Brown Butter, Ginger, and Sour Cream Coffee Cake

"If toast always lands butter-side down, and cats always land on their feet, what happens if you strap toast on the back of a cat and drop it?"

~Stephen Wright

I'm a sucker for coffee cake.  So when the November Bon Appetit arrived in the mail two days ago, I did not get past page 56, where this recipe resided.  It was a "must make" find.  This is unlike me.  Usually the recipes I see in magazines sit around for months or years until I stumble across them again.  The really, really good ones get ripped out of the magazine and placed in a file folder in the kitchen.  Those are the short-list ones that I might actually get to before I forget about them.  

In this case, the recipe pushed all the right buttons.  It's COFFEE-CAKE, with brown butter, actually done on purpose, haha.....and toasted almonds, my favorite.  There is wheat flour in it (fits my new whole grain kick), and I had all the ingredients on hand, including a large bag of crystallized ginger that I need to use up before it becomes petrified ginger (if you have a recipe for that, let me know).

I ran into a couple minor problems with this cake.  First, the batter was a bit loose, so the filling sank and the topping started to get swallowed up by the batter as it baked.  Half an hour before it was done I sprinkled a little more chopped nuts and sugar on it, so it would still look good.  Next time, I'll omit the half cup of milk so that the batter is a bit thicker.  Second, it called for a 10-inch tube pan with a removable bottom.  I only have a 9-inch one, so I used it and crossed my fingers.  The batter filled it right up so I put a cookie sheet under to catch any spillover, which by the way, baked into cookie/muffin-top-like things that the Mister ate the minute he walked into the house after work and said "OMG, this is so friggin good, I could chew the (burnt) stuff off the pan."

The problems were not insurmountable and the resulting cake was really delicious and different, reminding me of salted caramel with a kick of ginger.  It's a keeper.

Brown Butter, Ginger, and Sour Cream Coffee Cake

from Nov '11 issue of Bon Appetit

Brown Butter

2 cups plus 2 T unsalted butter [I used salted  butter and liked the result]

Topping

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger

Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole wheat flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1 3/4 cups sugar

4 large eggs

1 1/2 cups sour cream  

1/2 cup milk [next time I will omit this]

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup almonds with skins, coarsely chopped [I used roasted almonds]


Special equipment: A 10" tube pan with removable bottom.


Brown Butter:  Simmer 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until browned bits form, 6-8 minutes.  Pour into a 2-cup measuring cup.  If needed, add more butter to measure 1 3/4 cups plus 2 tablespoons.


Topping:  Whisk flour, sugar, and salt in a medium bowl.  Stir in 3/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons brown butter (reserve remaining butter for cake); stir until moist clumps form.  Stir in ginger.  Set aside.


Cake:  Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Butter pan generously.  In a medium bowl, whisk all-purpose flour and next 7 ingredients together.  Set aside.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat remaining 1 cup browned butter and sugar in a large bowl until light and thick, 2-3 minutes.  Add eggs one at a time, beating to blend between additions.  Beat in sour cream, milk, and vanilla.  Stir in flour just to blend.


Spoon half of the batter into prepared pan; smooth top.  Scatter 1 cup of topping over.  Spoon remaining batter in dollops over; smooth.  Add almonds to remaining topping.  Sprinkle evenly over batter in pan.


Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 20 minutes.  Let cool in pan on wire rack for 10 minutes.  Run a knife around pan to release cake. Remove side pans; let cool completely.