Family Favorite: Best Coffee Cake Ever

This recipe is from the Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond. I found it a few years ago when I was looking for a breakfast bake to take to a chorus retreat. It's a multiple bowl recipe but it's definitely worth the extra effort and mess!


Here's today's cast...kind of. I was making sugar cookies at the same time and included the vanilla and almond extracts accidentally. Extracts are rather hungry for attention...


Cream the butter and sugar till fluffy. Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl.


With the blender on low, alternate adding milk and the flour mixture until everything is nicely combined.


Perfect!


In a separate bowl, whisk up the egg whites until stiff peaks form. I like to watch them transform from a liquidy froth...


To foamy...


To nice and smooth!


Carefully fold the whites into the rest of the mixture so you don't lose any air.


Then pour the batter into a greased pan. Keep your bowl low as you move the batter to the pan--this also helps to maintain the air in the whites. Gently smooth the batter to even it out.


In yet another bowl, mix all the topping ingredients.


I find it easier to use my hands.


Spread the topping over the batter. I keep the pecans on the bigger side because I like the crunch.


Bake at 350F for about 40 minutes.


Usually when I make this, the topping stays on the top and gets a bit crunchy. This time, it decided to sink into the middle of the cake. The top of the cake got nice and golden so it didn't matter much.


The cake is tender and moist with the sweet, crunchy topping running through it. I guess in this case the topping became the filling!

When I first made this cake for my chorus friends, I noticed my pal Deb off to one side eating a piece and doing her happy wiggle (I've seen her do this when she is gleeful about something)--she said this cake reminded her of a coffee cake that her grandmother used to make at Christmas time. And ever since then, I've made it at Christmas time, just for her.

There are certain foods that I associate so strongly with a person or event that I can't seem to prepare them at any other time or for any other person. This is definitely one of them.

Here's the promised link:



 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Kincaid's/Ryan's Grill-Style Pea Salad

Image
I was so sad when Ryan's Grill in Ward Centre closed down. For many years it was a favorite gathering place for both my family and my friends. Similarly Kincaid's, formerly Horatio's, at the now demolished Ward Warehouse was, too. I always ordered the pea salad that both restaurants served and have been wanting to re-create it. Today's recipe is the closest I've come! Today's cast! Sour cream, mayo, salt, and pepper are combined for the dressing. In the meantime, I put the frozen peas into a colander to help them thaw and drain. After that, it's just a bunch of chopping. Interestingly, the recipe mentioned that Hormel bacon bits work much better than bacon that has been cooked up and drained. Who am I to argue? I added the bacon bits to the dressing along with chopped water chestnuts and red onions. I de-stringed the Chinese peas. Sugar snap peas can also be used. The peas and pea pods were combined with the dressing, then I popped it into the fridge. The re...
Read more

Anthony Bourdain's Macau-Style Pork Chop Sandwich

Image
I read, and own, all of Anthony Bourdain's books except Kitchen Confidential.  It seems like an odd omission considering it's the book that made him famous and brought to light a dirty side of the restaurant business that the public apparently loved hearing about, but no, for me, it was his first show, A Chef's Tour, followed by No Reservations,  that really made me a fan. Yes, the show was about food, but more importantly it was about the people who made the food and the places the food grew out of. That cultural and historical connection has always been the key factor in my own burgeoning food obsession. Bourdain was sarcastic and edgy but he was also intelligent, well-read and so adept at putting words together to unite the food with its people into an appreciative, thoughtfully crafted whole. His suicide in 2018 saddened me in a way I would never have anticipated. I decided that henceforth I would honor his influence on my culinary interests and every year, on his bir...
Read more

Ethereally smooth hummus

Image
I swear I didn't name it. My sister had sent me the link after I posted about making falafel. My friend, D, loves hummus but doesn't like it when it's gritty or chalky. This seemed like it would be right up her alley. Today's cast! Once the skins began to loosen, I drained the water and put the beans into a pot on the stove. Over medium heat, I sautéed them with some baking soda. The soda is supposed to make them less gassy. I'll keep you posted on that one. After a few minutes I added the water and brought it up to a boil. There's a whole lot of foam at the beginning. Skim it off and discard it. Let the beans simmer for about 20 minutes or until they can be easily split. Here's a perfectly cooked bean; the skin slides right off of it and it separates easily into two halves. In order for the hummus to be "ethereally smooth," all the skins must be removed. I don't mind doing this (see my post on Falafel) but cooked ...
Read more