perfect coffee cake

I made 6 different recipes, trying my best to find the perfect formula for this most elusive of baked goods. Everyone has has or her own favorite way of making coffee cake -- some use sour cream, some have crunchy/nutty toppings, while some are light and fluffy. Each of these variations has its place in a kitchen, just not mine.

I usually go to the folks at Cooks Illustrated for my initial attempt at a recipe. They walk you through their thought process as they develop their master recipe. Unfortunately, I don't always agree with their opinions as to what is "best." (Their recipes are always good, mind you -- just not always my ideal.) Their coffee cake recipe left me with a hard, crunchy topping. Tasty, but not my idea of classic coffee cake.

Next I went to Rose Levy Beranbaum's recipe from The Cake Bible. It was light and fluffy - not what I was looking for. I attribute this to her use of cake flour, which tends to yield such a result.

After a couple more attempts (King Arthur Flour's Baking Companion among others), I realized that I needed to work backwards in order to find a recipe I liked. My perfect coffee cake would be moist, richly spiced, and have a nutty/crumbly topping. Saving you the agony of going through my thought process in developing this recipe, I will share it with you now.

Topping

1 cup all purpose flour (4.6 oz by weight)
1 cup light brown sugar (7 oz by weight)
1/2 cup unsalted butter (4 oz or 1 stick)
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans, ground
1/4 cup pecans, chopped

Cake

1 cup unsalted butter, softened (8 oz or 2 sticks)
3/4 cup light brown sugar (5.3 oz)
1/2 cup granulated sugar (3.5 oz)
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups all purpose flour (9.2 oz)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 325.

Combine all ingredients for topping except chopped pecans in a food processor and pulse 6-10 times, until crumbly. Add chopped pecans and mix thoroughly. Alternatively, all ingredients could be worked together by hand in a large mixing bowl.

Cream butter, sugars, and cinnamon together in a mixing bowl until smooth and fluffy. If your eggs are cold, run them under hot water for a few seconds to take the chill out of them. Add eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each.

In a separate bowl, sift together dry ingredients. Add dry mixture to creamed butter in three additions, making certain to scrape down the bowl after each.

Add milk and vanilla, mixing until just combined.

Pour batter into a greased and floured 9 x 13 baking pan. The batter is thick and will need to be spread out evenly. Sprinkle all of the crumb topping evenly onto the batter. Bake for 45-50 minutes or until cake tester inserted into middle of the cake comes out clean.