Heirloom Bakery's Sour Cream Coffee Cake - Los Angeles Times Culinary SOS

Heirloom Bakery's Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This is really, really, really good. Sometimes, I make something and say, "Well, that was a good experience...and I'll probably never make that again." This coffee cake? Totally going to make this again.

This recipe comes from Heirloom Bakery and Cafe in South Pasadena and it's via the Los Angeles Times Food Section. They have a column called Culinary S.O.S. and readers send in requests for recipes from restaurants...and the LA Times begs them for it. The LA Times test kitchen always does a great job of testing and writing easy to follow directions.

This cake starts with a topping of melted butter, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, cinnamon, pecans and brown sugar. This is spread in two layers on the cake - so each slice had some on top and in the middle. Delicious!

Be sure you have an offset spatula to smooth out the layers!

I haven't been to the Heirloom Bakery and Cafe yet, but can't wait to visit. If you are in Los Angeles, they can be found in South Pasadena.

Recipe: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Adapted from Los Angeles Times's Culinary SOS (June 24, 2010) of Heirloom Bakery and Cafe in South Pasadena.

Topping:
1/2 cup (100 grams) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon cocoa (I used Callebaut Dutch-Processed cocoa)
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips (I used Trader Joe's Chocolate Chunks)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted and cooled

In a large bowl, stir the brown sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, chocolate chips, pecans and butter together. Set aside.

Cake:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1 cup (200 grams) granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup sour cream (I used full fat)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prep a 9-inch square pan by butter and flouring and/or line it with parchment paper.
2. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. If your kosher salt doesn't go through the sieve, add that at the end and whisk to blend the dry ingredients. Set this bowl aside.
3. Using a mixer with paddle attachment, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes.
4. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until fully incorporated.
5. Add sour cream and vanilla and blend together.
6. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the dry ingredients. Don't overmix - stop the mixer before it is completely mixed and finish folding with a spatula until no big lumps remain. You can also fold all the dry ingredients into the batter.
7. Spoon half the batter into the 9-inch square baking pan and smooth out with an offset spatula. Top with half the topping. Add the remaining batter and smooth out. Finally, top with the remaining topping.
8. Bake until golden and a toothpick comes out clean, about 40-50 minutes.

Peach Streusel Coffee Cake

Peach Streusel Coffee Cake

It's stone fruit season. I'm in love. 

And I had a presentation to give at a meeting so I brought these. Know your audience :)

It's World Cup time! Looking forward to seeing all the games, the excitement of countries staying up to watch and cheer, lots of passionate tweets, and Cristiano Ronaldo. At work, we've been "researching" restaurants with the best TV placement for our lunches (looks like I'll be eating out for the next few weeks)!

I made this once before with nectarines. This time, I added more vanilla, used peaches (the original is for peaches) and still didn't get the consistency of the liquid ingredients that the recipe calls for - oh well, it all came together.

I love coffee cakes. Not very sweet, lovely topping and, in this case, a fruit surprise.

I used two yellow peaches in the cake (sliced thin) but you can use other stone fruit. I'd like to try some cherries and apricots!

I also used Vanilla Bean Paste because it is awesome. Have you used it? It gives you all the flecks of vanilla but it is less expensive than whole vanilla beans.

When I have a meeting at work, I either bring a half-sheet or quarter-sheet pan. I bought plastic covers for them at my local restaurant supply house (similar to these) and they are pretty awesome. My covers are low profile so you can stack about three of them in the refrigerator.

Enjoy the World Cup! Between matches, make this cake! :)

Recipe:
Nectarine Streusel Coffee Cake
Adapted from Williams Sonoma's Peach Streusel Coffee Cake and they adapted it from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Muffins, by Beth Hensperger (2003).

Streusel:
3/4 cup (105 grams) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (65 grams)  firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Cake:
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, at room temperature
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)
2 teaspoons vanilla paste or vanilla extract
Original recipe has 1 tsp. almond extract, but I did not include it
2 firm, ripe nectarines or peaches peeled, pitted and sliced 1/2 inch thick

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 9 baking pan with parchment paper. (The original recipe calls for a  9-inch round springform pan.)

2. Make the streusel:  In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown and granulated sugars and cinnamon. Add the butter and, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut or rub in the butter until coarse crumbs form. Place in refrigerator or freezer while assembling the rest of the cake.

3. Prepare the fruit: Peel the peaches (blanch in boiling water for 1 minute, then remove), pit and slice the fruit. I used two yellow peaches, but other stone fruits can be used.

4. Make the cake: Mix together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt and set aside. In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed or a wire whisk, beat the egg, melted butter, milk, vanilla and (almond extract, if using) until creamy, about 1 minute. (The recipe calls for "until creamy" but I beat the heck out of the mixture with a wire whisk and never got a "creamy" consistency - see above.) Add to the flour mixture and beat just until evenly moistened. There should be no lumps or dry spots. Do not overmix.

5. Spread batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly using an offset spatula. If using a springform pan, arrange the peach slices in concentric circles from the pan sides to the center. If using a square pan, arrange the slices in rows. Gently press the slices into the batter. Sprinkle evenly with the streusel.

6. Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Can be served warm or at room temperature.

Williams Sonoma Cinnamon-Walnut Coffee Cake

Cinnamon-Walnut Coffee Cake

This weekend, I got to see my friend Helen three days in a row! Friday night for the movie Five Year Engagement - it was funny and cute! Saturday night for the awesome Dodger's Game versus the Washington Nationals. The Dodgers came from behind in the 9th and then Matt Kemp's homer in the 10th inning won the game. Hella screams and shouts! Our seats were awesomeness - check these out! And on Sunday Helen hosted a brunch at her house!

I borrowed the book, Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Breakfast and Brunch from the library and made this lovely coffee cake. The cake has a layer of cinnamon-walnut-sugar (hence the name of the cake!)

You know I'm totally into the Bundt cake, but sometimes you need a Tube pan (which is NOT a Bundt) to make cakes with a topping.

This cake is made with cake flour, sour cream and oil. The crumb is pretty soft. Don't you just love Helen's oil cloth tablecloth? She's ready for summer entertaining.

Helen made some delicious potatoes. I had, um, perhaps three servings. Small servings...over and over.

Marie made a great fruit and yogurt parfait. Lots of fresh fruit! Yummmmmmy! Kathryn made fluffy dill eggs and Christine brought mimosas!

Williams Sonoma Cinnamon-Walnut Coffee Cake
For the filling and topping:
1 cup finely chopped walnuts
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp. ground cinnamon

For the cake:
2 3/4 cups cake flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup canola or corn oil (I used Wesson's vegetable oil)
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream

Preheat an oven to 350°F. Oil a 9 1/2- or 10-inch tube pan with sides at least 3 3/4 inches high. Prep the pan by spraying it with Pam with Flour or oil the bottom of the pan.

Filling and topping: In a bowl, stir together the walnuts, granulated sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.

Cake: In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In an electric mixer with paddle, combine the eggs and granulated sugar. Beat on medium speed until the mixture is light in color and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Slowly (very slowly) add the oil and vanilla and beat on low speed. Add the flour mixture and beat on low speed until just incorporated. Mix in the sour cream just until no white streaks remain.

Pour about two-thirds of the batter into the prepared pan and smooth top. Set aside 1/4 cup of the walnut-cinnamon mixture to use as a topping. Sprinkle the remaining mixture evenly over the batter. Insert a small knife about halfway into the batter and gently move it through the walnut-cinnamon filling to create a swirled effect. Pour the remaining batter evenly over the filling and smooth the top with the spatula. The batter will not cover the filling completely. Sprinkle evenly with the reserved topping.

Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 55 minutes. (My cake took about 63 minutes to bake). Transfer to a wire rack and let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Run a thin knife around the sides and center tube of the pan to loosen the cake sides. Invert to remove and reinvert so it cools on a wire rack. Sprinkle with powdered sugar (optional).

I didn't make the caramel sauce, nor top it with powdered sugar. Here is the caramel glaze recipe on the Williams Sonoma site.

Recipe:
Williams-Sonoma Essentials of Breakfast and Brunch, by Georgeanne Brennan, Elinor Klivans, Jordan Mackay and Charles Pierce
Find it on Amazon here or in your library via WorldCat

Peanut Butter Coffee Cake

I wish I was there when the first person took a few peanuts of out their shell and smashed them up. I would have screamed, "Awesome!"

Peanut butter is just so comforting. I love it.

And what's as great as peanut butter? The Coffee Cake (or coffeecake - space or no space? I've see it both ways all the time)

Grammar aside, I found this recipe for Peanut Butter Coffee Cake on the Suite101.com website.

I got this cute Hello Kitty figurine from one of those vending machines that 7 year olds love. $1 in quarters gets you one of 6 different figurines - "collect them all" the machine screams. I'm sure this guitar playin' Hello Kitty likes peanut butter too.

The batter has flour, brown sugar, and peanut butter...and the topping is flour, brown sugar, peanut butter, chocolate chips and butter. Double peanut butter!

I thought the cake is a little salty...it has both peanut butter and a bit of salt. I think I would drop the additional salt in the batter. Note: I don't use much salt in my diet so I'm more sensitive to the flavor, so this might not be true for you. Also, I used Skippy creamy peanut butter and this jar might have more salt than yours.

Overall, excellent reviews at the library. Everyone loves peanut butter and coffee cake...and you probably have all the ingredients in the house. Make it soon!

Recipe:
Peanut Butter Coffee Cake

Cinnamon Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake

When I saw this cake on Blue is Bleu's blog and instantly knew I had to make it! Audrie is so great! I've enjoyed her blog for a long time and you should definitely check it out! Audrie said she got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen's blog.

Not much to say...besides MAKE IT.
It's big. It's chocolate. It's cake. It's good. It's rich (1 stick of butter and 16 ounces of sour cream!) but not crazy, oozing rich. And my middle layer of cinnamon, sugar and chocolate chips didn't end up on the bottom! That's a good thing.

