Recipe: Homemade Drake's Coffee Cakes

DRAKE'S COFFEE CAKES
"The Drake's coffee cake, another Northeast classic, was immortalized in a Seinfeld episode in which the gang trade favors for this much beloved cinnamon-scented doozy. Good coffee cake is one of the most American of all desserts, and it's the most versatile. It is a widely accepted breakfast item, dotting the breakfast buffets of scores of cheap hotels and motels, placed somewhere between the sad scrambled egg dish and a basket of overly ripe Red Delicious apples."



FOR THE STREUSEL TOPPING:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus more for the tin
1 1/2 cups (packed) brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup salted butter, melted, plus more for the tin

FOR THE CAKE:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter and flour a muffin tin.

TO MAKE THE STREUSEL TOPPING:
In a medium bowl, combine the 3/4 cup flour, the brown sugar, and the salt . Pour the 1/3 cup of melted butter over the top and stir to combine. Set aside.

TO MAKE THE CAKE BATTER:
In a heavy-duty stand mixer, cream the 3/4 cup of butter and the granulated sugar on medium speed just until light and fluffy, about 1 minute. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each, until the mixture is thick and creamy, about 3 minutes. Add the vanilla and mix for 5 seconds more.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add a third of the flour mixture to the butter mixture, then half of the sour cream. Repeat again with the second third of the flour mixture and the second half of the sour cream. End by folding in the last third of the flour by hand.

Fill each cup of the muffin tin about half full of cake batter. Top each cake with a full tablespoon of streusel. (Don't overload the streusel topping: when it melts, it expands, and it will be a mouthful of topping for a taste of cake.)

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with just a few crumbs attached. Cool the cakes, still in the pan, on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then carefully remove them from the pan.

Serve warm or at room temperature. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Makes approximately 24 mini coffee cakes
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Adapted from source: Treat Yourself: 70 Classic Snacks You Loved as a Kid (and Still Love Today) by Jennifer Steinhauer