Let’s start with a rather straightforward coffee cake, great on a chilly day. It’s topped with a crunch, not a bumpier crumble. In other words, this topping is a little sandy. It’ll melt into the cake a bit as it bakes, then firm back up to a crunchy top when cool. The amount of ground ginger is variable, depending on how “spicy” you want the topping.
For the crunch
1 cup plus 1 tablespoon light brown sugar
5 tablespoons plus 1½ teaspoons all-purpose flour
1 to 2 teaspoons ground dried ginger
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (½ stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks
1. Mix the brown sugar, flour, ginger, nutmeg, and salt in a medium bowl. Use a pastry cutter or a fork to cut the bits of butter into this mixture, repeatedly pushing them through the tines and into the brown sugar mixture, wiping the tines clean, and going at it again, until the whole thing resembles coarse cornmeal with no individual bits of butter visible.
For the coffee cake
12 tablespoons (1½ sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into small chunks, plus additional for the sheet pan
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for the sheet pan
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1⅓ cups granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest plus ¼ cup fresh orange juice
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1⅓ cups full-fat sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon orange extract
9 ounces frozen cranberries (about 2 cups)
1. Position the rack in the center of the oven. Heat the oven to 350°F. Generously butter and lightly flour the inside of a 13 × 18-inch lipped sheet pan.
2. Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl until uniform.
3. Using a handheld electric mixer or a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and orange zest in a large bowl at medium speed until creamy and velvety, about 4 minutes.
4. Scrape down the inside of the bowl, then beat in the eggs one at a time. Beat in the sour cream, vanilla, and orange extract until uniform and smooth.
5. Turn off the mixer and pour the flour mixture evenly on top of the batter. Beat at medium speed while slowly pouring in the orange juice; continue beating just until there are no bits of dry flour in the batter.
6. Scrape down and remove the beaters or paddle. Fold in the cranberries with a silicone spatula until evenly distributed in the thick batter. Put your shoulder into it; the batter will be very stiff.
7. Using an offset spatula, spread the thick batter evenly into the prepared pan. Clean and dry your hands, then squeeze small handfuls of the crumble topping into clumps before breaking each up as you sand them evenly over the batter.
8. Bake until firm and set to the touch, and until a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the cake comes out clean, 30 to 33 minutes. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes before slicing into squares to serve warm.
TESTER NOTES
Using frozen cranberries ensures that they stay whole. However, they also make the batter ridiculously thick. You’ll need to use good force to get them folded in and to get the batter spread into the prepared pan.
