Coffee Cake with Hazelnut Streusel Topping

These individual coffee cakes are richly flavored but light, so they almost melt in your mouth. There's a crunch on the outside from hazelnut streusel topping and soft interior crumb. The cakes are finished with a dusting of cocoa powder, powdered sugar, and cinnamon, just a hint, so there are all kinds of flavors here. The coffee cakes are best the day they are baked, but they can be wrapped individually in plastic wrap and frozen. Defrost frozen cakes at room temperature, and rewarm if desired.



You will need six 4 1/4-inch round paper baking molds.

Ingredients:

For the cakes:

• 1 1/4 cups + 3 Tbsp. (200g) all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/8 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5 Tbsp. (75g) unsalted butter, at room temperature 
• 1 cup  + 2 tsp (210g) granulated sugar
• 2 medium eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup (225g) sour cream

For hazelnut streusel topping:

• 3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. (120g) all-purpose flour
• 1 cup + 1 Tbsp. (120g) hazelnut flour/meal
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. (120g) granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. (120g) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces

For cocoa mixture:

• 1 Tbsp. light brown sugar
• 3 Tbsp. unsweetened cocoa powder

To finish you need: powered sugar, cocoa powder and cinnamon



Directions:

Preheat an oven to 325°F. Spray the paper molds with nonstick spray and set them on a sheet pan.

To make the streusel, in a bowl, stir together the flour, and granulated sugar. Add the butter and, using a pastry blender or your fingers, cut or rub in the butter until coarse crumbs form. Transfer the streusel to a covered container. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Use the streusel while it is cold.

In a bowl, stir together the all-purpose flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat together the butter, sour cream, eggs, the sugar and the vanilla until blended. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat on low speed until smooth. Cover the batter and refrigerate for about 20 minutes to firm.

Whisk together the brown sugar and cocoa in a small bowl, breaking any lumps. Put two tablespoons of cake batter in the button of each mold. Dust the top of each with the cocoa mixture. Scoop the rest of the batter over the cocoa. Sprinkle the tops with streusel. Bake for about 25 to 30 minutes in a oven, until the tops are golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Set the sheet pan on a cooling rack and cool completely.

Just before serving, dust the tops with powdered sugar and then a very light dusting of cocoa and cinnamon.