Lemon Crumble Coffee Cake, Etc.

I made this for Monday's breakfast while mom was here. Sunday evening was an extravaganza of hoofed meats at Roast (veal sweetbreads, roasted marrow {slightly blubbery, off-putting texture but tasty}, hanger steak, pork chop, rosemary frites and a Malbec).

I hadn't really baked her a birthday cake (I usually never make a cake anyway---usually a tart, or cherry cobbler, or this year Mexican chocolate icebox cookies and lemon rosemary shortbreads), but this seemed like a good thing to have with our gravlax and garnishes. It's adapted from a Taste of Home recipe I've been making for years for bake sales and winter holiday family brunches. Substituting lemon curd for the cranberry sauce struck me as a halfway decent idea. The result is a tender, moist cake with a thick ribbon of tangy lemon through the center.

Ingredients

Cake:

1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
a teaspoon or so of lemon zest

1 1/2 to 2 cups lemon curd

Topping:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons cold butter

Lemon Curd (from The Joy Of Baking):

3 large eggs
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar
1/3 cup (80 ml) fresh lemon juice (2-3 lemons) (do not use the bottled lemon juice)
4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 tablespoon (4 grams) finely shredded lemon zest

In a stainless steel bowl placed over a saucepan of simmering water, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and lemon juice until blended. Cook, stirring constantly (to prevent it from curdling), until the mixture becomes thick (like sour cream or a hollandaise sauce) (160 degrees F or 71 degrees C). This will take approximately 10 minutes. Remove from heat and immediately pour through a fine strainer to remove any lumps. Cut the butter into small pieces and whisk into the mixture until the butter has melted. Add the lemon zest and let cool. The lemon curd will continue to thicken as it cools. Cover immediately (so a skin doesn't form) and refrigerate for up to a week.

Makes 1 1/2 cups (360 ml).


Note: Room temperature lemons provide more juice. After squeezing, strain the juice to remove any pulp. Zest is the yellow, sweet-flavored outer rind of the lemon. A zester or fine grater can be used to remove the rind. Cold lemons are much easier to grate. Grate lemons just before using as the zest will lose moisture if it sits too long.


Directions

Sprinkle almonds over the bottom of a greased 9-in. springform pan; set aside. In a bowl, cream the sugar, butter, lemon zest and vanilla; beat on medium for 1-2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Combine dry ingredients; add to batter alternately with sour cream. Mix well. Spread 3 cups over almonds. Spoon lemon curd over batter. Top with remaining batter (spread with butter knife to smooth over).

For topping, combine flour, sugar, almonds and vanilla; cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 350° for 70-75 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes; remove sides of pan. Serve warm.

Notes:

I had enough lemons and eggs to triple the lemon curd recipe, and that was enough to generously fill two coffee cakes, plus have a little left over. (The second coffee cake went to work for a meet 'n' greet with the new lab director. Can't hurt to walk in with baked goodness for the new guy, now can it?)

I lightly toasted the almonds before chopping them.

A cake tester is pretty much useless because the lemon curd looks a bit like batter. I pulled them after 75 minutes.

I sprinkled a little more lemon zest on top of the cakes after they had cooled.

I used a cheap springform pan (Grandma Zucker's), and noticed a bit of corrosion on the interior of the pan afterwards from the acidic filling. Use a good pan, or line it with parchment paper.