Plum and Pinon Coffee Cake

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Yield:
1 10-inch cake

Each bite of thismoist coffee cake holds a hint of cinnamon, sweet Italian prune plums, and pinons.

Ingredients

For the cake:

  • 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan

  • 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

  • 2 teaspoons baking powder

  • 1 teaspoon baking soda

  • ½ teaspoon salt

  • 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar

  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten

  • 1 ½ cups sour cream

  • 12 ounces Italian prune plums or other plums, cut into ½-inch pieces

  • 4 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

For the crumb topping:

  • 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

  • 12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, softened

  • ¾ cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting

  • ¼ teaspoon salt

For the streusel:

  • 3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter

  • ½ cup packed dark-brown sugar

  • 1 teaspoon ground canela (Mexican cinnamon) or regular cinnamon

  • ½ cup pine nuts, toasted

  • Pinch of salt

Directions

  1. Make streusel: Put all streusel ingredients in a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Refrigerate.

  2. Make crumb topping: Put all topping ingredients in a bowl. Using a pastry cutter or two knives, blend until mixture resembles coarse meal. Refrigerate.

  3. Make cake: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl; set aside.

  4. Put butter and granulated sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add beaten eggs in two batches, mixing well. Mix in one-third of flour mixture. Mix in half of sour cream. Repeat with remaining flour and sour cream. Stir in plums by hand.

  5. Pour half of the batter into prepared pan; sprinkle with streusel. Top with remaining batter. Pour vanilla on top. Bake 20 minutes. Sprinkle with crumb topping; bake until golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes more. Let cool on a wire rack. Unmold. Dust with confectioners' sugar.

Cook's Notes

Pinon is Spanish for "pine nut."

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