coffeecake2

 

To me there is nothing better than coffee cake. For one, it makes your house smell like a bakery. The other thing is coffee cake, at least in our family, means it’s family time, and a time for celebration.

When I went to visit my grandparents in Massachusetts and later in Southern California, my grandfather made us feel especially welcome by having a white box of Entenmann’s Crumb Coffee Cake on the kitchen counter. Sometimes he would get their Cream Cheese version, but always the white box. We would never get there in the morning, since we lived in Canada and had to drive a million miles in a sweltering car packed with kids, pillows, blankets, luggage, puzzle books, snacks and of course a giant box of Cheeze Its. Which we would fight over. Loudly. For 16 hours (Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario to Billerica, Mass. is a LOT of miles). Anyway, the coffee cake.

grandpa
 

So when we would arrive, all tired and sweaty, my grandfather would have something really savory lounging in the oven, like a roast. The house would smell so welcoming, and I imagined him there, seasoning the meat, patting it confidently, smiling and loading the pan into the oven. He was waiting for us, listening for our car. When we got there he would grab us so tightly, hugging us to himself as if to imprint his body with ours, to see if we’d outgrown our last hug. We always had. Then he would clap his hands and rub them together, slap his thigh, and let us have a whole can of soda (from the outside fridge!) and of course, a slice of coffee cake. Even if dinner was just around the corner. He was lovely that way.

I taught a Brunch Delights cooking class yesterday to a nice bunch of folks. We make Joe’s Strata, Strawberry Salad with Goat Cheese, a Fresh Fruit Platter and Jacob’s great grandfather Arthur’s Gin Fizz. And this coffee cake. The reason I love this recipe is it’s simplicity, it’s richness and it’s almost silky tender crumb. Make it this weekend for Easter Brunch. You won’t be sorry. In fact one of the boys came in here as I type this and said I’m good at torturing people with smells. Luckily they’re my tasters, and they are brutally honest. Jacob and Randy ate two muffins each before dinner. So should you.

Now you have a choice….you can eat all of this cake right now while it’s hot, you can wait until it cools and eat it all, you can give some to someone you love, or you can cool completely, wrap tightly, and freeze until another time. A time when you really need some coffee cake. Or a time when you have company but no strength to make anything. Or a time when you hear family pull into the driveway, and you open your arms to pull them in tight, checking their measurements.

Cardamom Coffee Cake (modified from vintage Moosewood)
1 pound butter, softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
4 large local eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground cardamom
2 cups sour cream or full fat yogurt

Topping:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Now here you have another choice! You can make one 13×9 inch cake, one 12 inch springform pan (mine is square which I love) OR you can do something great and use different sized pans so you can have what I had tonight! One 12 count pan of muffins, one loaf pan and one mini loaf pan. Yes, they all have different baking times, but you can get over that. Whatever you choose, spray well with baking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, beat butter with brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each. Mix in the vanilla.

Sift together the flour, baking powder, soda, salt, and cardamom in a separate bowl.

Add the flour mixture, 1/3 of it at a time, to the butter mixture, alternating with the sour cream. Mix and, if using a stand mixer, scrape down the sides and up from the bottom with each additon.

In another, smaller bowl, combine the additional brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Reserve for the topping.

If you are using just one pan, add half the batter, then half the topping, the rest of the batter, then sprinkle with the rest of the topping. If you’re using muffin tins, mini loaves, etc. use an ice cream scoop to scoop the batter into the muffin tins, filling about two-thirds of the way full. Do the same for the mini loaf pan, and the loaf pan. Sprinkle all of the topping on top of all of the batter.

Baking times…. about 1-1/4 hours (60-85 minutes) for the springform pan, about 23 minutes for the muffins and about 40 minutes for the mini loaf, about 50 minutes for the loaf…..this is all dependent on how deep the pan is and how much batter is in there. With all pan sizes bake until a toothpick inserted all the way in comes out clean. Also this will depend on your oven. DO NOT SLAM the oven when you’re checking on things. Unless you like flat cake.

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