Budapest Coffee Cake - Foodie Friday

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...Following a critique that appeared here several weeks ago, I was asked to share the recipe for my favorite non-yeast coffee cake. Three recipes came to mind and anyone of them would be a worthy candidate for the designation "best". Today's contender comes from Maida Heatter's "Book of Great Desserts". Food writer's, especially those with public personas, tend to be swallowed by the ebb and flow of tides that carry fans to fads on other shores. Each generation produces its own crop of star chefs and food writers who capture the imagination of the public. That's as it should be. However, we who love the kitchen and the creation of food, have a tendency to dismiss as passe anything not currently on the New York Times best seller list. That's a big mistake. It is possible to move forward and still carry the best of the past with us. This is an outstanding coffee cake. It was the most popular recipe in the "Book of Great Desserts", but I've found only two other places where the recipe is actually used and reviewed. What a shame. This coffee cake is not hard to make and it uses ingredients that are readily available. I hope you'll try it. It would make a wonderful addition to any holiday breakfast or brunch table. The glaze, by the way, isn't really necessary and can be eliminated if you'd prefer a less sweet cake. Here's the recipe for a personal favorite of mine.

Budapest Coffee Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, courtesy of Maida Heatter

Ingredients:
Filling
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cocoa
3 tablespoons currants or finely chopped raisins
1 cup toasted walnuts
Batter
3 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter, room temperature
2 teaspoons vanilla
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs, room temperature
2 cups sour cream, room temperature
Glaze
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons hot milk

Directions:
1) Adjust an oven rack to lower third of oven. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Butter a 10-inch Bundt pan. Set aside.
2) To make the filling: Combine brown sugar, cinnamon and cocoa in a small bowl. Mix throughly. Stir in nuts and currants or raisins. Set aside.
3) To make batter: Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a large bowl. Cream butter in bowl of an electric stand mixer, using paddle attachment. Add vanilla and sugar and beat on medium speed for a minute or two. Add eggs, one at a time, beating each until just incorporated. Scrape sides of bowl, as necessary, to keep mixture smooth. Beat at high speed until mixture is light and creamy, about 1 minute. Turn mixer to low speed. Add dry ingredients in three additions and sour cream in two additions, beating only until smooth after each addition.
4) Spread a thin layer of batter in bottom of prepared pan. This will be easier to do if you use a small spoon to drop batter into pan and then smooth it together. Top with 1/3 of nut mixture. Repeat until you have 4 layers of batter and three layers of nut filling. The top layer will be batter. Bake 50 to 60 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool for 5 minutes.
5) To make glaze: Combine powdered sugar, vanilla and milk in a small bowl. Mix well. Mixture should have consistency of a thick cream sauce.
6) Spread wax paper underneath a cooling rack. Invert cake on cooling rack. Remove pan. Pour glaze over cake, letting it run down sides, while still hot. Whan glaze ir set, transfer cake to a serving plate. Cake may be served warm or at room temperature. Yield: 12 Servings.

This recipe is being linked to:
Designs By Gollum - Foodie Friday