Seven weeks ago, like everyone else, I decided that an extended period at home meant I would finally conquer that white whale: bread. Amidst the Great Yeast Shortage of 2020, we struck out at three different grocery stores before finally finding the good stuff at the most unexpected of places — the Indian store.
One problem: I don’t eat a ton of bread, and neither does my family. (This is not to say we don’t eat carbs. There has been plenty of rice and potato consumption over the past month and a half, to the point where I’m no longer sure I can fit into non-stretchy pants.)
So, with a pound of yeast sitting in the freezer, I turned to yeasted coffee cakes. Somewhere between cake and bread, they’re often lightly sweetened, with a plush, tender interior and beautiful bronzed exterior. Take 1 was an apricot-almond wonder that I was too lazy to photograph. Take 2 was a Bee Sting Cake that I started at 6 a.m. on a Saturday and let cool during a two-hour drive from Delaware to NYC.
I was determined to finally photograph Take 3, which meant I needed a real stunner. Truth be told, Takes 1 and 2 were both delicious and I would have happily recreated them here, but my parents wanted something new.
While scouring the internet for recipes that fit a fairly narrow set of parameters (must be: yeasted, a sweet cake, include some sort of nuts [for my mom], a glaze [for my dad], nothing that required interminable kneading* [for me]), the words “Sunshine Coffee Cake” immediately jumped out at me. After seven weeks of stress/anxiety/fear/isolation/ennui, I–and I’m sure many of you–could definitely use some sunshine.
The recipe, from the King Arthur Flour site, is fairly straightforward. You start by mixing the yeast with most of the dough ingredients and letting it sit briefly, which helps get the yeast going and produces a lighter overall texture. Then add the remaining ingredients, knead until the dough is smooth (I didn’t find it overly tacky or hard to knead by hand), and let it rise.
I made two changes: inspired partially by this recipe, I added finely chopped toasted almonds to the filling. I also skipped right on by the complicated shaping suggestion, but my less exciting version looked lovely, especially when covered by drizzled with an orange glaze and showered with slivered almonds.
The resulting cake is actually sunshine on a plate. It’s tender and bursting with orange flavor, pleasantly sweet without veering into dessert territory. I especially loved the texture of the almonds running throughout — little nubbly surprises with every bite. It’s exactly the kind of bright, flavorful cake I want with my morning coffee (or my mid-morning coffee, or my afternoon coffee — don’t judge).
*My parents don’t own a stand mixer (nor do I), so all my kneading is by hand. Since enriched doughs are often pretty soft/tacky and require lots of kneading (usually 5+ minutes in a mixer), I’ve been getting decent arm workouts doing my thing 💪
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PinIngredients
For the dough:
- 1/2 cup milk
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup orange juice
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 2–1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for flouring surfaces
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large egg
For the filling:
- the zest of two large-ish oranges (about 2 tablespoons)
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted and chopped finely
For the glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1–2 tablespoons orange juice
Instructions
- Prep the dough: Bring the milk to a simmer in a small saucepan. Remove it from the heat and add the butter. Once it’s melted, stir in the orange juice. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. When the mixture is just barely warm, stir in the yeast, 1 cup of flour, and the sugar. Cover the bowl and let sit for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes, you should see a few bubbles in the mixture. Mix in the egg and salt. Add another 1-1/2 cups of flour and mix until the dough comes together. Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface.
- Use the remaining 1/4 cup of flour for your hands and your countertop as you knead the dough for 6-8 minutes (though this took me closer to 12), until the dough is smooth and supple.
- First rise: Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rise until it doubles in volume (1 to 1-1/2 hours).
- Make the filling: In a medium bowl, use your fingers to rub the orange zest into the sugar until the mixture resembles wet sand. Add the butter, flour, and finely chopped almonds, using your fingers to combine everything until it forms a coarse paste.
- Once the dough has finished its first rise, deflate it slightly and pat it into a rectangle. Cover it with greased plastic and let it rest for 5 minutes.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12-x-18-inch rectangle. Sprinkle the filling over the rectangle, leaving 1/2 inch on one long edge uncovered. Starting at the covered long edge, carefully roll towards the uncovered edge, creating a long roll. Shape the dough into a circle, pinching the seams to seal. (I used a bit of warm water to help the seal stick.)
- The second rise: Using a sharp paring knife, cut slits 1-1/2 inches apart, three-fourths of the way from the center of the ring. Cover with greased plastic and let rise for 40 minutes, until the coffee cake is almost doubled. After 20 minutes of rising time, preheat the oven to 375F.
- When the cake completes its second rise, remove the plastic and bake for 20-25 minutes, until the cake is golden brown. Let the cake cool on a rack.
- Finish the coffee cake: In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar and orange juice until it has a drizzle-able consistency. When the cake is lukewarm, drizzle the glaze over the cake and serve.
Notes
Adapted from King Arthur Flour
Looking delicious! I’ll give it a try this weekend and will tell you!
Yay, let me know how you like it Nara!