Thursday, March 22, 2012

Raspberry Euphoria Coffee-Cake . . . A Tale of Magnetron Redemption


It was 11:00 on Wednesday morning and I stood in my kitchen, face to face with a kindly appliance repairman. "Whatcha need here is a new magnetron . . . that's whatcha need." His tone was laced with sympathy. He knew the very word sounded expensive: Magnetron. Like something Superman might keep stashed under his cape for emergencies.


I gaped at him silently. "Why not just tell me I need a new cyclotron?" That's what I wanted to say, but I  merely nodded and let him continue. "Now, you might still be under warranty, but I dunno. Gotta go to my truck and check it out." While he was gone I pondered the implications. The odds were slim and none that I wouldn't have to pay to replace this futuristic-sounding part. All I wanted was for my once-high-end built-in microwave oven to heat stuff again, and to do so without making aggrieved grinding noises. It had suddenly conked out a couple of days before. My 15-year-old son, a devoted user of the thing, stuck a little note on it that read, "May God help us all."


Imagine my surprise when the friendly repairman popped back in the door and glanced at me reassuringly. Yep, I was still covered and he actually had the part with him! He finished the job within half an hour and my bill was minimal, relatively speaking. I was so happy I just had to bake something. Not in the microwave, of course, but you know what I mean. Sometimes when little daily events like that actually go well, a girl gets the urge to celebrate by baking. It's a perfectly natural response, don't you think?


About this recipe . . .

This one is all mine. Yep, a completely original recipe right from the get-go (whoo hoo!) and I thought the cake turned out really well--not overly sweet, not too rich, just right. It's a simple formula that makes use of ricotta cheese in the batter, and a small amount of cream cheese in the streusel. Fresh raspberries and a smidgen of seedless raspberry jam factor in as well. So, all in all, it was a very good day. I made the cake shortly after the repairman, whose name I never did catch (Clark Kent, maybe?), drove away. If he'd still been here, I'd have given him a nice big wedge of it to take home.


Raspberry Euphoria Coffee-Cake
(or, if you prefer, Raspberry Ricotta Coffee-Cake with Cream Cheese Streusel)

(For a printable version of this recipe, click here!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. This can be made in a 9" round regular cake pan, or a 9" found springform pan.

Butter your pan. Line the bottom with a round piece of parchment paper, then butter the parchment. Flour the inside of the whole pan, tapping out the excess.

Ingredients for the streusel topping, and glaze:
3 oz. cold cream cheese, cut into 1/2" chunks
2 oz. cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" chunks
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 small pinch salt (I used regular salt)

3 Tbsp. seedless raspberry jam (to drizzle atop the streusel when you assemble the cake)

For the glaze:
1 cup (or more) confectioners' sugar
2 Tbsp. milk (add more if you'd like a thinner glaze)
1/8 tsp. almond extract (optional)


Ingredients for the cake:
1 cup traditional ricotta cheese, not too cold
2 large eggs, room temperature
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted but not hot
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 and 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. coarse kosher salt
6 oz. fresh raspberries

Make the streusel first:
In a medium size bowl, mix the sugar, flour, and salt with a fork. Cut-in the cream cheese and butter chunks using a hand-held pastry blender or a couple of knives (you can even do this with your fingers if you're quick about it), until small visible chunks of miscellaneous size remain. Cover the bowl and chill the streusel while you prepare the batter.

Make the batter:
In a medium size bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In the large bowl of your mixer, using the paddle attachment on medium-low speed, mix together the ricotta, eggs, melted butter, sugar, and vanilla until smooth; about two or three minutes.

Now on low speed, add the flour in gradually, mixing just until well combined for a minute or so. 

Spread half the batter into your prepared pan.



Dot the batter with half the fresh raspberries and gently press them partway down into the batter.


Spoon the rest of the batter on top and smooth it out with a small offset spatula; scatter the remaining berries and gently press them into the batter.


Stir the chilled streusel with a fork, and evenly scatter all of it onto the top of the cake batter. Drizzle the seedless raspberry jam here and there in little streaks over the top of the streusel.


Bake the cake on the middle rack for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly dry. The cake should be just lightly golden on top, and more golden on the sides. The sides of the cake should look like they've begun to pull away from the sides of the pan.

While the cake is starting to cool, mix up the glaze. In a small bowl, stir together the confectioners' sugar, milk, and almond extract. Just keep stirring until the glaze is completely smooth. Add more sugar if you'd like a thicker glaze; add slightly more milk if you prefer a thinner glaze. 

Let the cake cool for 15 minutes, no more and no less, on a rack before attempting to remove it from the pan.


Run a thin knife or metal spatula around the sides of the pan. Place a plate over the top of the cake and quickly invert it, tapping firmly on the bottom of the pan to help knock it out. Lift off the pan, then place the cooling rack on the cake bottom; still holding firmly onto the plate, re-invert the cake back onto the rack to let it finish cooling.

 

(If you'd like to comment on this post, or to read any existing comments, please click on the purple COMMENTS below.)

16 comments:

tea with hazel said...

i love streusel cakes..and i love your use of the cream cheese and ricotta..it looks really really good..i want to make it..soon..

june said...

