Sunday Brunch: Yeasted Sugar Cake

Stir the yeast and 1 teaspon of the sugar into 1/4 cup warm water in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, remaining sugar, and salt.

Add the yeast mixture, milk, and eggs and beat until smooth; I just used a wooden spoon.

Add 4 tablespoons of the butter and beat vigorously until the batter is silky. Scrape down the sides, cover, and let rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Lightly butter a 9-inch cake pan. Stir down the dough, scrape it into the pan, and pat it into a disk of uniform thickness. If possible, soften the remaining two tablespoons butter even more in a microwave or by letting them sit atop a hot stove for a minute. Rub this softened butter all over the dough and then sprinkle with the brown sugar. (My butter was not soft enough to rub, so I pinched it into small lumps and dotted the dough with butter before sprinkling with sugar.) Leave the dough to rise 30 minutes more and preheat the oven to 40

Bake the cake until well risen and the sugar has begun to melt and brown, about 25 minutes. The surface should be covered with cracks. (I was using an 8-inch cake pan and it was still a little underbaked at 30 minutes, despite a very brown and crackly top.)

Let cool briefly. Unmold and serve warm. (Cake can also be split and reheated in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes or so.)