Fact Sheet: Cakes, Gateaux’s & Sponges
Table of Contents
Cinnamon-Streusel Coffee Cake
Ingredients Topping
1 cup (198g) granulated sugar.
1/4 teaspoon table salt, (if you use unsalted butter)
1 cup (120g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons (85g) butter, melted.
Filling
1 cup (213g) dark brown sugar or light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa, Dutch-process or natural
Cake
12 tablespoons (170g) butter, at room temperature, at least 65°F
1 teaspoon table salt, (1 1/4 teaspoons if you use unsalted butter)
1 1/2 cups (298g) granulated sugar
1/3 cup (71g) light brown sugar or dark brown sugar, packed
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup (170g) sour cream or plain yogurt, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups (283g) milk, anything from skim to whole, at room temperature
3 3/4 cups (450g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
Method:
Preheat the oven to 190°C. Lightly grease a 9″ x 13″ pan, or two 9″ round cake pans.
Make the topping by whisking together the sugar, salt, flour, & cinnamon. Add the melted butter, stirring until well combined. Set the topping aside.
Make the filling by mixing together the brown sugar, cinnamon, & cocoa powder. Note that the cocoa powder is used strictly for color, not flavor; leave it out if you like. Set it aside.
To make the cake, in a large bowl, beat together the butter, salt, sugars, baking powder, & vanilla until well combined & smooth.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the sour cream or yogurt & milk till well combined. You don’t need to whisk out all the lumps.
Add the flour to the butter mixture alternately with the milk/sour cream mixture, beating gently to combine.
Pour/spread half the batter (a scant 3 cups) into the prepared pan(s), spreading all the way to the edges. If you’re using two 9″ round pans, spread 1 1/3 cups batter in each pan.
Sprinkle the filling evenly on the batter.
Spread the remaining batter atop the filling. Use a table knife to gently swirl the filling into the batter, as though you were making a marble cake. Don’t combine filling & batter thoroughly; just swirl the filling through the batter.
Sprinkle the topping over the batter in the pan.
Bake the cake until it’s a dark golden brown around the edges; medium-golden with no light patches showing on top, & a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, about 55 to 60 minutes for the 9″ x 13″ pan, 50 to 55 minutes for the 9″ round pans. When pressed gently in the middle, the cake should spring back.
Remove the cake from the oven & allow it to cool for 20 minutes before cutting & serving. Serve cake right from the pan.
Tips from our Bakers
Dress it up for guests: Make a glaze with 1/2 cup (57g) confectioners’ or glazing sugar & 1 tablespoon milk; drizzle glaze over the cooled coffee cake.
Since butter & sour cream are both key ingredients in this cake, we encourage you to use the best quality you can get. We highly recommend Cabot, a superb Vermont brand available nationally. It’s easy to spread half the batter in the pan when you know how much it weighs. If you have a kitchen scale, half the batter weighs about 28 ounces. Want to prepare this coffee cake the night before, then bake in the morning? It’s easy; simply cover the unbaked cake with plastic wrap & refrigerate overnight. Next morning, bake the cake as directed. Start testing for doneness at the end of the suggested baking time; you’ll probably have to add 5 minutes or so to the total time, to account for the batter being chilled.
Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Cake
113gms unsalted butter, softened.
200gms sugar
2 large eggs, at room temperature
240gms all-purpose flour
Flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
227gms sour cream or plain yoghurt at room temperature
Topping
1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar.
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, optional.
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease & flour a 9 1/2″ tube pan, or a 9″ x 9″ pan.
To make the cake: Beat together the butter, sugar, & eggs. In a separate bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt.
Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture alternately with the sour cream or yogurt, stirring after each addition.
To make the topping: Combine all of the topping ingredients, stirring until evenly crumbly.
Spread half the batter in the pan, & sprinkle with half the topping mixture. Repeat with the remaining batter & topping.
Bake the coffee cake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, or with just a few moist crumbs sticking to it. Glass pans may take an additional 5 to 10 minutes to bake through completely.
Remove the cake from the oven; if you’ve baked it in a tube pan, wait 10 minutes, loosen the edges, & carefully turn it out of the pan. Place the cake right-side up (topping up) on a plate to serve. If you’ve baked the cake in a 9″ x 9″ pan, just serve it right from the pan.
Serve the cake warm or at room temperature. Wrap the completely cooled cake airtight, & store at room temperature for several days; freeze for longer storage.
Looking for classic coffee cake topping?
1 1/4 cups (248g) brown sugar, packed
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup (57g) chopped pecans or walnuts
Ginger Lemon Curd Coffee Cake
Ingredients
Crumbs
180gms All-Purpose Flour
100gms sugar
28gms icing sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cardamom
128gms unsalted butter, cut into cubes; at room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
40gms diced ginger
Cake
150gms All-Purpose Flour
100gms sugar
zest of 1 lemon
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp table salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp ginger
71gms unsalted butter, cubes; at room temperature
2 large eggs
1 tsp lemon paste, optional
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Prepare an 8″ square pan with a parchment sling or reusable silicone liner, then lightly grease the sides of the pan. Alternatively, line a 9″ cake pan with a round piece of parchment or round reusable liner & lightly grease the sides.
