The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook (266 page)

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

This brunch staple is fraught with pitfalls, from dry, bland cake to lackluster fillings that sink to the bottom as they bake. We wanted a rich, moist cake with a texture that could support a tangy swirl of cream cheese filling. We settled on a straightforward creaming method for our batter: Beat softened butter with sugar, then add the eggs, milk, and dry ingredients. The resulting cake was full of flavor and capable of supporting our cheese filling, but it was also a bit dry. To add moisture, we replaced the milk with richer sour cream, added baking soda, and upped the amount of butter. For the filling, we settled on a mixture of softened cream cheese and sugar and added lemon juice to cut the richness and vanilla for depth. Incorporating some of the cake batter into the cheese mixture prevented graininess and helped the filling fuse seamlessly with the cake. A lemon- almond topping provided the crowning touch.

See “ASSEMBLING CREAM CHEESE COFFEE CAKE” illustrations that follow recipe.

SERVES 12 TO 16

Leftovers should be stored in the refrigerator, covered tightly with plastic wrap. For the best texture, allow the cake to return to room temperature before serving.

TOPPING

CAKE

1. FOR THE TOPPING:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 10-inch tube pan with vegetable oil spray. Stir sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined and sugar is moistened. Stir in almonds; set aside.

2. FOR THE CAKE:
Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in medium bowl; set aside. Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, beat butter, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar, and lemon zest on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined. Add 4 teaspoons vanilla and mix to combine. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of sour cream, scraping down bowl as needed. Give batter final stir by hand.

3.
Reserve 1¹⁄
₄
cups batter and set aside. Spoon remaining batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Return now-empty bowl to mixer and beat cream cheese, remaining 5 tablespoons sugar, lemon juice, and remaining 1 teaspoon vanilla on medium speed until smooth and slightly lightened, about 1 minute. Add ¹⁄
₄
cup reserved batter and mix until incorporated. Spoon cream cheese mixture evenly over batter, keeping filling about 1 inch from edges of pan; smooth top. Spread remaining 1 cup reserved batter over filling and smooth top. With butter knife or offset spatula, gently swirl filling into batter using figure-eight motion, being careful to not drag filling to bottom or edges of pan. Firmly tap pan on counter 2 or 3 times to dislodge any bubbles. Sprinkle sugar topping evenly over batter and gently press into batter to adhere.

4.
Bake until top is golden and just firm, and skewer inserted in cake comes out clean (skewer will be wet if inserted in cream cheese filling), 45 to 50 minutes. Remove pan from oven and firmly tap on counter 2 or 3 times (top of cake may sink slightly). Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 1 hour. Gently invert cake onto rimmed baking sheet (cake will be topping side down); remove tube pan, place wire rack on top of cake, and invert cake sugar side up. Let cool to room temperature, about 1¹⁄
₂
hours, before serving.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

Sour cream coffee cakes should be buttery and rich, but not heavy and greasy like many versions tend to be. We wanted a pleasantly rich cake with lots of streusel on top and throughout. All-purpose flour gave us a better texture than the cake flour specified in many recipes. For richness, we used plenty of butter, sour cream, and eggs. A good dose of baking powder, along with baking soda, was necessary to make this hefty batter rise. Rather than creaming the butter and sugar, which made the cake too light and airy, we cut softened butter and some of the sour cream into the dry ingredients, then added the eggs and the rest of the sour cream; the result was a tighter crumb. In addition to the streusel in the middle of the cake, we wanted more on top, so we started with a mixture of brown and granulated sugars and added a big hit of cinnamon and flour, which kept the streusel from congealing. We then divided the mixture, using some for the interior streusel layers (which we sweetened further with more brown sugar) and the rest for the topping. To the topping portion, we added pecans and butter for texture and richness.

SERVES 12 TO 16

A fixed-bottom, 10-inch tube pan (with 10-cup capacity) is best for this recipe. Note that the streusel is divided into two parts—one for the inner swirls, one for the topping.

STREUSEL

CAKE

1. FOR THE STREUSEL:
Process flour, granulated sugar, ¹⁄
₄
cup brown sugar, and cinnamon in food processor until combined, about 15 seconds. Transfer 1¹⁄
₄
cups of flour-sugar mixture to small bowl and stir in remaining ¹⁄
₄
cup brown sugar; set aside for streusel filling. Add butter and pecans to mixture in food processor and pulse until nuts and butter resemble small pebbly pieces, about 10 pulses. Set aside for streusel topping.

2. FOR THE CAKE:
Adjust oven rack to lowest position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 10-inch tube pan softened butter. Whisk eggs, 1 cup sour cream, and vanilla in medium bowl until combined.

3.
Using stand mixer fitted with paddle, mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed for 30 seconds to combine. Add butter and remaining ¹⁄
₂
cup sour cream and mix until dry ingredients are moistened and mixture resembles wet sand, with few large butter pieces remaining, about 1¹⁄
₂
minutes. Increase speed to medium and beat until batter comes together, about 10 seconds; scrape down sides of bowl with rubber spatula. Lower speed to medium-low and gradually add egg mixture in 3 additions, beating for 20 seconds after each and scraping down sides of bowl. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until batter is light and fluffy, about 1 minute.

4.
Using rubber spatula, spread 2 cups batter in bottom of prepared pan and smooth surface. Sprinkle evenly with ³⁄
₄
cup streusel filling. Repeat with another 2 cups batter and remaining ³⁄
₄
cup streusel filling. Spread remaining batter over filling, then sprinkle with streusel topping.

5.
Bake until cake feels firm to touch and skewer inserted in center comes out clean (bits of sugar from streusel may cling to skewer), 50 to 60 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on wire rack for 30 minutes. Gently invert cake onto rimmed baking sheet (cake will be streusel side down); remove tube pan, place wire rack on top of cake, and invert cake streusel side up. Let cool to room temperature, about 2 hours, before serving.

Sprinkle ¹⁄
₂
cup chocolate chips over bottom layer of batter before sprinkling with streusel and another ¹⁄
₂
cup chocolate chips over middle layer of batter before sprinkling with streusel.

Toss 4 ounces frozen blueberries with 1 teaspoon grated lemon zest in small bowl. Sprinkle ¹⁄
₂
cup blueberries over bottom layer of batter before sprinkling with streusel and remaining ¹⁄
₂
cup blueberries over middle layer of batter before sprinkling with streusel.

Substitute 1 cup slivered almonds for pecans in streusel and ¹⁄
₂
teaspoon almond extract for vanilla extract in batter. Spoon six 2-teaspoon mounds apricot jam over bottom layer of batter before sprinkling with streusel and another six 2-teaspoon mounds jam over middle layer of batter before sprinkling with streusel.