Sour Cherry and Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Easter morning is all about sweets and treats and the beginning of a day of indulging. That makes it a great day for coffee cake, and I had a list of options from the March issue of Living magazine. These recipes were all shown with possible variations, and the one that caught my eye was the sour cherry and cream cheese version of the yeasted coffee cake. The dough was rolled up just like when making cinnamon rolls, and then it was swirled into a spiral before baking. The filling was to have been fresh or thawed, frozen sour cherries, but neither were available. Instead, I used dried sour cherries that I plumped in some orange juice. The brioche-type dough was easy to make, handled very well, and expanded nicely in the oven. I didn’t realize the cream cheese filling mixture would bake into the dough when spread thin. That did make the cake very tender and delicious, but clumps of cream cheese here and there would have offered more of a cheese Danish experience. I’ll try that next time when fresh cherries arrive and I make this again.

To start the dough, yeast was added to warm milk, and sugar, an egg, and an egg yolk were combined and then whisked into the yeast mixture. That was added to flour with salt in a mixer. It was mixed with a dough hook while butter pieces were added. It looked like it would never come together, but letting the machine do its thing for about eight to ten minutes resulted in a smooth dough. It was left to rise for an hour and a half, and then the filling was made. Meanwhile, I covered a cup and half of dried sour cherries with orange juice and let them sit. Then, softened cream cheese was mixed with an egg yolk and confectioners’ sugar. When the dough had doubled in volume, it was rolled out into a big square. The cream cheese mixture was spread across the surface leaving about an inch border all around. As I mentioned above, some clumps of cream cheese might be interesting rather than spreading it completely evenly. I drained the soaking dried cherries and sprinkled them across the cream cheese layer. The dough was then rolled up into a log shape which was turned into a spiral. The spiral-shaped cake was placed on a parchment-lined baking sheet and covered with plastic wrap. It was allowed to rise for half an hour before being baked. The baking started at 350 degrees F for 55 minutes, and then the temperature was reduced to 325 degrees F for an additional 15 minutes. When the cake was cool, it was drizzled with a confectioners’ sugar glaze.

I was so happy with the pretty shape of the cake, it might not have even mattered if it didn’t taste good. And, of course, it tasted great too. Rich and lovely yeasted brioche dough studded with chewy, dried sour cherries was a fitting cake for Easter morning. I’m sure I can think of some other mornings suited to this treat too. For instance, aren’t Tuesdays deserving of coffee cake? They should be.

Apple Graham Coffee Cake

Baking with mixed grains and different types of flours is appealing because of the endless flavor and texture possibilities. I’ve fiddled with whole wheat flour and wheat germ in chocolate chip cookies, and I’ve taken cues from a whole grain bread recipe and applied them to making bagels. Beyond that, I need help to know which types of flour work best together and in what proportion to one another they should be used. I finally picked up Good to the Grain which is teaching me those things. In the book, twelve different flours are covered with one chapter highlighting each, but typically the recipes involve a mix of multiple grains. There’s always an explanation for why each flour was included and what it brings to the recipe. For instance, with this coffee cake, graham flour, all-purpose flour, and whole grain pastry flour are used. Graham flour is whole wheat flour that has been coarsely ground, and it has a nutty, and for lack of a better word, wheaty taste. You could use whole wheat flour in its place, but if you can find graham flour, the flavor is a little more pronounced. The all-purpose flour was used to lighten the graham flour, and the whole grain pastry flour gave the cake tenderness. I have a bin where I keep my growing collection of flours, and I have a feeling with this book around, the whole collection will get regular use.

This cake started with the apples which were cored and chopped, and as usual, I didn’t peel them. The apple chunks were added to a hot skillet with melted butter and cinnamon, and they were cooked until caramelized. I actually didn’t cook the apples down to complete tenderness because I prefer for the pieces to retain a little texture. Next, the dry ingredients for the batter were sifted together, and those included all-purpose flour, graham flour, whole-grain pastry flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, a tablespoon of cinnamon, ground ginger, and salt. In a separate bowl, some melted butter, buttermilk, plain yogurt, applesauce, and an egg were whisked together and then incorporated into the dry ingredients. The batter was placed in a prepped nine inch cake pan, and the caramelized apples were spread on top before it baked for about 45 minutes.

