Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Lemon Coffee Cake

January 27, 2014

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So I’m sure you’ve heard of a sweet tooth before? In fact, you might even have one yourself. My sweet tooth really flares up when I am pregnant. With my first little guy, my sweet tooth was so bad I had a major bill to pay at the dentist when it was all said and done.

As in SEVEN cavities. Yikes.

My dentist kept trying to figure out why all of the sudden my teeth were rotting out of my head.

He asked if I drank a lot of soda. No.

How about sugary coffee? No.

Suck on a lot of mints? No.

Then I confessed, “I am mildly addicted to Jujubees.” Mystery solved.

But did you know it’s also possible to have a fat tooth? If you crave buttery, creamy, fried foods, you might have a fat tooth. That’s where I’m at right now. I can tell because I want to pour half and half on my morning bowl of cereal and I have to go out of my way to avoid driving by a Dunkin Donuts.

Too dangerous.

This Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Lemon Coffee Cake is just what I need. I love the light lemon flavor, the sweet, moist coffee cake, and the crunchy, crumbly topping. And we all know I love using Greek yogurt whenever possible to lighten it up a little bit. Just don’t tell my fat tooth!

But if you are not able to find Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese, feel free to use regular cream cheese. You can also add more lemon juice or a small amount of lemon extract if you prefer a stronger lemon flavor.

Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese Lemon Coffee Cake

Author: Julie
Yield: 16 (small servings)

Ingredients

Cream Cheese Layer

8 ounces Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese, softened (regular cream cheese is fine too)
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Coffee Cake

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup Greek yogurt
zest of one lemon
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (add more for stronger lemon flavor)

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cold cubed butter
powdered sugar for dusting

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare an 8 x 8 inch baking dish by lining it with parchment paper, leaving extra paper hanging over two of the sides. If you don’t have parchment paper, spray the dish with non-stick cooking spray.

For the Cream Cheese Layer

In a medium bowl, stir together cream cheese, sugar, egg, and lemon juice until smooth and creamy. Set aside.

For the Coffee Cake

In another medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, mix oil and sugar. Add egg and mix well.
Add Greek yogurt, lemon zest and lemon juice. Mix well on medium speed until smooth and creamy.
Gradually add the flour mixture to the batter and mix until incorporated on low speed. Be careful not to over mix.
Spoon the batter into the prepared baking dish and smooth it out to the edges.
Carefully spread the cream cheese mixture over the top of the batter, spreading it almost to the edges.

For the Crumb Topping

To make the crumb topping, pour the flour, sugar and cold cubed butter into a medium bowl, and using a pastry cutter or two forks, cut the butter into the flour and sugar until you are have pea sized crumbs of flour coated butter. Pour the crumb mixture over the cream cheese layer.
Bake the coffee cake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes. Allow to cool, and then dust with powdered sugar. Remove from the dish using parchment paper to a cutting board, and cut into 16 squares.

Notes

Adapted from Two In The Kitchen