Coffee Cake

By exdircomp

Homemade Butter

I have found its very important to use a natural sour cream that doesnt have any thickeners (like Guar gum) when making this recipe.


2 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Prepare a medium-size bowl of ice water. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, gradually whip the cream and sour cream together. Increase the speed of the mixer and continue whipping until the cream separates and the mixture thickens.

Use a rubber spatula to gather up the butter and remove it from the bowl. There will be some liquid that is a natural result of this process. That liquid is actually buttermilk. Gather the ball of butter together into a double layer of cheesecloth or a thin kitchen towel and plunge it into the ice bath to wash any buttermilk off the surface. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Pack the butter into a bowl or roll it into a ball or log shape using plastic wrap. Use immediately or store in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

• Topping:
• Ingredients
• 1/2 cup toasted and coarsely chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup toasted and coarsely chopped pecans
• 2/3 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, sifted
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 5 tablespoons butter, melted
• Coffee Cake:
• 1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, plus additional for greasing the pan, room temp
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking soda, sifted
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt

Preparation

Step 1

Topping:

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, combine the nuts, flour, sugars, cinnamon and salt. Stir to blend. Stir in the butter. The topping should form sandy clumps. Sprinkle the topping onto the baking sheet to break it up into smaller clumps. Refrigerate.

Coffee cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Use butter to thoroughly grease the bottom and sides of a 13 by 9-inch baking pan. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light yellow and smooth, 5 to 8 minutes. Alternatively, this can be done with an electric hand mixer. Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and beat until thoroughly integrated.

Remove the topping from the refrigerator so it has a few minutes to come to room temperature before baking. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together the buttermilk and yogurt until smooth. Turn the mixer on low and alternate, adding some of the flour mixture with some of the sour cream mixture. When all has been mixed, give the sides and the bottom of the bowl a scrape and blend to make sure the batter is thoroughly integrated. Transfer the batter to the greased baking pan, spreading it out evenly. Liberally sprinkle the cake with all of the topping. Take care to cover the whole top. Put the pan in the center of the oven and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 40 to 50 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes before serving.