Thursday, November 29, 2012

Cream Cheese Glazed Cinnamon Coffee Cake



Warm buttery cinnamon rolls, a moist and dense cake with a crumble topping, and cream cheese glaze are all favorites of mine, and I rolled all of them into this one easy-to-make cake. You don't actually need to make cinnamon rolls to make the cake. Rather, the finish cake just tastes like a cinnamon roll. Although there are three components - the cake, filling-topping, and the glaze - this is a very fast and straightforward cake to make and isn't fussy at all. In just one hour, including baking time, it's ready and in that one hour, your house will smell amazing while it bakes.
Ingredients:
For the Cake
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened (half of one stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup sour cream (Greek yogurt may be substituted)
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt, optional and to taste
For the Filling-Topping
1/2 cup unsalted butter, extremely soft and almost melted
1 cup light brown sugar, packed
2 teaspoons cinnamon
For the Glaze
2 tablespoons cream cheese, softened (whipped or light are okay)
2 tablespoons cream or milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup+ confectioners' sugar, sifted is ideal
Directions:
For the Cake - Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a 9-inch springform pan (at least 3 inches high; a 9-inch square baking pan may be substituted if it's at least 3 inches in height; don't use a 9-inch round cake pan because it's too shallow) by spraying well with floured cooking spray (I use Pam for Baking) or grease and flour the pan; set aside.
To the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine butter, granulated sugar, and cream together until pale, light, and fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium-high to high speed. Add the sour cream, eggs, oil, vanilla, cinnamon, and beat until smooth and incorporated, about 3 minutes on medium-high to high speed. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, and beat until just incorporated and batter is smooth, about 1 minute on medium speed. Spread batter into prepared pan; set aside.
For the Filling-Topping - In a medium-microwave safe bowl, add the butter and heat on high power until it just begins to melt, about 1 minute. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, and beat with a spoon or whisk until combined. Spread filling over the top of the cake batter in an even, smooth, flat layer, as if you're frosting a cake. Then, using a table knife, swirl back and forth to marble the filling into the cake batter, going over the cake and going up and back a few times. I swirled fairly aggressively for about 1 minute, in order to try to drive the filling deeper into the cake batter. Place pan on a baking sheet (as insurance in case your springform pan doesn't have a perfect seal) and bake for about 45 to 50 minutes, or until topping has set and a toothpick inserted into the center of cake comes out clean. Note that in the final minutes of baking, topping may have a tendency to burn near the edges as the butter browns and the brown sugar caramelizes; watch cake closely. Allow cake to cool in pan and rest on baking sheet for at least 30 minutes before glazing it, or before removing it from the pan and serving.
For the Glaze - In a medium bowl, combine cream cheese, cream, vanilla and whisk until combined and smooth. Slowly add the confectioners' sugar, whisking to incorporate and until smooth. Based on desired glaze consistency, playing with the sugar and cream ratios may be necessary. Evenly drizzle the glaze over cake and serve. Note - If you prefer to refrigerate cream-cheese based glaze, you may wish to only glaze individual pieces of cake immediately prior to serving them and store the glaze in small container in the refrigerator, as opposed to refrigerating the entire glazed cake, which will cause it to dry out. Or, you can glaze the cake and store it at room temperature anyway, as everyone has different food storage comfort levels. Cake will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

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