Cinnamon-Chocolate-Apricot Coffee Cake

Monday morning at the office - coffee cake is appropriate. As usual, this cake (page 254) is moist, tender, relatively easy to make. So it just comes down to your taste - do you want apricot, chocolate chips, and cinnamon together this morning - or at all for that matter. The combo was ok. Nothing to brag about in my book. But pleasant.

So, here is what I liked about this coffee cake. It was sweet and delicate in texture. A nice addition to my morning coffee that didn't weigh heavy in my stomach or leave me feeling guilty - though maybe I should have - I should figure the calories and fat......

What left me wanting more about this recipe--- I didn't like the way most of the apricot-chips-cinnamon streusel ended up in bottom of the pan- at the top of the cake. As instructed, I place two thirds of the batter into the pan then scattered the streusel mix over it before covering with the remaining one third of the batter. But in the oven, something took over - gravity or baking chemistry or whatever, and 95% of that "streusel" sank and/or the cake rose up around/over it. I'd prefer it be mixed throughout and get a bit of something in every bite.

Still, a relatively small criticism, of an otherwise good recipe. But in the end, I didn't feel like I wow-ed anyone. And truth be known, that's what I'm looking for -the "wow factor". If at least one of the ladies in the office doesn't ask for the recipe, I'm disappointed.