I found the recipe by googling “best coffee cake ever,” which led me to discover The Pioneer Woman . She’s funny. She described the cake as a complete miracle. How could I resist making a complete miracle? I couldn’t, but I broke one of my rules in the process.
Rules, you ask? Yes. You see, I try hard to follow a recipe — a baked goods recipe at least — to the T first time around. I was doing well until I saw the word milk. And well, you all know about my inability to not substitute buttermilk for milk in a baked goods recipe. It’s a real problem. I’ll leave it at that. And then, to make matters worse, I got really lazy — didn’t want to separate the eggs or beat the whites until stiff peaks formed — and so I substituted in a whole egg. Yikes. I don’t think the Pioneer Woman would approve.
But the cake — oh the cake — it’s so delicious. Thank you Pioneer Woman for sharing such a keeper of a recipe. Everyone here is in total heaven. And readers, I encourage you to check out the PW’s original recipe . I’ve enclosed my lazy-man’s version below, but fully intend to make the original recipe one day.
Ok all of you, back to work. Promise I won’t disturb you again.
Description
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Note: This half of the PW’s recipe. I use a 9-inch square pyrex baking dish, but any 8- or 9-inch square pan will work.
Notes:
- I prefer this without the nuts. It has more of that classic coffee cake taste to me. I should note I’m not a huge fan of nuts in baked goods, so if you like nuts, I say use them.
- I lightly fill a 3/4 cup measuring cup with brown sugar, which makes the topping slightly less sweet, which I prefer.
For the cake:
- 3/4 stick butter, softened
- 7/8 cup sugar ( 3/4 cup + 2 T.)
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
For the topping:
- 3/4 stick butter, softened
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 scant tablespoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup almonds or pecans, chopped (optional — see notes above)
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch square pan (or the equivalent) with butter.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add egg to butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low until combined. Add half of the dry ingredients. Mix until incorporated. Add all of the buttermilk. Mix until incorporated. Add remaining flour and whisk until just combined. Spread batter into prepared pan.
- Meanwhile, make the topping: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Use a pastry cutter or your hands to mix everything nicely together. Spread topping over batter. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until no longer jiggly. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
I found the recipe by googling “best coffee cake ever,” which led me to discover The Pioneer Woman . She’s funny. She described the cake as a complete miracle. How could I resist making a complete miracle? I couldn’t, but I broke one of my rules in the process.
Rules, you ask? Yes. You see, I try hard to follow a recipe — a baked goods recipe at least — to the T first time around. I was doing well until I saw the word milk. And well, you all know about my inability to not substitute buttermilk for milk in a baked goods recipe. It’s a real problem. I’ll leave it at that. And then, to make matters worse, I got really lazy — didn’t want to separate the eggs or beat the whites until stiff peaks formed — and so I substituted in a whole egg. Yikes. I don’t think the Pioneer Woman would approve.
But the cake — oh the cake — it’s so delicious. Thank you Pioneer Woman for sharing such a keeper of a recipe. Everyone here is in total heaven. And readers, I encourage you to check out the PW’s original recipe . I’ve enclosed my lazy-man’s version below, but fully intend to make the original recipe one day.
Ok all of you, back to work. Promise I won’t disturb you again.
Description
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Note: This half of the PW’s recipe. I use a 9-inch square pyrex baking dish, but any 8- or 9-inch square pan will work.
Notes:
- I prefer this without the nuts. It has more of that classic coffee cake taste to me. I should note I’m not a huge fan of nuts in baked goods, so if you like nuts, I say use them.
- I lightly fill a 3/4 cup measuring cup with brown sugar, which makes the topping slightly less sweet, which I prefer.
For the cake:
- 3/4 stick butter, softened
- 7/8 cup sugar ( 3/4 cup + 2 T.)
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
For the topping:
- 3/4 stick butter, softened
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 scant tablespoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup almonds or pecans, chopped (optional — see notes above)
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch square pan (or the equivalent) with butter.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add egg to butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low until combined. Add half of the dry ingredients. Mix until incorporated. Add all of the buttermilk. Mix until incorporated. Add remaining flour and whisk until just combined. Spread batter into prepared pan.
- Meanwhile, make the topping: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Use a pastry cutter or your hands to mix everything nicely together. Spread topping over batter. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until no longer jiggly. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
Description
Adapted from The Pioneer Woman
Note: This half of the PW’s recipe. I use a 9-inch square pyrex baking dish, but any 8- or 9-inch square pan will work.
