Honey-almond coffee cake

Almonds are delicious – my favorite kind of nut. I also love honey – when I was little, my mom used to mix honey and lime juice and feed me by spoonfuls when I had colds and coughs.
Put almonds and honey together and you’ll have a super delicious combo.

It’s like De Niro and Scorsese. They are both wonderful, but when they are together... Magic is made.

Hey, Marty, enough with the DiCaprio obsession, ok? Start calling Bobby to work with you again.

Thanks,
Patricia.

Honey-almond coffee cake
from Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet, and Savory

1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
¼ cup (60ml) warm water (105º to 115ºF/40º to 46ºC)
pinch of granulated sugar + 1/3 cup (67g)
½ cup (120ml) milk
8 tablespoons (1 stick/113g) unsalted butter, room temperature
½ teaspoon salt
2 ½ to 2 ¾ cups (350 to 385g) unbleached all purpose or bread flour – I used 400g all purposed flour
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon almond extract

Almond topping:
1/3 cup (58g) firmly packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons (28g) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¾ cup sliced almonds

In a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the water, sprinkle with the pinch of sugar and stir to dissolve. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a small saucepan, heat the milk and butter over low heat until the butter melts. Combine the 1/3 cup sugar and the salt in a large bowl and pour the milk mixture over; let cool to warm, 105º to 115ºF/40º to 46ºC. Stir in the yeast mixture. Using a wooden spoon or a heavy-duty electric mixer, add 1 cup of the flour and beat until smooth. Add the eggs and beat until blended. Beat in the lemon zest and almond extract. Gradually add enough of the remaining 1 ½ to 1 ¾ cups flour to make a soft dough. Turn the dough out onto a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, 8-10 minutes – the dough was too soft for kneading and to avoid adding more flour I did the whole process using my Kitchen Aid with the hook attachment.

Place the dough in a lightly buttered bowl, turn to coat and cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel - I did not turn it, since it was very soft- I just lightly sprinkled the top with flour to avoid sticking. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.

Butter a 12 inch (30cm) round cake pan, preferably with a removable bottom.

Punch down the dough. Turn out onto a floured board and knead lightly until smooth, 1-2 minutes. Place the dough on the prepare pan and press it with your fingers until it occupies the whole pan. Cover with a tea towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/350ºF. Bake the bread for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the almond topping: in a small saucepan, combine the brown sugar, honey, butter and cream. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring, until thickened, about 3 minutes. Stir in the almonds. Remove the bread from the oven and carefully spread the topping over it. Bake for 10-15 minutes longer, or until nicely browned – since the topping made the bread brown already, I inserted a knife into it to check for doneness.
Let cool for 5 minutes, then unmold right side up on a wire rack and let cool completely.
Cut into wedges to serve.

Makes one 12-inch cake, serves 10-12