I’m back on the cake-baking wagon with this sourdough cinnamon pecan coffee cake. It commemorates another Sourdough September.
Last year was the first year that I didn’t put my starter into hibernation for the winter… and it survived! I’ve learned a trick for keeping the conditions favourable for the wild yeasts to prosper even though our kitchen is cold. Every time I refreshed it, I put my jar of starter in the microwave alongside a mug of boiling water and shut the door (without ever turning it in, of course). I use the same method for proofing my loaves if I’m not doing a long, overnight rise.
Anyway – back to this week’s cake. I found this recipe in my Cultures for Health recipe book. The recipe is called a sourdough cinnamon pecan coffee cake… but there was no coffee in the list of ingredients. Perhaps the cake is meant to be a cinnamon pecan cake to have WITH coffee. Nevertheless, I added a couple of heaped tablespoonfuls of fine ground espresso to the mix. I also used half pecans and half Brazil nuts (as I didn’t have enough pecans in the cupboard!).
My decision was a stroke of genius – the coffee really worked – it added an extra layer of flavour. It’s a moist, sweet, sour, spiced, nutty, tasty cake that really suits the cooler autumn clime. I love the edges where the sugar and nuts came together to form a chewy caramel crust.
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- 175g/6oz whole cane sugar (Muscovado, Rapadura or Sucanat)
- 1 tbsp plain white flour
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp nutmeg
- 60g/2oz softened butter
- 125g/4½oz chopped pecans & Brazil nuts
- 115g/4oz softened butter
- 255g/9oz honey
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 eggs
- 150g/5oz sourdough starter
- 60ml/2 fl oz milk
- 275g/10oz plain white flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- ½ tsp baking soda
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 240g/8½oz thick buttermilk or sour cream
- Grease a 23x33cm/9x13-inch glass baking dish; set aside. Preheat oven to 175ºC/350°F/Gas mark 4
- Mix pecan topping ingredients together in a small bowl and set aside
- In a larger bowl, stir honey and butter together until well blended. Stir in vanilla extract, sourdough starter, milk and eggs
- Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a small bowl
- Using an electric hand mixer, stir flour into sourdough mixture alternating with buttermilk until the batter is smooth
- Pour half of the batter into the prepared pan. Sprinkle with half of the topping. Cover with remaining half of batter and sprinkle remaining topping over top
- Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until a skewer inserted in centre of the cake comes out clean
- Serve warm or cold plain or with cream or vanilla ice cream