COFFEE CAKE ON STEROIDS!

I had been looking for an excuse to make this coffee cake and was waiting for the perfect occasion. I finally found one.  A few of the families in the neighborhood had decided to get together on a Sunday to discuss "Middle School". Living in sunny Southern Cal has it's plus' and minus'.  Public education is not one of the plus'.  However a group of us devoted and dedicated families are trying to "make a difference" and we have all decided to ban together and enroll our kids in our neighborhood middle school.  After meeting with the Principal of the school, some of the teachers as well as some of the current local families, most of us are very excited about this new chapter in our children's education. 

This is the  Campton Place Coffee Cake from Sherry Yard's Desserts by the Yard cookbook.  This recipe is the perfect combination of ingredients.  The cake is so light (sour cream based) and the filling is FANTASTIC. I made this cake true to the recipe.  It called for peaches (I used frozen which worked perfectly well), but next time I would probably do it with either raspberries or blueberries.  There is cocoa powder mixed in with the filling which makes this extra special.  Next time, I may omit the fruit all together and make the filling with chocolate chips.  The base of this cake is one of the best I have ever had.  

The Sunday get together as well as the cake was a huge success!