This Apricot Crumb Coffee Cake is one of the most amazing coffee cakes I have ever made. An almond paste crumb topping teams up with an apricot filling in a rich, 60 Second Brioche that keeps moist for four or five days at room temperature as long as it is covered. You read that right, no 20 minutes beating in the mixer, just a quick 60 seconds in the processor after the ingredients are assembled.
The apricot filling is actually an easily made pastry filling called lekvar which comes from the Hungarian pastry repertoire known for its extraordinary pastries. Because apricots are light in color, I added a couple of teaspoons of cocoa to it. It doesn't have any effect on the flavor but really makes a dramatic difference in the appearance.
The crumbs are enhanced with almond paste which is also really easy to make at home at a fraction of the price if buying it.
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If you love crumb cakes as much as I do, visit the New York Style Crumb Cake, and the Easily Made Raspberry Ripple Coffee Cake or the Easier "Danish Pastry Recipe". And a must make is the Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake. Just want the crumbs for a favorite cake of yours, see my Crumb Topping post.
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What makes this recipe exciting
- Every component of this recipe is really easy to make and can be made ahead. The apricot filling can be made a week ahead, the crumb filling 3 or four days ahead and the brioche up to 3 days ahead.
- The brioche is so easy to roll out when it is cold. No spring back when rolling as there is with many yeast doughs.
- This is a show stopper of a coffee cake. And while usually served in the morning or early afternoon with coffee or tea, this can be served anytime, anywhere.
- The coffee cake lasts at room temperature for days as long as it is covered.
- And how can you go wrong with a butter and egg enriched dough encasing an intense apricot filling and finished with almond paste crumbs?
Recipe Ingredients
Brioche
FRONT ROW: Yeast, salt, sugar for the dough, sugar for the sponge
MIDDLE ROW: Water, half and half
BACK ROW: Unsalted butter, eggs and bread flour
Apricot Filling
FRONT ROW: Vanilla, powdered sugar, unsalted butter
BACK ROW: Dried apricots, water
Almond Paste Crumbs
FRONT ROW: Almond Paste, unsalted butter
BACK ROW: Granulated sugar, cake flour
Be sure to see the recipe card below for the exact ingredients and instructions.
Step by Step Instructions
Brioche Pastry
Please see 60 Second Brioche for Step by Step Pictures. The brioche may be made ahead and refrigerated up to 3 days.
Apricot Filling
Step 1. Place the dried apricots in a small saucepan with the water. Step 2. Bring to a boil and boil until only a small amount of liquid is left. The apricots will be plumped up. Step 3. Place the apricots with whatever water remains and the rest of the ingredients in the bowl of a processor. Process until smooth. Step 4. The cocoa is added to the apricots to deepen their color. This may be made a week ahead and refrigerated covered.
Almond Paste Crumbs
Step 5. Place the flour in the bowl of the processor. Tear the almond paste into pieces and place in the processor with the flour. Process until the almond paste is indistinguishable. Step 6. Add the sugar and cold butter. Step 7. Process briefly until it just starts to come together. Switch to pulses and pulse until crumbs form. Do not over process or it will become a solid mass. Step 8. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until needed. These can be made days ahead and refrigerated covered.
Assembly
Step 9. Turn the cold brioche out of its container. Step 10. Flatten it and on a very lightly floured surface, roll it into a 20" x 11" rectangle. Roll the pastry so the long side is horizontally in front of you to make it easy to roll up. Step 11. Spread the apricot filling over the brioche to within ½" of the edges. Step 12. Roll it tightly from the 20"side and pinch the bottom seam together very well. Roll it into a 30" cylinder.
Step 13. Spray a cheesecake or springform pan with a non-stick baking release. Step 14. Starting in the center of the pan, coil the filled brioche around, tucking the end underneath. Step 15. Press the coffee cake down to flatten it and fill the pan. Step 16. Cover the pan with a towel. I normally don't like to cover rising dough or pastry with film. If it comes to the top and needs to go further, it can be restricted by the film. In this case it doesn't matter because it won't get to the top when fully risen.
