
I’m feeling much, much better, after being down flat for 5 days with a bad head cold. (Thanks to those of you who sent me kind get well wishes.) Finally yesterday I returned to the land of the living. I had this write-up done last week, but just didn’t feel up to posting it. The photo was still in my camera, and it would have taken too much energy to combine the two. But today, here it is.
Since I don’t have the cookbook, The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham, from whence this came, I don’t know the story behind its name. Is this a great (delicious) coffee cake, or is it a great (large) coffee cake? Either one will probably do, as it was certainly large enough, and it was very nice to eat too. I was reading an article in the newest issue of Gourmet, and in it was mentioned this coffee cake, and that it’s Ruth Reichl’s favorite. And the favorite of any number of other significant foodies. That was all the information I needed. The recipe is on the Gourmet website.
We’re having a meeting (a Bible study, actually) here at our house for the next 5 Tuesday nights, so as hostess I thought it appropriate to bake something. I never need much of a nudge to bake. Since this recipe was foremost on my mind, why not make a coffee cake for an evening get-together.
If tasting the batter was any indication, this coffee cake was going to be sensational. I always taste cake batter (yes, I know, raw eggs, etc. but it’s never hurt me yet), and must say this one tasted just super. Great. Really smooth batter, and it was super-easy to put together – butter and sugar, eggs, flour, baking powder and soda, salt and sour cream. What could be simpler? Bake for 50 minutes in a Bundt pan, cool 5 minutes, unmold, cut and serve. It has many of the ingredients of a pound cake, or a sour cream pound cake.
The recipe also included a number of variations (raisin and spice, dried fig and almond, apple and walnut, and vanilla). Those are in the PDF recipe you will get if you print it out from the link at the bottom. But for the first time around I wanted to make this true to the original. The coffee cake was plain. Good kind of plain. A very tender crumb. Next time I make this I’ll try one of the variations.
If you like Marion Cunningham, you might want to try another recipe I have of hers, the Feather Dumplings, which were served with Stewed Chicken. I waxed on and on when I made those in 2007.
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Marion Cunningham’s Great Coffee Cake
Recipe: From The Breakfast Book by Marion Cunningham
Servings: 12
1/2 pound butter — (2 sticks) room temperature
1 cup sugar
3 eggs — at room temperature
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or Bundt pan.
2. Put the butter in a large mixing bowl and beat for several seconds. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the eggs and beat for 2 minutes, or until light and creamy. Put the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and stir with a fork to blend well. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat until smooth. Add the sour cream and mix well.
3. Spoon the batter into the pan. Bake for about 50 minutes, or until a straw comes out clean when inserted into the center. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes in the pan. Invert onto a rack and cool a little bit before slicing. Serve warm.
Per Serving: 355 Calories; 21g Fat (52.4% calories from fat); 5g Protein; 38g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 103mg Cholesterol; 548mg Sodium.
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