There were three important things going on with the flavor of this coffee cake, and the first was the graham flour tasting deliciously of toasted wheat. Also, the cinnamon spiced the cake nicely, and there were the fresh, tart, and sweet flavors of the caramelized apples. Now, about those three different flours working together, as promised, they produced a very tender, light crumb. I want to keep making this cake throughout the year and try it with different fruits as they come into season. I’m already imagining it with peaches.

Cherry Crumb Cake

I mentioned finding the cinnamon raisin breakfast ring in The Modern Baker book, and after finding that, I got distracted by several other recipes. There are some quick breads I want to try, a raisin coffee cake that looks amazing, and the bakery crumb buns made me stop and look too. Then, I came upon the blueberry crumb cake page. I had already decided to make the breakfast ring, but now this crumb cake looked quite enticing. The logical solution, I realized, was to make both. While the breakfast ring was to be taken to a brunch party and shared, the crumb cake would stay at home for us to devour all by ourselves. As I read through the recipe and the side notes, I noticed a suggestion about using fresh cherries instead of blueberries and that sounded like a very good idea. I brought home some gorgeous, juicy cherries and set about removing the pits. Pitting cherries is a mundane kitchen task that I actually enjoy. It’s almost like popping bubbles on bubble wrap. It’s fun.

The crumb topping was made by combining flour, baking powder, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and melted butter. That crumbly mixture was spread over the pitted cherries and set aside. Then, in a stand mixer, softened butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla were mixed. Flour and baking powder were combined and added to mixer in three additions alternating with a combination of egg yolks and milk. This resulting batter was spread in a baking pan and topped with the cherries and crumb topping. It couldn’t have been simpler to prepare. The baking time was about 40 minutes, and it emerged from the oven looking as tempting as the photo in the book.

I’m sure blueberries would also be great in this cake, and plums were another suggested fruit option. However, the fresh cherries were divine, and the crumb topping was in perfect proportion to the tender, buttery cake. I may need to hide this book from myself to prevent a nonstop, baking-marathon frenzy from consuming my every waking hour, but so far I’ve been extremely pleased with each recipe I’ve tried.

Cranberry Vanilla Coffeecake

A warm oven, vanilla scented sugar, and bright juicy cranberries joined the start of our Christmas morning. This cranberry vanilla coffeecake appeared in the December issue of Gourmet. While the flavors were perfect, I couldn’t resist making a couple of changes to the preparation. I really like cranberries, so I chose to leave them whole instead of chopping them in a food processor. Since I passed on the use of a food processor for that step, I didn’t pulse the vanilla with the sugar either. I just stirred the seeds into the sugar and broke apart clumps with my fingertips. I tossed some vanilla sugar with the whole cranberries, and I used a bit less sugar than recommended.

The next change to the recipe was accidental. Maybe I still had sugar plum fairies dancing in my head because I misread the ingredient list and used a whole vanilla bean rather than half. No worries, though, the extra seeds did no damage. One last adjustment was the use of a tube pan in place of a round cake pan. The coffeecake was more festive baked in the tube pan shape. Batter was layered in the bottom, followed by the cranberries, then more batter was added before the vanilla sugar crumb topping.

The vanilla, of course, smelled fantastic as the cake baked. The cranberries were tart and juicy and made a pretty filling. The crunchy, crumbly top with the tender center made this coffeecake a winner. I have a feeling the leftovers won’t last long enough.

Cherry Streusel Coffee Cake

The occasion of a friend’s birthday brunch and my interest in making use of my new cherry pitter collided this past weekend. Said collision resulted in a cherry streusel coffee cake and a fine tasting one at that. The coffee cake recipe is from Martha Stewart’s Baking Handbook.

As I often do, I modified the ingredients just slightly. Because cherries are in season and I have an awesome cherry pitter, I used fresh instead of frozen. Also, instead of using two cups of all purpose flour, I used one and a half plus a half cup of whole grain pastry flour. Sometimes I can’t help giving a baked item a tiny nudge in the nutritional profile. The result was fantastic.

I was a little worried that when I tried to remove the cake from the tube pan all the streusel topping would fall off, but it came out so easily it didn’t need to be inverted. I used a pan with a removable bottom, and I was able to pick it off the base with no problems. The cherries in the middle of the cake were both pretty and delectable, and the cake was enjoyed by all.