Chocolate Orange Coffee Cake

I recently came across a great recipe for coffee cake. It's one of Food Network's mix-and-match recipes, so you can easily customize it according to what you might have on hand. Below is the version I made, mixing in oats and orange zest in the topping and filling the middle with chocolate chips. It reminded me ever so slightly of orange & chocolate buttermilk scones (I'm a sucker for any breakfast treat with citrus zest!). I served this for breakfast the weekend that Caleb's parents came to visit last month, and I found that Caleb and his dad were sneaking pieces all weekend long, breakfast time or not.

Chocolate Orange Coffee Cake
for the topping:
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
5 Tbsp unsalted butter, cut into pieces

for the batter:
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
1 cup sour cream
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8-inch-square baking dish with foil, leaving an overhang; butter the foil.

Make the topping: Whisk together flour, brown sugar, oats, orange zest, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Cut the butter in with a pastry blender until incorporated. Set aside. (Can store in the fridge, covered, for one day.)

Make the batter: Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate large bowl, beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce the mixer speed to low and at the flour mixture in 3 batches, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with the flour mixture. The batter will be thick.

Spread half of the batter in the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top in an even layer. Spoon the remaining batter over the chocolate chips and spread evenly. Sprinkle with the prepared topping. Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 55 minutes to 1 hour 5 minutes. Let cool 20 minutes in the baking dish, then lift out the cake using the foil and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

source: recipe from food network