Spelt is an ancient wheat that’s less commercialized and more nutritious than all-purpose flour. It still has gluten but less so. Often (but not always) it works really well as a sub for all purpose flour. I don’t have anything against gluten, it is a workhorse that gives us wonderful things like pizza dough, but so many other flours bring something else to the table. Often that something is flavor. The two flours here bring a lovely earthiness to the coffee cake that compliment the matcha, but if you can’t find spelt or buckwheat this recipe works just as well with all-purpose flour or your favorite gf flour.
Ingredients:
For the cake:
2 1/4 cups spelt flour
1/4 cup tapioca flour (or cornstarch)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, room temp
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
3 eggs, room temp
1 cup yogurt, room temp
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the matcha filling:
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tablespoons matcha
For the crumble:
1/2 cup + 1 Tablespoon buckwheat flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons butter, room temp
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons cardamom
INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 350°.
I like to use a 9” springform pan for this but a regular pan works as well. Either way line it with parchment and spray it with cooking spray or grease it with butter.
In a small bowl mix the sugar and matcha for the filling, and set aside. I like to use clean hands and really incorporate the matcha into the sugar.
Same thing with the crumble. Put everything in a medium bowl. Use your hands and really coat the butter and the sugar with the butter. Set aside.
In a medium bowl whisk the flour, tapioca, and baking powder. I like to sift it, but it’s not 100% necessary. Just make sure that everything is well mixed with a whisk. If there is a clump or two of the tapioca break it up with your fingers and whisk it in. Set aside
Beat the sugar and butter using a mixer until the mixture becomes pale and fluffy. Incorporate the eggs one by one, then the vanilla. After the second egg I like to stop and scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula to make sure the butter and eggs are fully mixing.
Next add 1/3 of the flour and mix, then 1/2 the yogurt and mix. Add the yogurt when the flour is almost all incorporated as opposed to completely incorporated. This will ensure you don’t over mix. Add another third of the flour and mix, then add the rest of the yogurt and mix. Add the last of the flour and mix stopping as soon as the flour is fully incorporated. Essentially you’re doing dry, wet, dry, wet, dry.
Scoop 1/2 of the batter into your pan and smooth it out with an offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Sprinkle the matcha sugar evenly on top and cover it with the rest of the batter, smooth it out, and sprinkle the crumble on top.
Bake for about 50 minutes. The exact time will depend on your oven but it’s ready when you insert a toothpick in the middle of the coffee cake and it come out clean (a tiny bit of matcha on the toothpick is ok. ) Let the cake cool for 20 minutes before you cut into it.