This can be slow going since everything should be very cold. To help this along, I place the coffee cake on a rimmed pan and place it in the oven with the door shut. I turn the oven on to 350°F for exactly 1 minute. Don't get distracted and forget to turn the oven off. I did once and never left the oven again. Turn the oven off, leave the light on. Check in about an hour to make sure the temperature of the oven has not exceeded about 80 to 85 degrees. If it does, prop the door open with a wooden spoon.
Step 17. Let the coffee cake rise until doubled. Step 18. Brush the coffee cake with egg wash. Step 19. Cover the egg wash with the almond paste crumbs. Step 20. Bake as directed. Cool it until barely warm and release the sides of the pan.
Recipe FAQS
Lekvar is a thick sweetened fruit paste using apricots or prunes as a filling for pastries that won't leak when baked. It is better than jam fillings than can leak. Lekvar is a much loved Hungarian ingredient used in their baking. It is easily made at home.
Enriched doughs include eggs, sugar and often milk or cream. They are prized for their taste, lightness of the dough and heights to which they can bake.
According to Wikipedia, "American Coffee cake—also referred to as gugelhupf or Austrian German: kaffekuchen—evolved from other sweet dishes from Vienna. In the 17th century, Northern/Central Europeans are thought to have come up with the idea of eating sweet cakes while drinking coffee." Others refer to coffee breaks taken at work when people would bring cakes to eat while drinking their coffee.
Expert Tips
- Every part of this coffee cake can be made ahead. In fact, the coffee cake itself can be made, baked and frozen. Thaw at room temperature and refresh in a 350°F oven, well wrapped in foil, for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Any leftover almond paste can be frozen to use later in other desserts.
- The brioche should be very cold when working with it. If at any point it starts to become warm, place it on a parchment line baking sheet and refrigerate or freeze briefly to harden the butter again.
- A sponge is made for the brioche because the high percentages of fat and sugar in yeast doughs inhibit fermentation. For this reason, most rich yeast doughs are mixed by the sponge method so it gets a head start in the fermentation process by mixing a small amount of yeast, water and flour together. This small amount is allowed to rise and then added to the remaining ingredients allowing the yeast which has multipled many fold to work more quickly.
- It is easiest to fill and work if it is rolled out with the long, horizontal side facing you.
- Use the oven proofer to speed the rise of the shaped coffee cake. It should double in a couple of hours. If rising at room temperature, it will take at least that long or longer.
More Lucious Coffee Cakes
If you love this Apricot Crumb Coffee Cake, It would be hugely helpful and so appreciated it if you would take a moment to leave a rating below. Thank you.
Apricot Crumb Coffee Cake
Equipment
- 9x3" Cheesecake or springform pan
Ingredients
Brioche
- ¾ cup unsalted butter (170 grams or 1 ½ sticks)
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons warm water
- Pinch granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ cup bread flour (315 grams)
- 1 ½ tablespoons granulated sugar
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs, room temperature
- ¼ cup half and half or light cream
Filling
- ¾ pound dried apricots
- 1 cup water
- 5 tablespoons butter (75 grams)
- ½ cup powdered sugar (65 grams)
- 1 ½ teapoons vanilla
- 2 teaspoons cocoa, optional
Almond Paste Crumb Topping
- 1 cup cake flour (125 grams)
- ½ cup almond paste (125 grams)
- ⅔ cup granulated sugar (130 grams)
- ½ cup unsalted butter (114 grams)
Assembly
- 1 large egg, well beaten
Instructions
Brioche
- Cut the butter into small pieces by cutting the stick in half lengthwise, the cutting it into half inch pieces. Place it back in the refrigerator to keep cold.
- Make a sponge by dissolving the yeast and pinch of granulated sugar in the 3 tablespoons warm water. Add 3 tablespoons flour from the measured amount of 2 ¼ cups flour. Stir together to completely mix the ingredients. Cover with film and set aside to double or more while preparing the rest of the ingredients.
- In the processor bowl fitted with the steel blade, place the remaining flour, salt and sugar. Process 5 seconds to mix.
