Nectarine Streusel Coffee Cake - Williams Sonoma

Nectarine Streusel Coffee Cake

The best part of summer has got to be stone fruit! Yippee. There is nothing better to bring to a morning meeting than a treat with stone fruit, cake, and topping of streusel.

This has a light cake and a really good streusel topping. The original recipe from the Williams-Sonoma website uses peaches, but I used nectarines instead. My neighbor's plum tree hangs over the yard and I think I might make one with plums next.

I LOVE these nectarines...they have a slight mango flavor. So delicious! I got these from Ken's Produce - he's at several Los Angeles Farmer's Markets (I know he's at Torrance, Palos Verdes, Hollywood).

I cut an "X" on the bottom of the nectarines and blanched them for 20 seconds so the skins came off easily.

The cake is really easy to make. It has a streusel topping that you blend together with your fingers or a pastry blender. It's been so hot in Los Angeles lately that I put it in the freezer while I assembled the rest of the cake. I blanched and peeled the nectarines and cut them into thin slices.

Do you make a parchment sling in your pan? I used a 9 x 9 pan and fit in two pieces of parchment. It makes it easier to pull out the whole cake onto a cutting board to slice and serve.

My Instagram photo of the treats brought to a meeting at work. Another day, another meeting. I love these quarter-sheet pans with lids (purchased at my local restaurant supply store).

It's summer. It's time for a tasty treat using some stone fruit!

Recipe:
Nectarine Streusel Coffee Cake
Adapted from Williams Sonoma's Peach Streusel Coffee Cake and they adapted it from Williams-Sonoma Collection Series, Muffins, by Beth Hensperger (2003).

Streusel:
3/4 cup (105 grams) all-purpose flour
1/3 cup (65 grams)  firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
6 Tbs. (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

Cake:
1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 egg, at room temperature
4 Tbs. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 cup milk (I used whole milk)
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Original recipe has 1 tsp. almond extract, but I did not include it
2 firm, ripe nectarines or peaches (about 1 lb. total) peeled, pitted and sliced 1/2 inch thick (original recipe calls for 1 inch thick but I like thinner slices and I used 2 1/2 nectarines)

1. Preheat an oven to 350°F. Line a 9 x 9 baking pan with parchment paper. (The original recipe calls for a  9-inch round springform pan.)

2. Make the streusel:  In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, brown and granulated sugars and cinnamon. Add the butter and, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut or rub in the butter until coarse crumbs form. Place in refrigerator or freezer while assembling the rest of the cake.

3. Prepare the fruit: Peel, pit and slice the fruit.

4. Make the cake: Mix together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder and salt and set aside. In another bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed or a wire whisk, beat the egg, melted butter, milk, vanilla and (almond extract, if using) until creamy, about 1 minute. (The recipe calls for "until creamy" but I beat the heck out of the mixture with a wire whisk and never got a "creamy" consistency.) Add to the flour mixture and beat just until evenly moistened. There should be no lumps or dry spots. Do not overmix.

5. Spread batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly using an offset spatula. If using a springform pan, arrange the peach slices in concentric circles from the pan sides to the center. If using a square pan, arrange the slices in rows. Gently press the slices into the batter. Sprinkle evenly with the streusel.

6. Bake until the topping is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Can be served warm or at room temperature.