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Yeasted Almond-Coconut Crunch Cake

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Makes 1 cake 1x

Units Scale

Ingredients

For the yeast:

  • 1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) instant yeast
  • 1/3 cup warm (not hot) tap water
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

For the cake:

  • 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened, plus extra for buttering the pan
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 4 eggs
  • 2 teaspoons almond extract
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

For the crunchy topping:

  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 5 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
  • 1/3 cup chopped roasted unsalted almonds
  • 2 cups (85 g) shredded unsweetened coconut
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

  1. Stir together yeast, water, and tablespoon of sugar in small bowl. Set it aside to bubble away for at least 10 minutes, or up to 15.
  2. Meanwhile, in a stand mixer or large mixing bowl, cream the softened butter, remaining 1 cup sugar, and salt until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat thoroughly after each addition. Beat in almond extract and yeast mixture. Mixture will look curdled; don’t worry. Stir in flour until just combined. Cover the bowl with a clean dish towel and set aside in a warm spot for 1 hour. (It won’t rise much.)
  3. Meanwhile, make the topping. Add sugar, flour, and cold butter to a food processor and pulse until the mixture forms loose crumbs, about 16 to 20 pulses. Add the almonds and coconut and salt and pulse 12 additional times.
  4. Heat the oven to 325°F. Butter a 9-inch (23 cm) springform pan. Wrap the base of the pan with foil to catch any leaking batter (there probably won’t be any, but better safe than sorry).
  5. Fold about half of the topping mixture into the cake batter, then scrape into the prepared pan (don’t worry if it deflates). Sprinkle the remaining topping mixture in an even layer over the cake batter. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out mostly clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for ten minutes, then remove from pan and cool at least 30 more minutes. Slice into wedges and serve.

— Recipe by Tucker Shaw