- Place the cold butter in a circle over the flour. Process the butter until it is indistinguishable, about 20 seconds. Scrape down and process about 5 seconds more.
- Place the eggs in a circle over the dry ingredients, pour the cream over the eggs, and add the sponge, also in a circle. Process approximately 20 to 25 seconds until the ball which initially forms breaks down into a creamy, evenly dispersed batter in the processor bowl. Do not stop processing until the batter is formed, as the motor may stall when you try to restart it. If the ball doesn't break down, that's fine as long as everything is mixed well.
- The batter will be very sticky and that is as it should be. Remove from the processor bowl and place in an ungreased bowl. The batter has very little elasticity and is easily managed with a large plastic pastry scraper. Cover securely with plastic wrap and allow to rise until double in bulk about 2 to 2 ½ hours. Stir down and refrigerate overnight. It may or may not rise again and that is fine. Punch down and use as directed. It can stay in the refrigerator for up to 3 days before using.
Apricot Filling
- Place the apricots and water in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and, stir frequently until most of the water is gone.
- Place the apricots and remaining ingredients, except the cocoa, in a processor bowl and process until smooth. Set aside to cool. Stir the cocoa in. This may be made a week ahead and stored in the refrigerator. Remove to room temperature before using.
Almond Paste Crumb Topping
- Place the flour and almond paste (either home made or bought) in the bowl of a processor. Process until the almond paste is indistinguishable.
- Add the sugar and butter and process until it begins to form crumbs. Switch to pulses and pulse only until large crumbs form. Remove them to a bowl and refrigerate until needed.
Assembly
- Spray a 9x3" cheesecake or springform pan with a non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
- Remove the brioche from the refrigerator, punch down, pat into a rectangle on a lightly floured surface and roll into a 20x11 inch rectangle so the long horizontally in front of you to make rolling up easier.
- Spread the filling evenly over the brioche within ½" of the edges. Roll up tightly from the 20"side and pinch the seam securely together. Roll and gently stretch it until it is 30" long. If it is very soft at this time, coil it up on a parchment line baking sheet and chill to firm up. Do not let it freeze.
- Starting in the middle of the pan, coil the roll around towards the outer edge of the pan. Press it down to flatten and fill the pan.
- Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in bulk. Because everything is cold, this could take 4 to 4 ½ hours to rise. This step can be sped up by placing the covered coffee cake on a rimmed baking sheet and placing in the oven. Turn the oven on to 350°F for exactly 1 minute. Turn the oven off. Leave the light on in the oven and check back in about an hour. Make sure the oven is no hotter than about 85 to 90 degrees max. If it is, prop the door open with a wooden spoon. The coffee cake should be risen in about 2 hours or so.
- Remove the cake from the oven and heat it to 375°F.
- When the coffee cake is full risen, brush it with the beaten egg and distribute the almond paste crumbs evenly over the brioche.
- Bake for 45 to 55 minutes until the top is browned. A tester is difficult here because the filling stays moist and clings to the tester. Truth to tell, I turned one into concrete before I figured it out. If the top begins to brown too quickly, tent it with foil.
- Cool until barely warm and release the cake. Dust with powdered sugar to serve
- Store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days. It can also be made and frozen, without the powdered sugar for several months well wrapped. Thaw completely at room temperature. Refresh by wrapping in foil, leaving a small hole in the top, for about 5 to 30 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
David says
Hey Helen!
I made this cake a few weeks ago, and found it very challenging. The lekvar and crumble were easy (thanks for showing us how to make almond paste!), but the brioche was a challenge. I'm still pretty bad with yeast; the brioche rose when I didn't want it to, and didn't rise when I wanted it to... then the tin I laid it in was a bit too squat, so the crumble overflowed a bit in my oven. But! It actually turned out alright, and was delicious. I would never have thought of adding cocoa powder to an apricot jam (which you call jelly?), but it made a subtle yet marked difference to the tartness of the apricots.
Definitely going to make this again... when I get a deeper tin... and resolve my differences with yeast.
