Posted: Jan 27, 2001 2:29 PM
From: MariaD/No CA :-)
Thanks All! I made the Beaujolais & REC: Toffee Bar Coffee Cake, Wow!........

I gotta say the Beaujolais was good, but the Toffee Bar Cake had people fighting over it. I really made it so hubby, who can't eat nuts, would be able to have something to eat. I was lucky to save him a piece! Of course our family likes sweets, and this is much sweeter than the other. However everyone asked for the recipe so I thought I share it with my tweaks. Rec: Toffee Bar Coffee Cake

TOFFEE BAR COFFEE CAKE
"The Harmony House Inn in New Bern, North Carolina, is a beautiful old place with a comfortable, homey atmosphere," says Mary Ann Callahan, Binghamton, NY. "The Kirkpatricks, who run the inn, serve consistently delicious breakfasts. I've tried several of the breads and rolls, and they're all great. But the best thing going is the Heath Bar coffee cake." This cake has a sweet, crunchy topping, and it's easy to prepare. Serve as a breakfast treat or snack.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room
temperature
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1.4-ounce chocolate-covered English toffee
bars (such as Heath Bars), chopped (about 1
cup)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 13x9x2-inch
glass baking dish. Using electric mixer,
beat first 5 ingredients in large bowl on
low speed until mixture resembles coarse
meal. Transfer 1/2 cup butter-sugar mixture
to medium bowl; mix in toffee and pecans.
Set aside. Stir baking soda into remaining
butter-sugar mixture in large bowl. Add
buttermilk, egg and vanilla, beating until
just combined. Transfer batter to prepared
dish.

Sprinkle toffee topping evenly over batter.
Bake until topping is golden brown and
toothpick inserted into center of cake comes
out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool completely
in baking dish. Cut into 16 squares. (Can be
made 1 day ahead. Store in airtight
container at room temperature.)

Makes 16 squares. Bon Appétit, December
1999, R.S.V.P., The Harmony House Inn, New
Bern, NC

Maria’s Tweaks:
Hubby can’t eat nuts so I used all toffee chips instead. I used Skor English Toffee Bits in place of the Health or Skor bars themselves. A 10 oz pkg. equals about 2 cups needed for the topping. When I made it I had about 1/4 of another bag leftover from something else which I used in the center of the cake (pour in half the batter, sprinkle bits, then pour the
rest over the top.)

Also, I included about 2 tsps. of cinnamon in the batter because some of the reviews mentioned it needed something and I agree.

PS Do add the bits in the center, I think it really adds to it. -- At least it adds to the sweetness factor,lol!