so I used my round cake pan. But I could see after adding the ingredients that it is important to not use a very large pan. Because you pour half the batter into the pan first, then smooth it out, then add some streusel, then the rest of the batter, and the rest of the streusel. So, if you had a pan that was too large, those would be some pretty thin layers!
After baking for 40 minutes, it came out looking good, especially when I flipped it upside down onto a plate (that's a good-lookin' bottom!) then flipped it again onto the serving plate.
The result: This cake is awesome. I will definintely bake it again, it has just the right amount of cinnamon and sweetness. And speaking of the cinnamon, although it smells like those red hot candies, it does not taste like them after being baked. But I can see how this cinnamon works better than normal cinnamon for this cake. If I ever feel like baking a coffee cake, this will be the one.
Yummy. I liked that one. Glad to know you wash your hands.
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