For as long as I can remember, my mom has made coffeecakes and given them to everyone [friends, family, neighbors, teachers, the school bus driver, her hairdresser, the mailman and newspaper guy…] as a Christmas morning treat. And everyone loves them. The coffeecake doesn’t last until Christmas morning in most households and some even go as far as measuring it to make sure everyone’s share is equal so no one sneaks an extra piece when no one is looking. It’s definitely a holiday tradition around here.
Things have been more eventful around the holidays than usual for my family this year, so coffeecakes didn’t make it out until after Christmas Day. I’m fortunate to have the week between Christmas and New Year’s off of work, so I was around home when my mom cleared out the kitchen and started on the first batch of coffeecakes [and was available to call dibs on a cherry one right away :)]. One Instagram post of that cherry coffeecake turned into at least five requests for the recipe, so I pestered my mom while we were out shopping yesterday afternoon until she gave me permission to share it. (Finally!)
This recipe comes from an old church cookbook and she’s penciled in notes about ingredient adjustments and how to best multiply to get a bigger batch (she makes them 16 at a time!), but there’s still a few secrets she has up her sleeve.
**A couple of notes that I thought should be added before you begin:
- This coffeecake is more of a pastry than a cake, which just makes it more delicious in my opinion– didn’t want to cause any confusion there with the whole “cake” thing.
- The dough will need to be refrigerated overnight, so be prepared to start it the day before you’d like to enjoy it.
- This recipe isn’t exact. After you make this once (or a few times), you’ll figure out what works for you and what you like and can start tweaking the recipe to make it your own. For example, Kathy has noted that 1/2 batch of Cream Cheese Filling and 1 batch of the Streusel recipe is enough for two large coffeecakes (this recipe makes two small or one large). If you do make changes, I’d love to hear what you did!
- If you’d like to try different flavors, Kathy suggests using Solo brand pie filling instead of the Cream Cheese Filling. Personally, I’m a fan of the cherry and raspberry, but she’s also uses apricot a lot and has a can of blueberry to try out soon.
Enjoy!
Kathy’s Coffeecake
Ingredients:
- 1 stick margarine
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 tsp. salt
- 1 package yeast
- 2 T. sugar
- 2 beaten egg yolks (or one whole egg)
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 cup milk
Scald milk (heat on stove until it has a film– I had to ask), cool to lukewarm. Add yeast, sugar, vanilla, and egg yolks. Cut margarine into flour and salt as for pie dough. Add milk mixture, stir to blend, cover and refrigerate overnight.
Dough can be used for one large coffeecake or can be divided in two to make two small coffeecakes. Roll out on floured pastry board to fill jellyroll pan that has been lightly greased. Fill center of dough with Cream Cheese Filling (recipe below) and fold sides over center and seal.
Cover pan with towel and place in warm place to rise for 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees 15-20 minutes before the coffeecakes are finished rising. (Depending on your oven and how warm your kitchen is, you may want to preheat before you roll out the coffeecakes so that they have a warm place to rise. My mom sets her oven at 200 and then turns up to 375 as they finish rising.) Beat egg white until frothy. Brush cake. Sprinkle with streusel (recipe below).
Bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes (recipe is finicky and it sometimes takes as little as 10-15 minutes to bake, so watch closely). Remove from oven and drizzle with icing once cool (recipe also below).
Cream Cheese Filling
Ingredients:
- 1 lb. cream cheese
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 egg white (you can use the other egg white to brush the coffee cake)
- 1/2 tsp. lemon extract
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
Combine ingredients in a mixing bowl and beat with mixer until smooth.
Streusel
Ingredients:
- 4 T. sugar
- 4 T. flour
- 4 T. margarine
Measure all ingredients into bowl. Cut margarine into flour and sugar as if for pie dough.
Icing
Ingredients:
- 3/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 T. milk
- 2 drops vanilla
Combine ingredients in bowl and stir until smooth.