Notes:
- I prefer this without the nuts. It has more of that classic coffee cake taste to me. I should note I’m not a huge fan of nuts in baked goods, so if you like nuts, I say use them.
- I lightly fill a 3/4 cup measuring cup with brown sugar, which makes the topping slightly less sweet, which I prefer.
For the cake:
- 3/4 stick butter, softened
- 7/8 cup sugar ( 3/4 cup + 2 T.)
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons buttermilk
For the topping:
- 3/4 stick butter, softened
- 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons flour
- 3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
- 1 scant tablespoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup almonds or pecans, chopped (optional — see notes above)
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch square pan (or the equivalent) with butter.
- Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Add egg to butter and sugar mixture. Mix on low until combined. Add half of the dry ingredients. Mix until incorporated. Add all of the buttermilk. Mix until incorporated. Add remaining flour and whisk until just combined. Spread batter into prepared pan.
- Meanwhile, make the topping: Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Use a pastry cutter or your hands to mix everything nicely together. Spread topping over batter. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until no longer jiggly. Let cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before serving.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
Find it online : https://alexandracooks.com/2011/08/18/quintessential-coffee-cake/
I don’t know about you, but I’m up to my eyeballs in eggplants here. My CSA delivery last week could have fed a small village, and I’m still feeling a little overwhelmed. Overwhelmed in a good way though. I mean, I’ve been eating my way though a very delicious eggplant chapter in Chez Panisse Vegetables , so far delighting in eggplant gratin with tomato and onion, and roasted eggplant and tomato pizza. I know, it’s been rough.
But this pasta. Oooooh, this pasta. This pasta recipe unexpectedly has eclipsed its chapter companions, its deliciousness attributed to perfectly ripe eggplant, the freshest tomato sauce , sweet basil, caramelized onions, and above all to a most unsuspecting ingredient: sherry vinegar. I don’t know how just a splash of anything could so transform a dish, giving it a depth of flavor that subtly persists through layers of tomatoes and eggplant and onions, but somehow the sherry vinegar has.
There’s something, too, about the way the roasted eggplant melds with the caramelized onions and the tomato sauce that makes cheese totally unnecessary. No cheese on pasta, you ask? Hogwash, you shout! I mean it. This roasted eggplant tomato sauce spiced with crushed red pepper flakes and freshened with basil was enough for me. I even had some homemade ricotta in the fridge. I even had a bowl of freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano sitting inches from my plate throughout dinner. I had no trouble refraining.
While I know a bowl of hot pasta perhaps isn’t crossing your mind very often in late summer, eggplants are reaching their peak right about now, and they are oh so good. Give this recipe a go. It’s a keeper for sure.
Finally, if you like summer pastas, you will love this orecchiette with Quick Sautéed Cherry Tomato Sauce .
Description
Adapted from Chez Panisse Vegetables
- 1 to 2 globe eggplants, diced to yield 4 to 6 cups
- olive oil
- kosher salt
- 1 onion, thinly sliced to yield about 2 cups
- 3/4 lb. pasta such as Gemelli or whatever you like best
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or sliced
- red pepper flakes
- 2 tablespoons sherry (or other) vinegar
- 2 cups tomato sauce (I like this tomato-basil sauce or Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce )
- handful fresh basil
- ricotta salata cheese or Parmigiano Reggiano
- freshly cracked black pepper
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Cut the eggplants into cubes about 3/4-inch square, toss them with 2 tablespoons of olive oil and a big pinch of salt. Spread them out in a single layer on a sheet pan (parchment-lined, if you wish, for easy cleanup). Roast in the oven for 25 minutes or until the eggplant is light brown and tender.
- Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add a tablespoon of kosher salt. Cook the pasta al dente.
- Meanwhile, heat a large sauté pan with 2 tablespoons olive oil and the onions over medium heat. Season with salt and sauté over medium to medium-low heat until the onions are just caramelized, 20 minutes to 25 minutes. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes, and cook for 30 seconds; then deglaze with the sherry vinegar. Add the tomato sauce and eggplant. Heat the sauce to simmering. Drain the pasta, add it to the tomato sauce pan, and toss gently. Taste. Adjust with salt and pepper to taste.
- To finish, add the basil and stir to combine. Serve the pasta with shaved cheese over the top and more pepper if you wish, too.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Pasta
- Method: Stovetop
- Cuisine: Italian
