How To Make Cake Flour | 20something cupcakes

And now, for the moment you’ve all been waiting for.

The double streusel, maple-glazed, and ridiculously moist sour cream coffee cake has arrived.

This is an important moment, because a good coffee cake is one of those things we should all have in our recipe arsenal. It’s the kind of thing that will improve any brunch or breakfast situation immediately, yet it can be equally enjoyed as a dessert. Or a meal. Yes, I would probably eat this for dinner if I could.

Even though I own most of Ina’s cookbooks, I always like to check out the recipes on the Food Network so I can read a few of the comments. This is one of the best things you can do as a new cook – or cook of any skill level, really. It allows you to learn about issues people had or tweaks they made to improve the recipe.

In this case, it allowed me to improve the recipe. Several recommendations to double the streusel? Yes, please.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

Adapted from Ina Garten

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature {I use SmartBalance}
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
3 extra-large eggs at room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups sour cream
2 1/2 cups cake flour {or mixture of all-purpose flour and cornstarch, see below}
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

For the {doubled-down} streusel:

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted {or SmartBalance} butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

For the glaze:

1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons real maple syrup {No Aunt Jemima here, it has to be the good stuff}

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 10-inch tube pan with Pam for Baking – or, take it old-school and grease and flour.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Since I never have cake flour on hand, I make it myself using all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Just replace 2 tablespoons of flour with cornstarch, for each cup you need. Sift together a few times – I usually go for 5; the more you sift, the closer to cake flour it becomes. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. No over-mixing allowed! Finish stirring with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

For the streusel, place the brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and butter in a bowl and pinch together with your fingers until it forms a crumble. Or, pulse in your food processor until you get there. Mix in the walnuts.

Spoon half the batter into the pan and spread it out with a rubber spatula. Sprinkle with half the streusel. Spoon the rest of the batter in the pan, spread it out, and scatter the remaining streusel on top. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean.

Let cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes. Carefully transfer the cake onto a serving plate. Whisk the confectioners’ sugar and maple syrup together, adding a few drops of water if necessary, to make the glaze runny. Be careful not to add too much water – I think I did, because it ran down the cake pretty quickly. I would have liked it to be a little thicker, so more would have sat on the cake as opposed to the dish. Either way, you can’t go wrong – just grab a spoon and drizzle it over the top, and prepare yourself for sour cream coffee cake heaven.

It’s time.

I know you’ve all been dying to know what I conjured up for the 2010 Ice Cream Cupcake Roundup.

Or – maybe I’ve just been dying to show you. Either way.

When I first learned about this contest being sponsored by the Cupcake Project and Scoopalicious, I knew I had to enter. I had never made ice cream cupcakes before – and I was intrigued. I started by browsing through all of the previous years’ entries, and I was beyond impressed. I knew that if I was going to take a stab at this, my entry would have to stand out. I needed a perfect combination that hadn’t been done before. Immediately, the sugar donut muffins I had recently seen over at Baking Bites popped into my mind. These could easily be transformed into sugar donut cupcakes, I thought.

Sugar.Donut.Cupcakes.

Does it get any better than that?

Yes, it does. When you add coffee Häagen-Dazs – and top it off with some freshly whipped cinnamon-sugar cream.

What’s that? You want to get really crazy? Okay, fine. We’ll serve some sugar-coated donut holes on the side. Now, we’re there – pure and unadulterated ice cream cupcake bliss.

I have to tell you, I wish these cupcakes could be judged based on a taste test. Because these are hands-down one of the most delicious things to ever come out of my kitchen. And they’re not even that difficult to make. The only downside (or upside, depending on how you look at it) is they’re best when eaten right away – and thus, no saving for later.

Sugar Donut Cupcakes

3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 tsp baking power
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup sugar, for rolling

To make the cupcakes:

Preheat your oven to 350F. Lightly grease your muffin tin with cooking spray or vegetable oil. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar and egg until nice and light in color. In a small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Since I never have cake flour on hand, I make it myself using all-purpose flour and cornstarch. Just replace 2 tablespoons of flour with cornstarch, for each cup you need. Sift together a few times – I probably went for 5; the more you sift, the closer to cake flour it becomes. Now pour the flour mixture into the egg mixture and stir to combine. Pour in vegetable oil, buttermilk and vanilla extract – stir until just combined. Don’t overmix, lovelies.

Divide batter evenly into 10 cups, filling each about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

While your cupcakes are baking, melt the butter and pour the remaining sugar into a small bowl. When the cupcakes are done, remove from the pan and let them sit for a few minutes. Now, roll them in the melted butter and then in the sugar. Cool completely on a wire rack.

Time to make some freshly whipped cream:

Making whipped cream is so super-easy that once you’ve done it once, it can be a little dangerous. All you do is beat some heavy cream in a bowl, and add a bit of sugar – like this. I also added a bit of cinnamon.

Now, for the ice cream:

First, take your ice cream out of the freezer and let in soften for about 10 minutes. I used Häagen-Dazs because I find it to be the best coffee ice cream ever made, but you could use something else or make your own.

{The grand prize for the contest happens to be an ice cream maker, so if I happen to make it to the second round of voting – and you happen to vote for me during the second half of June – I could win it, and make the ice cream for you next time. Just sayin’.}

Cut your cupcakes in half. First, add a dollop of your cinnamon-sugar whipped cream to the top half of the cupcakes. You can do this with a pastry bag and a large tip, or by cutting a little hole in a plastic bag. Here is a fab tutorial on working with a pastry bag – and don’t feel bad if you make a mess and hate life when you’re using it. I still can’t seem to figure the damned thing out.

Now, take a small scoop of ice cream and place onto the bottom half of the cupcake. Place your frosted top on your ice creamed-bottom, and you’re good to go. Just sprinkle with some cinnamon-sugar and D.I.E.