Oh, Jane! This looks (and I'm sure tastes) absolutely amazing. I'm defintely with Hazel - I want to make a raspberry euphoria coffee cake right now (even if it has just gone midnight).

And yes, I think all of us know just what you mean about those moments when you've just got to celebrate it by baking something. Baking is not only therapeutic when you're feeling a bit down and need a bit of perking up, but it's also fanatstic when you're already feeling upbeat and just want to celebrate or perpetuate that graet feeling. I'm with you all the way on that, yes!

Glad your repairman had a spare magnetron just sitting there at the ready for your microwave. Wonderfully serendipitous!

Thanks for sharing this brilliant delicious and creative sensation!

Katie said...

The cake looks gorgeous! Love the ripple raspberry effect on top. Well done for creating an original recipe. Yum!

Tesei said...

Wow Jane, this looks soooo good!!!

~~louise~~ said...

I see you're still serving up the goodies, Jane. Your Raspberry Coffee Cake looks euphoric for sure!!!

Thank you so much for sharing...

P.S. I saw so many of your goodies on Pinterest but I couldn't find you?

Debbie said...

Celebrate...good times...oh yah! We're going to celebrate! Sorry...that song got stuck in my head and now I am seeing your beautiful streusel cake!!

Unknown said...

oooh yum! I have never made a cake with ricotta in it! This looks great!

Paula said...

No doubt your son is very relieved that the microwave was repaired :) This coffee-cake looks amazing. What a great original recipe.

Jane said...

Hi Tea with Hazel,
I am a sucker for streusel cakes too! I always want to eat the streusel off the top before I even serve the thing. Have to restrain myself! Ha!
Thanks very much for your nice comments,
Jane :)

Hello there June in Ireland,
Yes, baking really does have a therapeutic aspect for those of us who love it. It's a creative act in many instances. I rarely do it when I'm in a bad mood. Or, if I do start baking something when I'm crabby, the process usually lifts my mood. It's kind of magic!
Your pal,
Jane :)

Hi Katie,
Thanks so much! I so rarely attempt a cake recipe entirely off the top of my head, so that's why I was tickled pink when it turned out fine! You'd like I'd invented a cure for the common cold or something, I was so pleased with myself! Ha! ;)
Warmly,
Jane

Hello Tesei,
Very kind of you to say! Many thanks for stopping by.
Jane :)

Dear Louise--
Oh, I always love hearing from you! I visited your blog again today and it's just always such a treasure trove of interesting stuff! As to your question about me and Pinterest, I haven't taken the plunge yet, partly because I find some aspects of it a wee bit confusing but also because I just need to buckle down and spend some time actually doing it. I read your post with some Pinterest guidance in it and that was very informative indeed! I am incredibly flattered whenever I see someone has pinned one of my photos, and I have been getting quite a bit of new traffic from Pinterest over the last few months. You have successfully nudged me into at least giving Pinterest more thought!
Warmly,
Jane :)

Hi Debbie,
Oh no! Now that song is totally stuck in my head too! LOL! I'm gonna go around the house singing it for days and it's all your fault, lady! Ha! ;)
Thanks for visiting and keep on baking!
Jane

Greetings Marcellina,
I love using ricotta, cream cheese, or sour cream in recipes and I seem to gravitate towards those ingredients when baking. Since it has about 25% of the calories of butter, it's a nice addition or substitute sometimes. Thanks so much for stopping by!
Warmly,
Jane :)

Dear Paula,
Yep, he was indeed relieved! I'm glad you like the recipe. I don't come up with a nice original recipe everyday so I just had to share this one. (I visited your blog yesterday and am very interested to see how your blog-move turns out. I'm glad you're sharing your experience!
Thanks for saying hello again, Paula.
Warmly,
Jane :)

Eliotseats said...

"May God help us all."

That sticky note has me laughing. Thank goodness all worked out well!

Lisa Wooder said...

I really like to have a taste of Raspberry Euphoria Coffee-cake and feel the tale of Magnetron redemption.I know that I wouldn't be able to deny the delicious and taste it has. I really like to make this cake at home and share it with my friends.

Lauralovescakes said...

Lovely looking bakes and photography on your blog! This looks delicious too! :-)

Unknown said...

Oh wow Jane that cake looks amazing. Great creation. Glad to hear the microwave's ok now, I simply can't fucntion without it!

Susi said...

I just came by your blog and scrolled though it a little bit, so I wanted to comment now, because I might forget to do it tomorrow ;-) I love your recipes! I already saw I most definitely want to try! :D I hope I'll have some time for that soon. I guess my first try will be your Strawberry Cream Muffins, as strawberry time will be soon. I just started food blogging myself and it's a great inspiration to see your writing here :)
All the best for you and your blog!
Susi from Austria

Unknown said...

Thumbs up guys your doing a really good job.
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Anonymous said...

This cake looked so good with the cream cheese and ricotta so i did it. I don`t know what happened but the cake batter was very thick , more than a regular coffee cake. After one hour the center was not cooked. Sorry but the cake and the topping didn`t taste nothing. You need to add a lot of glaze by making holes in the cake and pouring it over the cake . Otherwise it doesn`t taste anything. Thanks anyway...