Yeasted Fig Coffee Cake

This coffee cake has a welcome tanginess, thanks to the yeast. And if you can snag fresh figs still, do it! Otherwise, apples work nicely.

This coffee cake is beautiful because of just how soft and pillowy and flavorful the dough is. It doesn't have the density or dryness that standard coffee cakes sometimes have, and the added tang from the yeast (and the hint of citrus from the orange) takes it to the next level.

The original recipe from Bon Appetit uses apples, which you could absolutely do. I like figs here, though, because they don't have quite as much liquid as apples, so aren't as formidable a force in the cake. They're a lovely faint sweet note here and there, but don't interfere with the dough or streusel.

Adapted from Bon Appetit

Ingredients

Cake

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled, plus more
1 ¼-ounce envelope active dry yeast (about 2¼ teaspoons)
⅔ cup (packed) light brown sugar, divided
1 large egg, room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
½ cup sour cream, room temperature
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
⅓ cup fresh orange juice
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Streusel And Assembly

½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup old-fashioned oats
⅓ cup (packed) light brown sugar
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Kosher salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled
1 pound ripe black figs, thick stems removed, quartered

Preparation

Cake

Butter a 13x9" shallow baking dish. Mix yeast, 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, and ¼ cup warm water in the bowl of a stand mixer; let sit until it foams, about 5 minutes. Whisk in egg and remaining brown sugar, then stir in 1 cup flour and mix with a wooden spoon to incorporate. Sprinkle remaining 2 cups flour over top but do not mix in. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm, draft-free spot until mixture is visibly puffed and flour has cracks in places, 60–90 minutes.

Add sour cream, orange zest, orange juice, baking powder, and salt to mixture and mix on medium speed with dough hook until smooth, elastic, and just sticking to the sides of bowl, about 4 minutes. Add 6 Tbsp. butter in 2 additions, beating well between additions; beat until a soft, slightly glossy, sticky dough-batter hybrid forms, about 4 minutes.

Using buttered fingers, pat dough into prepared pan in an even layer, spreading to edges. Cover and let sit in a warm, draft-free spot until puffed and nearly doubled in size, 60–70 minutes.

Streusel and Assembly

Just before dough is finished rising, preheat oven to 350°. Pulse flour, oats, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt in a food processor a few times to combine. Add butter and process in long pulses until streusel is the consistency of moist crumbs.

Arrange figs, skin side down, over dough; sprinkle streusel over top. Bake until figs are gooey and a tester inserted into the center comes out clean, 35–45 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool.