Moravian Sugar Cake
By America's Test KitchenPublished on November 12, 2011
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour rising and 30 minutes cooling
Yield
Serves 12
Ingredients
¾ cup milk, heated to 110 degrees1 ½ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast ⅓ cup (2⅓ ounces/66 grams) granulated sugar ¼ cup instant potato flakes ½ teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled1 large egg 2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour 1 ½ cups packed (10½ ounces/298 grams) light brown sugar 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Before You Begin
While potato flakes or potato buds both work well here, avoid potato granules, which can have off-flavors.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Maintain temperature for 10 minutes, then turn off oven. Grease medium bowl and 13 by 9-inch Pyrex baking pan.
- Stir milk and yeast together until yeast is dissolved. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix yeast mixture, granulated sugar, potato flakes, salt, softened butter, egg, and flour on medium speed until smooth and shiny, about 2 minutes. Transfer dough to prepared bowl, cover with plastic, and place in warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
- Press dough into prepared pan according to photo 1 at right. Cover pan with plastic and place in warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine chilled butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon according to photo 2.
- Remove pan from oven and heat oven to 375 degrees. Following photos 3 and 4, indent surface of dough and sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Once oven is fully heated, bake until topping is bubbling and deep brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes. Serve. (Cooled cake can be wrapped with plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.)
- Make Ahead: After pressing dough into baking pan and covering, dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding with step 4.
Time
1¼ hours, plus 1 hour rising and 30 minutes coolingYield
Serves 12Ingredients
¾ cup milk, heated to 110 degrees
1 ½ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
⅓ cup (2⅓ ounces/66 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup instant potato flakes
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
1 large egg
2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups packed (10½ ounces/298 grams) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
¾ cup milk, heated to 110 degrees
1 ½ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
⅓ cup (2⅓ ounces/66 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup instant potato flakes
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
1 large egg
2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups packed (10½ ounces/298 grams) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Test Kitchen Techniques
Ingredients
¾ cup milk, heated to 110 degrees
1 ½ teaspoons instant or rapid-rise yeast
⅓ cup (2⅓ ounces/66 grams) granulated sugar
¼ cup instant potato flakes
½ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened; plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch pieces and chilled
1 large egg
2 cups (10 ounces/283 grams) all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups packed (10½ ounces/298 grams) light brown sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Test Kitchen Techniques
Why This Recipe Works
An unusual coffee cake, the Moravian Sugar Cake hails from the Winkler Bakery of Winston-Salem, N.C., where the Moravians, a group of Czech Protestants, have been baking since 1766. The cake’s trademark chewy richness is created with a yeast-raised bread dough that is pockmarked by fingertips and topped with brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon. In developing our own Moravian Sugar Cake recipe, we found that the potatoes made the cake moist, tender, and decreased the yeast flavor, but that cooking and mashing them was too much work. Luckily, instant potatoes provided a comparably light texture and round flavor. Just out of the oven, the cake’s golden topping was smooth, but left to cool for half an hour, it sunk and produced the Moravian Sugar Cake recipe’s characteristic pocketed appearance.
Before You Begin
While potato flakes or potato buds both work well here, avoid potato granules, which can have off-flavors.
Instructions
- Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200 degrees. Maintain temperature for 10 minutes, then turn off oven. Grease medium bowl and 13 by 9-inch Pyrex baking pan.
- Stir milk and yeast together until yeast is dissolved. In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix yeast mixture, granulated sugar, potato flakes, salt, softened butter, egg, and flour on medium speed until smooth and shiny, about 2 minutes. Transfer dough to prepared bowl, cover with plastic, and place in warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
- Press dough into prepared pan according to photo 1 at right. Cover pan with plastic and place in warm oven. Let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, combine chilled butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon according to photo 2.
- Remove pan from oven and heat oven to 375 degrees. Following photos 3 and 4, indent surface of dough and sprinkle with brown sugar mixture. Once oven is fully heated, bake until topping is bubbling and deep brown, 18 to 22 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes. Serve. (Cooled cake can be wrapped with plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days.)
- Make Ahead: After pressing dough into baking pan and covering, dough can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. When ready to bake, let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before proceeding with step 4.
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