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
113gms sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
170gms lemon curd
Glaze
85gms icing sugar, sifted
1 tbsp ginger syrup
1 to 2 tsp water
To make the crumbs:
Weigh your flour; or measure it by gently spooning it into a cup, then sweeping off any excess. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugars, salt, & spices. Add the butter & vanilla; toss to combine. Using a bowl scraper, a fork, or your fingers, work in the butter until crumbs form & no dry spots remain. The crumbs should be irregular, ranging in size from a pea to walnut.
Add the diced ginger & toss until incorporated. Set aside.
To make the cake: In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, salt, baking soda, & spices. Add the butter & mix at low speed using an electric hand mixer or the flat beater attachment of the stand mixer, until the mixture looks sandy, about 1 to 2 minutes. (This mixing method is called reverse creaming & is also known as the paste method.)
Beat in the egg, lemon paste, & vanilla, then mix until no dry spots of flour remain. Stop the mixer & scrape the bowl & beater(s) as needed; the mixture will be thick.
Add the yogurt or sour cream all at once before starting to mix. Stir until the batter is smooth. Stop to scrape the bowl & then mix again at medium-low speed for 30 seconds to 1 minute; this final mix is key to ensuring the best texture so don’t skip it.
To assemble & bake the lemon coffee cake: Transfer the batter to the prepared pan & spread it evenly all the way to the edges. (A small offset spatula is a helpful tool here.)
Spread the lemon curd evenly over the top of the batter.
Sprinkle the crumbs evenly over the lemon curd & gently press to adhere.
Bake the lemon coffee cake for 42 to 46 minutes, until it’s set in the middle & the crumbs are golden brown. The middle of the cake will be firm to the touch with no evidence of uncooked batter. (Use these cues for doneness rather than testing with a toothpick or paring knife, as the lemon curd will remain fluid & may look like uncooked batter.)
Remove the lemon coffee cake from the oven & allow it to cool in the pan for 20 minutes. If making the glaze, prepare it while the coffee cake is cooling.
To make the glaze: In a small bowl, stir together the glaze ingredients until smooth, starting with smaller amount of water. Add additional water as needed until the glaze is the consistency of molasses.
Remove the lemon coffee cake from the pan using the overhanging edges of parchment as handles to gently lift it out. (If you used a silicone liner or parchment round, run a nylon spreader or dull knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake & then gently tip it out.) Place the lemon coffee cake, still on the parchment or liner, on a wire rack to cool slightly.
Drizzle the glaze over the lemon coffee cake, or finish by dusting with non-melting sugar or icing sugar.
Carrot Cake w/ Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
Cake
248gms vegetable oil
400gms sugar
1 tsp table salt
4 large eggs
1 tbsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
240gms All-Purpose Flour
325gms carrots, finely grated.
170gms chopped walnuts, toasted.
Frosting
113gms unsalted butter, room temperature
227gms cream cheese, room temperature
1/4 tsp table salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
283gms icing sugar
1 tsp milk or heavy cream, optional
Method:
To make the cake: Preheat the oven to 175°C. Lightly grease two 9″ round layer pans, or one 9″ x 13″ pan.
In a large bowl, beat together the oil, sugar, salt, eggs, spices, baking powder, & baking soda.
Weigh & sift the flour; add to above ingredient & stir to combine.
Add the carrots & nuts, & mix until just blended. Pour into the prepared pan(s).
Bake the cake(s) for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the centre comes out clean, or with a few moist crumbs clinging to it. Allow the cake(s) to cool completely before frosting. If you’re using round layer pans, remove the layers from the pans after about 15 minutes, & place them on a rack to cool.
To make the frosting: In a large bowl working with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter & cream cheese together until smooth. Add the salt & vanilla. Beat in the sugar. Add a teaspoon of milk or cream if the frosting is too stiff to spread; add additional sugar if it’s too thin.
Frost the sheet cake right in the pan. For the layers, frost the top of one layer, top with the second layer, & frost the top & sides of the cake. For helpful tips, see our blog post: How to assemble & frost a layer cake.
Refrigerate the cake. An hour or so before serving, remove it from the refrigerator & bring it to room temperature. Refrigerate any leftovers, well wrapped, for a day or so; freeze for longer storage.
The Classic Australian Lamington
Ingredients
83gms plain flour
40gms corn flour
5 eggs
150gms caster sugar
60gms butter, melted
3 tbsp cocoa powder
375gms icing sugar
1 tbsp butter, softened
2-3 tbsp boiling water
500gms desiccated coconut
Method:
Step 1: Preheat oven to 180ºC. Line a 20cm x 30cm lamington tray with greaseproof paper.
Step 2: Sift together the flours & set aside.
Step 3: Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs & sugar until a foam forms & the mixture doubled in size. Gently mix through the flour making sure it’s well incorporated.
Step 4: Pour the butter in slowly & fold carefully through.
Step 5: Pour mixture into the prepared tin & bake for 20 minutes, until soft & spongy to touch. Leave to cool in tin for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack & cut sponge into 5 cm cubes.
Step 6: Stir together the cocoa, icing sugar & butter. Add enough boiling water to make a runny icing. Place the coconut in a tray. Pierce the sponge cubes with a fork & dip into the chocolate icing. Dip sponge in the coconut. Place onto greaseproof paper & leave to dry.