Apple and Pear Coffee Cake

By peach106

Ingredients

• The Streusel Topping
• 1 cup oats
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup chopped nuts, optional
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• Pinch of ground cinnamon
• The Cake
• 1 1/2 pounds (cantaloupe-size portion) Brioche dough ( recipe is HERE)
• Butter for greasing the pan
• 2 small apples, 1 tart and 1 sweet, thinly sliced
• 1 Bosc pear, thinly sliced
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• Zest of half an orange
• 1 1/2 cups streusel topping

Preparation

Step 1

1. Prepare the topping: Combine all streusel ingredients in a bowl and mix until the butter is roughly incorporated. Don't overmix--you want a crumbly texture. Set aside.
2. Assembling the cake: Grease an 8-inch cake pan with butter and dust with flour. Set aside. NOTE: I used a 9-inch pan and it was completely full. If I had used an 8 inch one I would have had a very messy oven.

3. Toss the apples, pear, brown sugar and zest together in a small bowl and set aside.

4. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a cantaloupe-size piece. Dust with more flour and quickly shape it into rough ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all four sides, rotating the ball a quarter-turn as you go.

5. Roll out the dough into an 1/8 inch thick rectangle, approximately 12x16 inches. As you roll out the dough, add flour as needed to prevent sticking.

6. Cut the dough into two 8-inch rounds, by tracing the bottom of the cake pan.

7. Place one of the dough rounds in the bottom of the prepared cake pan. Top with half the apple mixture and then sprinkle half the streusel topping over it. Repeat with next layer of dough, apple mixture and streusel.

8. Rest the cake for 1 hour and 20 minutes.

9. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

10. Bake the cake in the center of the oven about 45 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

11. Allow to cool for 10 to 15 minutes. While the cake is still warm, place a plate over the top and invert the cake out of the pan onto the plate. Cover with a serving plate and invert again.

12. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream, or just on its own.