A Touch of Sweetness

Dulce de leche.

Those three words just bring to mind heaven in a can. Or more specifically, heaven on earth in the form of a sweet caramelized condensed milk product on a spoon, being eaten straight out of the container, no other accoutrements necessary. Seriously.

Alright, so perhaps it's not the most healthy thing on the planet, but truthfully, it's so good on its own that nothing else is needed. However, I suppose that a simple cake or even a scoop of vanilla ice cream would compliment the decadent topping suitably.

I tried to be good. I really did. And it turned out moist, sticky, not too sweet and slightly crunchy.

An almond toffee (two things I DID NOT have) coffee cake recipe tweaked to include swirls of dulce de leche, omit the almond slices and toffee bits, an added streusel topping of brown sugar, flour and just enough oil to moisten the mixture (you can use melted butter, but I was trying to be a bit more health conscious).

Dulce de Leche Coffee Cake

Cake
1/2 cup melted butter/oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups AP flour
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp almond extract or vanilla

Extras
Streusel
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup AP flour
enough oil to moisten
Dulce de leche (you can buy it or make it by taking the paper off a can of condensed milk and boiling the can for approx. 1 hour, let cool in the pot before removing to fridge. Top off with more water as needed to keep can covered while boiling.)

Directions
Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and baking soda in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together butter, eggs, sour cream and the extract of your choice. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry and stir until just combined.

Line an 8x8 square pan and fill with half of the batter. Take a spoon and swirl the dulce de leche into the batter (then lick the spoon when you're done).

Pour the rest of the batter into the pan.

Combine all of the streusel ingredients and scatter over the top. Bake in a preheated 350 F ( 175 C) degree oven for 35-40 mins.
If you have extra dulce de leche that you didn't inhale from the container, drizzle some over the top before baking.

Some of the dulce de leche sinks to the bottom of the pan and becomes a sticky sweet caramelized crust, just adding to the deliciousness. Yes, I realize that is not a word. :P