Monday, July 21, 2008

Honey-almond coffee cake

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

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

Honey-almond coffee cake

33 comments:

lululu said...

Yum....I love such homey cake!

Anonymous said...

Oh awesome...love that combo.

And Marty...what the heck!

Allen said...

This sure would taste good with my coffee right now :-)

Marysol said...

Patricia, that would be good with what I'm having right now, which is ... nothing.
I haven't eaten since yesterday afternoon; I'm starving and this is the first treat I happen to stumble onto.
Ay Carajo.

kickpleat said...

wow, i could eat a slice (or 3) for breakfast right now! looks amazing. i love almonds and in a yeasty sweet bread? yum!!

pam said...

The cake looks great, but I want a skirt made out of that cute fabric!

May said...

I must try this cake someday. It looks and sounds great, and I love almonds too (alot!) :)

Sara said...

Oh I can't wait to give this a try! The texture looks so fluffy and perfect.

My mom fed me hot tea with honey and lemon/lime when I was sick too. Worked like a charm!

cookworm said...

That looks so delicious - I think it will be perfect to bring in to work for breakfast. :)

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

A simple cake with a crunchy topping -- this would be great on a brunch buffet, too.

Elly said...

Oooh yum! I love almonds and honey together. Such a great combo. This cake looks SO good. A perfect texture.

Lisa said...

Another great coffee cake! I love the honey in the topping and the hint of citrus.

Anonymous said...

This looks so perfect, dearie! You totally captured the texture of the cake through the photos. Beautiful.

Peabody said...

Almonds and honey are fabulous together. This looks like a good way to showcase that.

Manggy said...

Whoa! I was surprised to read it's a yeasted dough! It looks excellent Patricia! I'll have mine with thick chocolate, not coffee though :)

Nic said...

Did someone say almonds and honey? I'm already on my way!! (I wish)

LyB said...

That cake looks so fluffy and light, perfect any time of day! I'd be most likely to have it for breakfast though, it looks impossible to resist. :)

Cookie baker Lynn said...

I'm with you, Patricia. Honey + almonds = heavenly! Your cake looks perfect and I wish I had a piece right now to keep my tea company.

krysta said...

i hope that marty reads your letter because ugh i can't stand leo. but this cake is much better than leo and marty.

Deborah said...

I don't know if I've ever seen a coffee cake made with yeast - it looks so light and delicious!

Y said...

Maybe you could convince Scorsese with a piece of this delectable cake :D

jasmine said...

This looks fabulous...really like the crumb texutre.

Last year (I think) I made a honey-almond biscutty square which was so addictive. I can easily see this cake being that way too.

j

KJ said...

Patricia your cake looks so light and tender. Yummy!

Emily said...

I don't know...I kind of like Leo. I've had a crush on him ever since Titanic. He's so good looking.
Where was I...oh yes, the coffee cake looks delicious. So fluffy looking.

Patricia Scarpin said...

Lu, it's very tender.

Cathy, I know! He used to dare more. :)

Allen, I'll make some coffee for you and some tea for me, ok? :)

Marysol, your comment made me laugh out loud, sweetie. :)

Kickpleat, using yeast makes this very tender!

Pam, done! ;)

M, I think you would like it.

Sara, moms know better. :)

Cookworm, I think your coworkers will love you for that. It makes a lot, so you can share!

Lydia, I think you are right, dear.

Elly, the honey adds a nice touch here.

Lisa, I'm addicted to coffee cakes!! :)

Ovenhaven, darling, I'm glad you like the photos, tks!

Pea, I think you would like this one.

Mark, it is! And it rises beautifully.
It's a deal, since I don't drink coffee. :)

Nic, I'm waiting for you, dear!

LyB, it makes a lot, so you can have it throughout the day. ;)

Lynn, it goes well with tea, my friend, you are right.

Krysta, thank you for stopping by - I have nothing against Leo, but Bobby is so much better. :)

Deb, I have a new book full of them and intend to make them all. Wait and see, darling! :)

Y, I think your idea is fantastic. :)

Jasmine, that recipe of yours sounds so divine!

KJ, thank you!

Emiline, I like him, too, and I find him very talented - the thing is that De Niro is so much more of an actor and he has an amazing chemistry with Scorsese.

Anonymous said...

I love the combo of honey and lemon. Your cake looks delicious!

Oh for the love of food! said...

This is just the thing I would LOVE to have for Breakfast with a steaming cup of coffee, Patricia! SIMPLY LOVELY..

eatme_delicious said...

Wow this looks good! Especially the honey almond topping mmm.

Susan from Food Blogga said...

OOh, it resembles an almond croissant, one of my favorites. This is heavenly.

Dragon said...

This cake looks amazing. I just wish I could reach in and grab it!

Gigi said...

Oh Patricia! You are making me miss my mom. She used to make this type of cake all the time. If she knew company was coming; she would split the cake into layers and fill them with pastry cream.

Eva said...

That reminds me of home! In Germany, there's a very similar cake without citrus but split in half and sandwiched with a mix of vanilla pastry cream and whipped cream...hmmm...

Anonymous said...

Hi Patricia,

I was drawn to this recipe because I'm fond of yeast raised sweet cakes. I like the fluffy texture and the restrained sweetness. This did not disappoint; it is delicious.

I couldn't find a loose bottom 12" pan so I used a regular 12" inch pan with a circle of parchment under the cake. I had no problem releasing the cake.

I used a flavorful honey, avocado honey to be specific. It added so much flavor.

Thank you very, very much for sharing such a lovely recipe.

Yours,

Ellen

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