Recently, the Los Angeles Times Culinary SOS column featured a recipe for a sour cream coffee cake from Heirloom Bakery and Cafe in Pasadena. Although I've never been to Heirloom or tasted their cake, I have been generously rewarded by Culinary SOS recipes time and again, and I have great faith that any baking recipe in the column is definitely worth a try.
In my experience, a common problem with coffee cakes is that the cake portion is often just so-so, and the only part that's really worth eating is the topping. This cake, however, was very moist and flavorful; it would actually be worth eating alone. I have to admit, I was a little concerned when I mixed the topping together and it looked a lot like potting soil. But the mixture of brown sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, chocolate chips, pecans, and melted butter turned out to be outstanding.
There is a layer of topping in the middle of the cake, as well as one sprinkled on top. Both layers of topping dispersed through the entire cake during baking, which turned out to be a huge plus. (As I've observed in the past, the best cake topping isn't always on top.) The topping was delicious without being overpowering, and it was wonderful to get bites of pecan and chocolate chips in each bite. The cake and topping end up as an integrated and harmonious whole.
I would definitely recommend this coffee cake to anyone. Since the topping is chocolate colored and sinks in, it's not as pretty as other cakes with a undisturbed layer of cinnamon crumbs on top. But this cake can definitely compete with any other coffee cake I've tasted when it comes to flavor!
Recipe: Heirloom Bakery Sour Cream Coffee Cake, from the June 24, 2010 Los Angeles Times.
In my experience, a common problem with coffee cakes is that the cake portion is often just so-so, and the only part that's really worth eating is the topping. This cake, however, was very moist and flavorful; it would actually be worth eating alone. I have to admit, I was a little concerned when I mixed the topping together and it looked a lot like potting soil. But the mixture of brown sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, chocolate chips, pecans, and melted butter turned out to be outstanding.
There is a layer of topping in the middle of the cake, as well as one sprinkled on top. Both layers of topping dispersed through the entire cake during baking, which turned out to be a huge plus. (As I've observed in the past, the best cake topping isn't always on top.) The topping was delicious without being overpowering, and it was wonderful to get bites of pecan and chocolate chips in each bite. The cake and topping end up as an integrated and harmonious whole. I would definitely recommend this coffee cake to anyone. Since the topping is chocolate colored and sinks in, it's not as pretty as other cakes with a undisturbed layer of cinnamon crumbs on top. But this cake can definitely compete with any other coffee cake I've tasted when it comes to flavor!
Recipe: Heirloom Bakery Sour Cream Coffee Cake, from the June 24, 2010 Los Angeles Times.
Comments
I hate recipes which give a calorie count at the end - it ruins the enjoyment!