~Snowy Afternoon Baking~Almond Orange Coffee Cake

Good afternoon. It is absolutely gorgeous here right now. We have yet another snow storm paying us a visit..this snow... is my favorite kind of snow..it takes over everything and turns our world a gorgeous, mesmerizing, sole touching white! It truly relaxes me and has made me feel like I'm finally myself again.

Last week was an awful week that could have been so much worse....My Brother-in-law was hit head on during last Tuesday's snow storm by a man who lost control on the icy roads...it was awful...it is an absolute miracle that Donny (my BIL) is alive........tragically, the other driver lost his life and our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. This experience shook me right down to my core..the terror of not knowing how badly Donny's was hurt and the worry for my sister and niece...affected me like nothing I've ever experienced before...it literally takes a hold of you and takes over everything. I've been on autopilot this past week .....and have no idea how I managed to finish my offerings for My Web show or how anything actually got done....it all seems like a blur to me...

BUT...FINALLY... today..as I was chopping vegetables and putting the ingredients for pot roast in the crock pot...I started feeling like myself and actually physically felt the exhaustion lifting...so now..as the snow continues to fall and the wonderful aroma of pot roast lingers with the scent of baking bread and Orange Almond Streusel Coffee Cake..I can relax and carry on, thanking God..over and over and OVER for taking care of this small little family of ours.

Before I go, I wanted to share the recipe for the coffee cake I mentioned above..I've made this for years..the page is so stained with drops of ingredients that some of the words are unreadable....it is delicious and smells sooo good while it's baking.

~Orange Almond Streusel Cake~

• Streusel:
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup flour
• 3 Tbsp butter, melted
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 
  
• Cake
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2/3 cup orange juice
• 
  
• Glaze
• 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
• 2 1/2 tsp orange juice

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease a 9 or 10-inch tube pan.
• To prepare Streusel, in a medium bowl, mix together brown sugar, nuts and flour. Stir in butter and zest.
• To prepare Cake, in a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until fluffy.
• Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Beat in zest and vanilla.
• In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and baking soda. Alternately beat flour and orange juice into egg mixture at a low speed, beginning and ending with flour.
• Spoon half of the batter into prepared pan.
• Sprinkle with half of the Streusel. Top with remaining batter and Streusel.
• Bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.
• Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To prepare the Glaze, in a cup, stir together confectioners' sugar and orange juice until smooth.
• Turn the cake onto serving plate, placing it right-side up and drizzle with the glaze.
• ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope you like it :) I'm off now to make a pot of coffee and get back to work..Wishing you a wonderful afternoon :)D

PS..I was hoping to share more snowy photo's with you..but alas..my camera batteries decided to die.........they seem to do that at the most inopportune times!