Coffee Cake Break: Brown Sugar and Almond Coffeecake Recipe from Macrina Bakery

Image c/o Macrina BakeryThings to dislike about the beginning of the month: paying rent, receiving phone and credit card bills, and remembering to write a different month when you date everything.

Things to adore about the beginning of the month: Macrina Bakery's monthly newsletter, which always includes a recipe.

This month's? The most delectable Brown Sugar and Almond Coffeecake recipe. Theirs has raspberries, but as a die-hard lover of desserts devoid of altogether too-healthy fruit, I'm curious to try it with cream cheese or maybe cookie dough instead.

Oh, and it is worth noting that we are headed into a very exciting season at Macrina. Coming soon? Brown Sugar Spice Cake, Maple Pecan Pumpkin Pie, Pumpkin Cheesecake With Gingered Cranberries (all Thanksgiving specials!).

Brown Sugar and Almond Coffeecake

From Leslie Mackie's Macrina Bakery and Cafe Cookbook: Favorite Breads, Pastries, Sweets and Savories

Ingredients

• 4 cups all-purpose unbleached flour 
• 2-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 tsp salt 
• 10 ounces (2-1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 1-3/4 cups light brown sugar
• 5 eggs 
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• 2 tsp pure almond extract
• 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 cups fresh or frozen raspberries
• 1 cup whole almonds, coarsely chopped
• Powdered sugar

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Oil a 9" square pan
2. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Toss with your hands and set aside.
3. Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, mix on medium speed for 5 to 8 minutes to cream the butter. The mixture should be smooth and pale in color.
4. In a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, and almond and vanilla extracts. Mix with a whisk. Add a small amount of egg mixture to the bowl of creamed butter and mix on medium speed until fully incorporated. Continue adding small amounts until all of the egg mixture is mixed into the butter. Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and mix for another 30 seconds.
5. Remove the bowl from your stand mixer. Alternately add small amounts of the flour mixture and the buttermilk to the bowl, mixing with a wooden spoon just until all the ingredients are incorporated. Fold in the raspberries, taking care not to smash the fruit. Pour the batter into the prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle chopped almonds over the top.
6. Bake on the center rack of your oven for about an hour, or until golden brown. Test center of cake with a cake tester or toothpick--it will come out clean when the cake is done. Let cool for 20 minutes on a wire rack, then dust with confectioners' sugar and cut into pieces. The cake will be fragile until fully cooled, so remove slices carefully.