Sunday, January 25, 2009

coffee cake is required

Cold January mornings require coffee cake. Especially a Sunday morning when it's snowing and the house is quiet until 9. I knew it had snowed even before I opened my eyes or the blinds. There was a silence, a stillness that can only be achieved by a blanket of fresh snow.

coffee cake

I successfully located a recipe for this moist cake layered with brown sugar, pecans and cinnamon in my box of old recipes. The title on the 3x5 index card reads Mrs. Zinman's Coffee Cake. It found its way to me through an old friend who's mother graciously shared it with me many years ago. I've done some modifications to lighten it up a bit, which didn't seem to take anything away from its superb texture or taste.

snowy Sunday

After dinner my daughter asked, "can you eat coffee cake at night?" It's delicious warmed with a glass of cold milk on the side anytime of day, or night.

coffee cake

Coffee Cake
a slightly lighter version of Mrs Zinman's recipe

Batter:
1/2 cup butter softened
1 cup granulated sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
1 cup light sour cream
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
Cream together butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl mix dry ingredients. Alternately mix flour and sour cream into butter mixture and beat until smooth.

Filling:

1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1-2 teaspoons cinnamon
In a buttered and floured springform pan with a removable bottom, spread 1/3 of the batter. Sprinkle it with 6 Tablespoons of the filling mixture. Repeat this layering process two more times. Bake it in a preheated 325° oven for about 60 minutes. I baked mine for 55 minutes, but it was slightly gooey in the center. It could have used about 5 minutes more, in my opinion, but my husband talked me out of putting it back in the oven so he could enjoy its gooeyness.

Place it on a rack to cool slightly before springing it free from the pan.

5 comments:

Susan said...

Cindy, that cake looks delicious! I've been looking for a tried and true coffee cake recipe. It looks really moist and has a fine crumb. I can't wait to try it. I just made a huge dish of bread pudding yesterday for a family dinner and I still have a lot left, or I would bake it today. Next weekend, for sure.

Our Juicy Life said...

yummy. My family is coming to vist first week of March so I'm having my sister bring me some brown sugar (cant' find it here in France) and I'm making it for them while they are here. Looks so good.

Chickens good?

Cindy said...

Susan, I love bread pudding. Would you send me your recipe? (ClassenDesign@gmail.com). There's a place here we like to go that makes a marionberry bread pudding. They serve it warm with a scoop of ice cream and a sprinkling of powdered sugar... heavenly!

This coffee cake is very moist, and if you don't bake it quite long enough, it has a bit of a bread pudding consistency.

Cindy said...

Juteuse, No brown sugar! Maybe there's something even better they use in it's place. Brown sugar is a must for this cake.

Coffee cake is such a great thing since it allows us to eat cake for breakfast.

The chickens are good. Thanks for asking. Our EE is laying every day now. Still waiting for the others to follow. I just found out that wyandottes are notorious for being slow to mature. I was starting to wonder since Wynonna is around 8 months now. I can't wait to get some large eggs.

Susan said...

Cindy, I'll email you the recipe later this evening. This is my mom's recipe. I think you'll like it.