Boyfriend unit has been requesting coffee cake for some time. I hadn't made one in forever. Granny Smith apples were on sale this week, so I'd bought some in case the urge to make a pie struck me (it didn't).
At this point, I think we can pretty much count on the fact that I'm going to look at previously attempted recipes in The Joy of Cooking, decide they're not complicated enough, and start EXPERIMENTING. This time, I am happy to say, the EXPERIMENTING paid off. This coffee cake is really [bleep]ing amazing. The only thing I might do differently next time is pump up the apples. Three or four might have been even more [bleep]ing amazing.
Almond coffee cake with apple-amaretto filling (I need to start thinking of punchier names for these successful EXPERIMENTS. If one occurs to me, I will edit this entry.)
FYI, I based this on a recipe for a 9x9 coffee cake and doubled everything to get a 13x9 coffee cake. The cake comes out at about three inches thick--I'm sure you could halve this recipe if you'd prefer the smaller version.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Peel, core, and slice 2 large or 3 small Granny Smith apples.
Melt 1 tbsp butter in saucepan; add apples and:
1/3 cup amaretto (optional. I have a bottle left over from the vegan cupcakes, and am determined to use it.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
Cook over medium heat until thick and syrupy.
Meanwhile, sift together in a large bowl:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup almond flour
4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
Set aside.
Cream until light and fluffy:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
Then add:
2 eggs (at room temperature)
1 1/3 cups milk (at room temperature)
1/2 tsp vanilla
Mix in dry ingredients.
Prepare streusel topping:
2/3 cup sugar
4 tbsp flour
4 tbsp butter
Blend these until crumbly (I used my mini food processor), then add:
1 tsp cinnamon
Have ready a greased 13"x9" sheet cake pan. Spread in half the batter, then add the apple filling, like so:
Top with remaining batter, then spread streusel topping across the top:
Bake for 25-30 minutes. It will not brown very much in the oven:
You should also be careful, because this cake seems to cause problems with spectral dogs.
Media Pairing: I can't think of anything in particular that goes with this cake. So I will give you two things I watched before making it.
First, I saw a preview screening of Black Swan last weekend, and it was also pretty [bleep]ing awesome--rather evocative of early Polanski, but actually good (I hate Polanski on principle because of the rape thing and therefore refuse to see his films unless a professor makes me. One made me see The Tenant, and I hated it because it is boring and self-indulgent). To a degree, one must turn off one's training in post-Freud. post-Lacan psychoanalytic gender studies, because Black Swan requires an active investment in female hysteria, but still. It was delightfully creepy. Here's the trailer:
Mind, all the characters are ballet folks, and therefore are all various degrees of borderline eating disordered and would have nothing to do with this cake, but that's their loss.
Second, Patrick Stewart on Extras:
Andy Millman would totally eat my coffee cake, since he is a...
...little fat man with a pug-nosed face.
<3 Ricky Gervais.