My co-workers really liked this when I brought it in last week. It an easy treat to make and really delicious. Definitely give it a try!

And thanks to everyone for your well wishes about my Dad and our lengthy Father's Day visit to Urgent Care! I so appreciate it! He tells me he is feeling a bit better now...it's such a pain (literally) to get old. Dad now uses a cane to help him around, and I've nicknamed him (with love): The Turtle. He has a backyard full of summer crops (I'll profile those soon), and luckily my mom is helping him out!

Recipe:
Cinnamon-Chocolate Chip Sour Cream Coffee Cake
from Smitten Kitchen

Buttermilk Coffee Cake or the old school Cowboy Coffee Cake

When I went to DC to visit my friends Racheal and Lee, I baked a bit and picked up some buttermilk for a cake. Unfortunately, Lee took a swig of the buttermilk thinking it was regular milk.

I'm just sorry I missed the look on his face.

Light and easy to make coffee cake with walnut & cinnamon crumb topping

This morning I found myself heading to a presentation at another library and, in a blatant attempt to literally butter up my audience, I was looking for something to bring. And I had buttermilk in the fridge.

I was feeling old school and picked up the Better Homes and Garden New Cook Book (11th edition, 1996). You know, the red plaid cover!!

They call this the Buttermilk Coffee Cake. The note says, "Back by popular demand, this breakfast treat was known as Cowboy Coffee Cake in previous editions of this cookbook."

Cut in butter with a pastry cutter until small crumbs:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 cup butter, margarine, or shortening (I used butter)

Put aside 1/2 cup of the crumb mixture and combine with 1/2 cup nuts. I used walnuts. Love the "Walnut Baking Pieces" from Trader Joe's...no need to cut or trim. The nuts aren't optional...you really need them to add crunch and texture.

Stir into the remaining crumb mixture:
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg

In a separate bowl, combine these two ingredients and then add (all at once) to the flour mixture:
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/3 cups buttermilk or sour milk

Since the crumb mixture contained cold butter, I wasn't sure how to "mix well". It didn't say to make it smooth so I mixed it (by hand) well enough to combine everything and left these little bits of butter. See them? Well, it turned out fine.

Pour into a greased 13 x 9 pan (I always line it with parchment paper). Sprinkle the topping over the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.

Cowboy Coffee Cake or Buttermilk Coffee Cake

Blueberry Crumb Cake (Tuesdays with Dorie)

Blueberry Crumb Cake

For this week's Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Sihan of Befuddlement selected Blueberry Crumb Cake on pages 192-193 of Dorie's book, Baking: From My Home to Yours.

This cake is just like its name: Cake, Blueberries and Crumb!

The crumb is a yummy combo of walnuts, butter, sugar, brown sugar, and flour.

I didn't have the full 2 cups of blueberries...so I had to do with one cup. Instead of folding it into the batter, I pour half the batter into the pan and scattered the blueberries on top. Then the rest of the batter and topped with crumb topping!

It was a little hard to tell when it was done because the crumb topping made a crust. Some bakers got a puddle of butter in the center. Some think the crumb topping needs to be cold when it goes into the oven; I have read instructions like this for other crumb cakes so I concur. Mine was pretty cold, but it could have been colder.

Thanks Sihan for a great pick! Find the recipe on her website!
Be sure to check out the other Tuesdays with Dorie bakers!

Martha Stewart's Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake

Martha Stewart's Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake

First, thanks for your well wishes for my sinus infection gone mad. Be sure to mark your calendars for my award presentation! Oh yes, I'm giving The Food Librarian Nobel-like Prize for Drugs to those mad scientists who created the Z-Pack of antibiotics. Bless you! (And don't worry, I wasn't abusin' nor creating the next superbug...it really was bacterial and I took the full-course of meds!!) Being able to taste food again is such a delight!

Here is something I made in December...before I got sick!

Whoo hooo! It's Meyer Lemon season!

The Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake has two layers of thinly sliced Meyer lemons with a massive, I mean massive, amount of streusel.

Zest and thinly sliced lemons make this cake lemon-centric. Five Meyer lemons are sliced and then simmered for 1 minute.

After two rounds of simmering in water, the slices are spread out on parchment. It was easiest to do this with chopsticks!

The sour cream coffee cake batter is placed in a tube pan and 1/2 the lemon slices are layered. Then the rest of batter, the remaining slices and the streusel.

Okay, the streusel... almost 2 c of flour, 1 1/2 stick of butter, and 3/4 c brown sugar. It makes a bunch. A bunch. You place it on top, and there is still a bunch in the bowl. You put more of that on and there is still streusel left. Finally, you just throw the rest on and say, "dude, that's a lot of streusel." The glaze is really tasty and integral to the overall lemon flavor of the cake.

As much as I wanted this coffeecake to the queen of all coffeecakes, it didn't rock my world. I think there was too much streusel and while lemon flavored with the slices, it was pretty much like a coffeecake having lots of zest.

Got Meyer lemons?
Try Martha's Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake! Recipe here on Martha's website.