the butter lab's sufganiyot cake
I came up with this cake for my friend Deb who wanted to make a dessert for Hanukkah that was quintessentially Hanukkah. Of course, the most Hanukkah-y dessert I can think of are sufganiyot, an orange-scented donut filled with strawberry jam. Sufganiyot are delicious, and I already have a great recipe on here from Uri Scheft (which you should definitely make if you want to make donuts). But Deb wasn’t up for the challenge of donuts, which, yeah. Donuts at home can be hard! And messy! So I came up with this recipe instead: a sufganiyot donut in cake form.
I used Yossy Arefi’s popular powdered donut cake recipe as my starting point, but added sufganiyot flavors—orange zest, Fiori di Sicilia, and Grand Marnier—to give it a lovely citrusy depth that’s both distinct and subtle. I also swapped cake flour for all-purpose to give the cake an even more tender crumb. And, of course, I stuffed it with strawberry jam. I wanted a one-bowl cake with the jam baked right into the center so that it would not only look the most donut-y, but also be as easy as possible. (No need for two layers, or poking and filling a baked cake.) Lastly, I use a good quality store-bought jam here, but wake it up a little with lemon and sumac, which complements the boozy citrus in the cake itself.
To Deb, with love. And chag sameach to all!
The Butter Lab’s sufganiyot cake
Inspired and largely adapted by Yossy Arefi’s Powdered Donut Cake recipe in Snacking Cakes.
Some notes: If you don’t have cake flour, you can use all-purpose flour, but decrease the volume to 1 1/2 cups. (The weight measurement, 190 grams, will be the same.) Fiori di Sicilia is awesome and I highly recommend seeking some out if you don’t already have it. But if not, you can leave it out and just increase the vanilla extract to 1 teaspoon instead. Likewise, I add lemon juice and sumac to the jam to counter its sweetness and add depth, but feel free to omit those additions if you don’t have them lying around. In general, the jam will sink a bit, so make sure to add it near the top of the cake. And finally, I like to bake this in an 8-inch round springform pan, but you can also make it in a 9-inch round pan or 8-inch square pan; the jam layer just might turn out less defined. I include baking times for those alternate pan sizes in the method section.
Makes one 8-inch cake.
INGREDIENTS
FOR THE CAKE
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon orange zest
3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated sugar
1 cup (227 grams) sour cream
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (see note above)
1/2 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (see note above)
1 tablespoon Grand Marnier
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 2/3 cups (190 grams) cake flour or 1 1/2 cups (190 grams) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup strawberry jam
2 teaspoons lemon juice (optional)
1/8 teaspoon sumac (optional)
FOR THE TOPPING
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
METHOD
Place a rack in the center of the oven; heat to 350°F. Butter an 8-inch springform pan. Cut a round of parchment paper to fit the bottom of the pan, line the pan, and butter the parchment. Dust lightly with flour and tap out any excess.
In a large bowl, use your fingers to massage the orange zest into the granulated sugar until fragrant. Add the eggs and whisk for about 1 minute, until pale and foamy. Add the sour cream, butter, vanilla, Fiori di Sicilia, Grand Marnier, and salt. Whisk until smooth and emulsified. Add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Whisk until smooth.
In a small bowl, stir together the strawberry jam with the lemon juice and sumac, if using. Set aside.
Pour most of the batter into the prepared pan (reserve about 1 cup of batter, just enough to cover the jam). Smooth with an offset spatula, and spoon the jam evenly over the batter, up to 3/4 of an inch from the edge. Pour the rest of the batter thinly over the jam. Rap the pan a couple of times on the counter to get rid of any air bubbles. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes (25 to 35 minutes if using a 9-inch round pan or an 8-inch square pan—see note above), until puffed and golden, and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the pan on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Invert onto a plate and again onto a serving plate.
While the cake is just warm to the touch, brush the top with the butter and dust with the powdered sugar. You should have a nice thick layer—more than you think might be necessary.
The cake is best the day it is made (and I love it best when it’s still warm, like a fresh donut). But you can keep it covered, at room temperature, for up to two days. The cake will absorb the sugar on top, but can be refreshed with another dusting of powdered sugar. Serving it with whipped cream might be gilding the lily, but, sometimes the lily tastes really good when you gild it.