Sour Cream Coffee Cake with Cinnamon Streusel, Gluten Free

Instructions

1. 1

   Heat the oven and line the pan

   Set a rack in the center of the oven and heat it to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan, then line it with a sling of parchment that hangs over the two long sides so you can lift the finished cake out cleanly.

2. 2

   Make the streusel first

   In a medium bowl, whisk the gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Pour in the melted butter and stir with a fork until it looks like damp sand with pebbles in it. Squeeze a few handfuls into clumps, then break them roughly apart. Chill the bowl while you make the batter so the butter firms up again.

3. 3

   Stir together the filling

   In a small bowl, mix the dark brown sugar, cinnamon, and chopped pecans. Set it aside.

4. 4

   Whisk the dry ingredients

   In another bowl, whisk the gluten-free flour blend, xanthan gum, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until completely uniform. Gluten-free blends settle and clump in the bag, so whisk for a good 30 seconds to break up any pockets of starch.

5. 5

   Cream the butter and sugar

   Beat the softened butter and granulated sugar on medium-high for a full 3 to 4 minutes, scraping down the bowl once, until pale and fluffy. Without gluten for structure, this aeration is doing even more of the work, so give it the full time.

6. 6

   Add the eggs and vanilla

   Add the eggs one at a time, beating about 30 seconds after each and scraping the bowl between additions. Beat in the vanilla.

7. 7

   Alternate dry and wet

   Stir the sour cream and milk together. With the mixer on low, add the dry mixture in three additions alternating with the sour cream mixture in two, starting and ending with dry. Unlike wheat batter, this one can't be overmixed into toughness, so beat on medium for 20 seconds at the end to fully hydrate the starches and smooth it out.

8. 8

   Rest the batter

   Cover the bowl and let the batter sit at room temperature for 25 minutes. The rice flour and starches in the blend need this time to absorb liquid, and skipping it is the main cause of a gritty, sandy crumb. The batter will thicken noticeably as it sits, which is exactly what you want.

9. 9

   Layer the cake

   Spread a little over half the batter into the pan in an even layer. Scatter the cinnamon-pecan filling over the top, keeping it just shy of the edges. Dollop the remaining batter over the filling and gently spread from the center out so you don't drag the filling upward. A spatula dipped in water helps if the rested batter is sticky.

10. 10

    Top and bake

    Break the chilled streusel into pea- to almond-sized pieces and scatter it over the whole surface. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes. Gluten-free cakes hold moisture longer and can look set before they are, so rely on a skewer that comes out with only a few moist crumbs plus a top that springs back when pressed in the center. Tent with foil if the streusel browns early.

11. 11

    Cool completely, then glaze

    Cool in the pan on a rack for at least 1 hour. Gluten-free crumb is fragile while hot and firms up considerably as it cools, so cutting early will give you crumbly squares. Whisk the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla until it ribbons off the whisk, drizzle over the cake, and let it set 10 minutes before slicing.

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Baker's Tips

• 1.

  Room-temperature butter should dent under your finger but still hold its shape. If it's greasy or glossy, it's too warm and the cake will bake up dense.

• 2.

  A thick batter is correct here. It's what holds the filling in a clean ribbon instead of letting it sink to the bottom of the pan.

• 3.

  For a taller cake with more edge pieces, bake in two 9-inch round pans for 35 to 40 minutes instead.

• 4.

  Toast the pecans for 7 minutes at 350°F and cool them before mixing the filling. It costs nothing and makes the nutty flavor much louder.

• 5.

  You can assemble the whole cake the night before, cover it, and refrigerate. Bake straight from the fridge and add about 8 minutes to the time.

• 6.

  Swap half the sour cream for plain full-fat Greek yogurt if that's what you have. Avoid low-fat versions, which make the crumb rubbery.