Thank you for this recipe, and all your hard and detailed work getting it out to us!
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Again David - You woke me up with a laugh. Baking can have so many challenges and you seem to have hit them all with this recipe. But what I like the most is that you push on. People ask me how I had the career I've had with no formal training. Persistence is the key - and you seem to have that!
David says
Glad I could make you laugh! Lessons were learned.
A baker friend of mine and I are going to try making a prinsesstårta (princess cake) soon, but we're pretty intimidated by it. You're right, we must persevere. It's not going to make itself! Have you ever made one? I'm going to use your almond paste guide to make the marzipan.
I read your 'About Helen' a while ago and am quite enamoured by you. I'm also self-taught, so I really felt inspired by your story. Your site has really helped me become a better baker. I'm a bit of a Helen fanboy. I'll stop here before I gush too much.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi David, I love that you bake so much and from my site is a pleasure. I have not made a princess cake although I know what it is, The almond paste recipe works great and will roll out between waxed paper easily for you, I prefer the one with simple syrup as there is no egg white in it. Let me know which recipe you use before you make it. Just email me at [email protected].
Kathy Parathyras says
Hi Helen, I'm going to start making this cake today. How do you feel about using Simon Fischer apricot lekvar from a jar? I think they call it apricot butter.
Thanks!!
Kathy
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Kathy, someone else asked me about this. I have no idea, I have never used it. I don't know how thick it is, the sweetness, etc. The apricot filling I make in the recipe is Lekvar which is a Hungarian apricot paste. The Hungarians also make a prune lekvar. It just can't be an apricot jam or anything close to that or the flavor won't come through.
Jerry Ursetti says
I'm a novice baker and am confused about a couple of things in step 2 of the brioche instructions.
You say 'Make a sponge by dissolving the yeast in the warm water. Add 3 tablespoons water from the measured amount of 2 ¼ cups.'
How do I make a 'sponge'. With what warm water? Warm water isn't in the list of ingredients.
I don't see 2 1/4 cups of water in the list to take 3 tablespoons from, either.
This looks really good and I would like to try it.
Thanks.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Jerry - Water is often not listed as an ingredient, especially in small amounts. You simply get 3 tablespoons of warm water from your faucet and put it in a small bowl. Add your yeast and then take 3 tablespoons of flour from the measured amount of 2 1/4 cups. Do go to the Brioche post for step by step instructions. The mistake is not there That will help you a lot. Thanks for letting me know. It has been corrected on the recipe card. So happy you're baking...and especially from scratch.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Jerry - I just looked at the recipe again and the 3 tablespoons of water was the third ingredient down under the ingredients for the brioche. However, I did update it to warm water not just water. Thanks again for making the card complete.
Jerry Ursetti says
Thanks for the clarification and for updating the recipe. I look forward to trying this.
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Jerry - let me know if you have any more questions or run into a problem. I'm always happy to help.
Lynette Pruett says
Is it unfair to rate a recipe before you make it? I think not, when it comes from the blog by Helen Fletcher! I’ve made your New York Crumb Cake, and I cannot wait to make this coffee cake. It combines all of the flavors I love, including crumb topping, and the addition of almond paste to the crumbs is genius. I use your crumb topping recipe for everything I make that has a crumb topping. My son, a Dutch Apple Pie fan, has pronounced your crumb topping "the very best"!
I won’t be able to bake this until next week, but I’m drooling as I think of it. Thanks, Helen, for sharing your love of baking with us so generously.
Helen S Fletcher says
So happy to hear from you Lynette. You're not alone in your love of almond paste....it's the very best.
Mark Mayer says
Helen,
Greetings from the home of almond paste sweets- Sicily. This is a dream cake- my favorite flavor combined with streusel, too. One of my sisters brought out a cake after a dinner party once and then placed a cereal bowl next to me. She then poured streusel into the bowl. Promise to do my “cookie research” while here…. and to make this cake shortly upon my return. Thanks!!!
Helen S Fletcher says
Hi Mark. I love your story. I could live on crumbs and adding the almond paste just makes them better.