All Cakes Considered - Melissa Gray [22]
4. Cream the shortening with a mixer on medium speed and gradually add the sugar, beating well after each addition.
5. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
6. In a separate bowl, dry whisk the flour and baking powder together.
7. Add a third of the flour mixture to the creamed mixture, beat, then add ¼ cup of the yogurt and beat again. Repeat once more, add the remaining flour mixture, and beat again.
8. Add the almond extract and beat well.
TO FINISH THE CAKE
9. Using your spatula, guide about half of your batter into the prepared pan and smooth it out. Sprinkle a third of your streusel over the batter. Layer the rest of your batter over the streusel and smooth again. Sprinkle the remaining streusel over the batter.
10. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick or thin knife inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean. Cool the cake in the pan and serve it straight out of the pan. OR cool the cake in the pan for 10 minutes, then carefully unmold onto a serving plate (see page 28). Remember to cover the top with parchment paper before flipping it over—you don’t want the streusel going all over your nice, clean kitchen floors or your nice, clean tootsies.
If you were one of those kids who couldn’t wait to chaw on a hot fireball candy, then this coffee cake is for you. It will work fine with regular cinnamon (which isn’t true cinnamon; see page 103 for details) but if you do like I do and use Saigon cinnamon, you’ll get just a hint of those fireballs that hurt so good.
Saigon cinnamon is the spice used to heat up many a Vietnamese dish. You can find it in any well-stocked grocery store. McCormick, the spice company, sells a potent bottle of it for a little more than what you’d normally pay for regular cinnamon. It’s in their Gourmet Collection line.
Now, you may be tempted to turn up the heat on this coffee cake by adding MORE than the recommended 2 teaspoons to the streusel, but my co-worker Graham Smith says simply, “Don’t.” Graham thinks the ratio of Saigon cinnamon to other key ingredients is just right: too much cinnamon would overpower the yogurty tang of the cake and the smooth almond taste of the streusel. Why would I listen to Graham (other than the fact that I’m paid to listen to Graham, a senior producer, two pay grades up from me)? He’s a talented cook and a good baker in his own right. While some of us dash out for salads or burritos at noon, Graham has the most exquisite bag lunches: I’ve seen him blissfully gnawing on a succulent-looking leg of lamb at his desk more than once. One day, he’s going to write All Lunches Considered.
This cake serves between 8 and 16.
Dorie Greenspan’s Swedish Visiting Cake
NEW TECHNIQUE ALERT!
TOASTING NUTS AND FOLDING
* * *
YOU’LL NEED
A round 8- or 9-inch cake pan
A small, shallow baking pan or a pie pan
A cookie sheet
½ cup sliced almonds
1 stick (½ cup) unsalted butter
1 cup sugar, plus 1 teaspoon for sprinkling
Grated zest of 1 lemon (see Tip)
2 large eggs
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
Tip: The zest is the sweet outer rind of the lemon—the yellow part, not the white pith. You can also buy dried grated lemon peel in the spice section of some markets, along with dried orange peel. Consider stocking them in your spice collection.
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray the sides and bottom of the pan with baking spray.
2. Toast the nuts.
NEW TECHNIQUE
TOASTING NUTS
Spread out the nuts, in this case ½ cup of almonds, in a baking pan or pie pan. Put in the oven, preheated to 350 degrees F, for 3 minutes. Using an oven mitt, shake the pan like you would a popcorn bag, and return to the oven for about 3 more minutes. Be very careful not to let them burn!
3. Melt the butter on the stove top or in the microwave on high power and set aside to cool.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the cup of sugar and the lemon zest.