Monday, December 17, 2012

Night Before Christmas Cold Oven Coffee Cake





From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...On the off chance that you've not yet tried this coffee cake, I wanted to post instructions for making it before your holiday menus are set in stone. This is a great candidate to serve on Christmas morning and if you have an electric mixer you'll find this yeasted coffee cake is very easy to make. The cake is topped with streusel and a glaze that makes it festive enough for a holiday breakfast. The ingredients for the cake are combined and beaten until a shaggy dough forms. The dough is allowed to rise and once it has doubled in size it's scraped into a baking dish and covered with streusel topping. The pan is then transferred to a cold oven where it sits overnight. Come morning, the oven is turned on and the cake bakes for 30 minutes. That's all there is to it, but the end result is a sweet and buttery cake that looks and tastes like it has come from a high-end bakery. I drizzle the still warm cake with a glaze to further improve its appearance, but this step is really not necessary. I have one caution to share with you. This cake is wonderful when it is served warm from the oven. It becomes less wonderful the longer it sits and the day old cake is quite ordinary. As far as I have been able to determine, this recipe was originally developed by Kay Smittle and her recipe can be found here. I suspect that those of you who try this recipe will be pleased with the results. It is hard to beat something that is both easy and delicious. Here's how the coffee cake is made.

Night Before Christmas Cold Oven Coffee Cake...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Northpole.com

Ingredients:
Cake
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup warm milk
1 package yeast (2-1/4 teaspoons) dissolved in 3 tablespoons warm water
3 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Topping
1 tablespoon cinnamon
4 tablespoons melted butter or margarine
1/2 cup toasted pecans or walnuts
2/3 cup sugar
Glaze
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
1tablespoon milk

Directions:
1) Cream together sugar and butter. Add eggs, milk, yeast (with warm water), flour, salt and vanilla. Beat all of these ingredients together. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.
2) When dough has doubled is size, pat it into a 9 x 13-inch baking pan. The dough will be stringy and sticky. You will find it easier to shape if your hands are damp or floured.
3) Combine sugar, cinnamon, melted butter and nuts in a small bowl. Mix well. Spread topping over cake. Stretch plastic wrap over cake and place it in a cold oven to rise overnight.
4) Next morning, remove plastic wrap from pan. Leave pan in cold oven. Turn oven to 350 degrees F. and bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven and transfer to a cooling rack. Cool in pan for 20 minutes. While cake cools, make glaze by mixing milk with confectioners' sugar. Drizzle over cake. Serve cake warm. Yield: 12 servings.






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16 comments :

Katarina said...

The cake sounds delicious and perfect to serve on Christmas morning! Have a great day!

Terry in Ukiah said...

This sounds wonderful and easy. One question. Is it wise to let it sit all night with raw eggs?

Unknown said...

I'm bookmarking this one right now.. It's just Chris and I for Christmas this year, but I really wanted to make something delicious sweet for breakfast that day... I think this will be the one!! Thanks for posting this, Mary!

Tanna said...

Oooooh, I can't wait to try this one for Christmas morning!! Thank you, Mary. My Little Men do love their "sweets". ;) blessings ~ tanna

Kim said...

This looks like a great cake for christmas morning. Love it!

Priya Suresh said...

Will definitely love to have a slice,yumm.

Penny said...

This sounds perfect Mary. Happy holidays.

Mary Bergfeld said...

Terry in Ukiah - it is thought that the heat of the oven when the bread bakes will kill microbes that might be present. This discussion might help you decide if this process is acceptable to you .

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/22669/eggs-and-salmonella-sourdough-recpes

sississima said...

delicius, bye SILVIA

David said...

Mary, This does indeed look like the perfect coffee cake for Christmas Morning...or New Year's Day for that matter. Looks great! Thanks and Take Care, Big Daddy Dave

Angie's Recipes said...

This sounds and looks like a delicious yeast coffee cake. Love the overnight proofing.

Pam said...

This sounds great, and each year at this time, I look for new coffee cake recipes to make for Christmas morning. This is it! Thanks for the recipe, Mary! Have a wonderful week!

Ginny Hartzler said...

It looks wonderful and makes me want a hot cup of coffee! Could you please pass a slice through the screen, I will make the coffee.

Joanne said...

I've never made a real yeasted coffee cake before. This looks fabulous!

Anonymous said...

Hi..I would just like to know whether do you preheat the oven to 350 before you start to bake after the night in the cold oven ?

Mary Bergfeld said...

Anon, you bake in a cold oven, Do not preheat.

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