Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chips

 

Just looking at the picture is already making me crave this coffee cake again! Chocolate, strawberries, and cream cheese in one delicious package...how could it be wrong? As mentioned here, over the weekend I got together with friends for a potluck brunch.  Out of "I don't have time to go to the store, what do I have in the house?" necessity, this recipe was born. The results were wonderful and this coffee cake could easily work for a dessert as well (especially with a little powdered sugar glaze- yum!).

 

Strawberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake with Chocolate Chips

8 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 c unsalted butter, softened
3/4 c sugar
1/4 c greek yogurt
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
2 c all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp finely-ground sea salt
1 15oz package frozen strawberries, sliced
1 c semi-sweet chocolate chips 

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 F.  Grease and flour a 9 x 13 baking dish. 
2. In a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together cream cheese, butter, and sugar until consistency is light and fluffy. 
3. Incorporate greek yogurt, eggs, and vanilla at low speed until well-combined. 
4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. 
5. Slowly incorporate dry ingredients at low speed until just combined. 
6. Spread half the dough into the bottom of your baking dish. *This dough is very thick. I found it easiest to spoon the dough into the dish and then spread it into an even layer using a butter knife. 
7. Top the first dough layer with the sliced strawberries and chocolate chips. 
8. Cover the strawberry and chocolate layer with the second half of the dough. *I used the same scoop-and-spread method for the second layer. Don't worry about perfectly covering everything. 
9. Bake at 350F for approximately 40 minutes, until the outside crust is golden brown. 
10. Enjoy :)

Process Photos:

Steps 6 & 7. The first layer of dough covered in strawberries and chocolate.

Step 8. Covering the strawberry/chocolate layer with the second half of dough. Again, no need to get it perfect...a few pieces of chocolate and strawberry sticking out helps people know what kind of deliciousness they are in for :)

 

Step 9. The finished product in all of its golden-brown goodness. 

If you have a brunch coming up, or are looking for a morning treat for yourself, this recipe would be a great one to work into your usual rotation. What are your favorite go-to brunch recipes?

Have a great week, 

-The Delicious Dabbler