Cream Cheese Coffee Cake

Name: Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
Yield: Serves 12 to 16 (Makes one 10-inch cake)
Ingredients: ¼ cup (1¾ ounces), sugar; 1½ teaspoons, grated lemon zest; 1/2 cup, sliced almonds; 2 1/4 cups (11 1/4 ounces), unbleached all-purpose flour; 1 1/8 teaspoons, baking powder; 1 1/8 teaspoons, baking soda; 1 teaspoon, table salt; 10 tablespoons (1 stick plus 2 tablespoons), unsalted butter, softened but still cool; 1 1/8 cups (7¾ ounces) plus 5 tablespoons (2¼ ounces), sugar; 1 tablespoon, finely grated zest plus 4 teaspoons juice from 1 to 2 lemons; 4 large, eggs; 5 teaspoons, vanilla extract; 1 1/4 cups, sour cream; 8 ounces, cream cheese, softened

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Appears in Cook's Illustrated January/February 2010, America's Test Kitchen TV

Desserts or Baked Goods

Cheese

Breakfast & Brunch

Cakes

A rich cream cheese filling adds a twist to ordinary coffee cake—unless it breaks away and sinks to the bottom of the pan.

SERVES12 to 16 (Makes one 10-inch cake)

TIME1½ hours, plus 2½ hours cooling

has video

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS

This brunch staple is fraught with pitfalls, from dry, bland cake to lackluster fillings that sink to the bottom. Rich sour cream contributed moisture to our cake as well as a subtle tang—a perfect backdrop for the cream cheese swirl. For t...

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