Cardamom-Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake

Cardamom is one of my favorite spices, especially as fall rolls around, and this cake is full of it - in both the cake batter and in the streusel.  The flavor is pretty intense here, so if you're not such a big fan, you could probably reduce the amount (I thought it was perfect, though!).  The streusel includes a sprinkling of chocolate chips and walnuts - depending on your taste, I think you could probably double the amount of one or the other if you want more of either flavor.  Even with the smaller amounts, this was a delicious, festive coffee cake that definitely made breakfast feel extra special.

Cardamom-Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake (adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours and The New Moosewood Cookbook)
Makes 1 loaf cake

For the cake:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup ground almonds
2 tsp baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cardamom
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3 large eggs
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup vegetable oil

For the streusel:
1/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 T (packed) brown sugar
1 tsp cardamom

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a loaf pan.
2. Make the cake.  Whisk together the flour, ground almonds, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the sugar and cardamom.  Whisk in the yogurt, eggs, and vanilla.  Add the flour mixture and fold in with a rubber spatula until just combined.  Fold in the vegetable oil.  Some lumps are okay., but the oil should be completely incorporated.
4. Make the streusel.  Stir all the ingredients together until well combined.
5. Pour half the cake batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle over half of the streusel.  Pour the remaining cake batter over, and top with the remaining streusel.
6. Bake 50-55 minutes, until a tester comes out clean.