Every Day Crumb Cake
On October 4, 2015 by sixtyacrebakerI prefer a piece coffee cake to birthday cake because it has to rely on itself to be good. It doesn’t have some kind of amazing mocha-buttercream frosting to make it moist
or big red roses with that funny but somehow pleasing taste. Also, it really does taste great with coffee or a mug of tea. It reminds me of my grandparents who insisted on having coffee and cake
while playing gin and smoking cigarettes on our back porch during the warm summer nights. My. entire. childhood. It was magic.
Big Ginormous Coffee Cake
(adapted from Nancy Silverton’s La Brea Bakery Cookbook)
Streusel
1 cup toasted walnuts
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup softened butter
Sprinkling Sugar Layer
1 Tbs granulated sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
Batter
8 oz unsalted butter–room temperature
1 3/4 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp kosher salt
2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 cups flour
2 cups sour cream
For the struesel: Mix in a bowl all ingredients except the nuts. Mix until it becomes a bit lumpy then toss together with nuts. Set aside
For the Batter: Cream the butter, baking soda, baking powder and salt on low until softened and mixed together. Add sugar and mix until light and fluffy. Mix together the eggs and vanilla in a bowl. Alternately add to the sugar and butter the eggs and the flour, beginning and ending with the flour. Stir until just incorporated, do not over-beat. Stir in the sour cream.
Line the bottom of a tube pan with baking paper, spray with pan spray being sure to hit the inner tube well. Spoon half of the batter in the pan and spread to create an even layer. Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mix over on top of the batter. Drop the nuts on top and press a bit to get them into the batter. Spread remaining batter evenly on top and then cover with the streusel mixture.
Bake in a preheated 350 oven until firm to the touch and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
It will take more than an hour.
Strawberry Crumb Cake
On May 29, 2013 by sixtyacrebakerStrawberries are ripe, ripe, ripe in my neck of the woods. Every farm stand along my tuesday evening route, touts the sweetest and freshest, organic berries. I can’t resist. Particularly because i make a really great strawberry-rhubarb jam, that disappears faster than anything else in the pantry. I grab loads of the juicy red fruit whenever i find it. Being as we spend most days at the ranch counting idle minutes on one hand, it feels less guilty to indulge in a bit of sweet at day’s close. When i have a moment, I bake a cake like this one. It is a simple twist on a classic crumb cake, using the sweet ripe fruit of the season in its crumb.
Strawberry Crumb Cake
cake
1 1/4 cup cake flour (sifted, then measured)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature–cut into cubes)
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup buttermilk
4 tsp of your favorite strawberry (or strawberry-rhubarb) jam
Place the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt in a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Quickly give it a few turns to incorporate everything together. Add the butter. *the butter should be softened, but not warm and creamy. You want it to mix into the flour mixture making more of a clumpy sand consistency, then a creamed. Mix the ingredients until the butter is finely incorporated into the flour mixture. Meanwhile, combine the buttermilk and vanilla. Add the whole egg and the egg yolk to the flour mixture and mix until incorporated. Use a spatula to scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to ensure there are no dry spots. With the mixer on low speed, add the buttermilk/vanilla mixture and mix until just incorporated. Do not over mix pour into a 8×8 buttered square cake pan. Strategically plop the 4 tsp of jam you can add a bit more if you like in the batter. Run the back of a butter knife through the cake batter to swirl the jam through evenly. Set aside while you prepare the crumble.
crumble
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 cups all purpose flour
10 Tbs unsalted butter–fairly cold–cut into 1/2″ pieces
1 cup fresh ripe strawberries–cut into 1/4″ dice
Mix together the sugar, salt and flour by hand in a large bowl. Drop in butter and either work in by hand, or use pastry knives/fork/blender to make fairly large crumble. Tip in the strawberries and work in by hand, using a bit of a firm hand, to get them mixed up well in the flour mixture. Don’t squeeze and knead, you do not want to warm the butter, but allow the strawberries to fully incorporate into the crumb. Gently pile on top of the cake. Some of the crumbs will sink into the cake as it bakes, which is why i make SO MUCH CRUMB!
Bake in a 375F oven for about 35-45 minutes. Check after 30 minutes and keep an eye on it. The cake is moist, so it can tolerate a bit of over baking, but don’t forget to keep an eye on it. Check by using a toothpick or wooden skewer to see if it is done baking. Allow to cool completely before eating
Lemon-Pecan Mascarpone Pound Cake
On March 5, 2011 by sixtyacrebakerMarch 4th is national pound cake day. Don’t roll your eyes. It is legit. I read it on the internet. Before my great aunt passed, I borrowed her box of tattered and stained recipe cards and copied each one into a book of my own. My aunt rose baked a great pound cake. Several actually. All different. All delicious. For national pound cake day, I borrowed a recipe from her, with a few substitutions.
Lemon Pecan Mascarpone Pound Cake
1 1/2 cup unsalted butter–room temp
4 oz mascarpone cheese–room temp
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs–room temp
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon zest
1/4 cup + 1 Tbs lemon juice
2 1/4 cups flour–sifted
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup toasted pecans
Cream butter and mascarpone until very light. Gradually add sugar and beat thoroughly, about 2-3 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down sides in between additions. Beat for an additional 2-3 minutes after you add the last egg. Beat in vanilla, lemon zest, lemon juice and salt, until fully incorporated. The batter may look curdled, which is okay. Blend in the sifted dry ingredients (flour and baking powder) and mix until silky. Fold in pecans. Bake in a greased pan (10 cup capacity) at 325 for about 60 minutes. If you separate the batter into smaller pans, bake for considerably less time.
Once cool frost with icing made from powdered sugar mixed with lemon juice. Add enough lemon juice to make a drippy icing with good lemon flavor.