The Weekend House Guest

I’m not a big fan of the sleepover.


Perhaps it’s the control freak in me, because honestly I felt this way even during my childhood days when little girls lived for sleepovers, staying up all night giggling with friends, watching horror movies and eating junk food.

The Jersey Girl needs to be in her own bed with fav blankies and pillow, huge glass of water by her side, ceiling fan on second setting, complete silence in her surroundings. And even under these conditions, a good night’s sleep is NOT guaranteed.

But, if you are having me over for the weekend, you can pretty much guarantee that homemade baked goods will greet you upon my arrival. It’s my way of shouting out, “thank you for putting up with my high-maintenance self.”

Such was the case on Memorial Day weekend, when The Husband and moi headed down the Shore. (That’s how we Jersey folks say, “going to the beach.”) My rockin’ in-laws live in Stone Harbor, and they have an open-door policy for The Hubs and me.

Yay!

The weather was way gorg on Sunday. And we had a great time with the fam.

My father-in-law grooves on blackberries, so I took an awesome recipe for Raspberry-Sour Cream Coffee Cake from my new fav cookbook, “The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book” and swapped out the raspberries for blackberries. The cake was amazing. If I wasn’t prego and if it wasn’t 100 degrees out when I made the cake, a nice cup of tea would have been fabulous as an accompaniment. The buttery topping is just heavenly and decadent all at once. How ironic, right?

Blackberries are more tart than sweet. If you haven’t had them, you may want to taste them first. Or, just stick with the raspberries, which should be berry berry sweet.

Raspberry (Or Blackberry)-Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Makes one 10-inch cake
From “The Williams-Sonoma Baking Book”

For the topping:
1 cup (5 oz/155 g) all-purpose flour
2/3 cup (5 oz/155 g) granulated sugar
Grated zest of 1 lemon
½ cup (4 oz/125 g) unsalted butter, melted

For the cake:
1 ¾ cups (9 oz/280 g) all-purpose flour
1 cup (8 oz/250 g) granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
¼ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
3 large eggs
1 cup (8 oz/250 g) sour cream
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 cups (8 oz/250 g) fresh raspberries
2 Tbsp. confectioners’ (icing) sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (180 degrees Celsius). Grease and flour a 10-inch (25-cm) round springform pan. To make the topping, in a small bowl, stir together the flour, sugar and zest. Add the melted butter and stir with a fork until the mixture is crumbly.

To make the cake, in a bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, sour cream and vanilla until well blended. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and add the sour cream mixture. Beat until smooth and fluffy, about 2 minutes.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly. Cover evenly with the raspberries. Sprinkle the crumb topping evenly over the berries.

Bake until the topping is golden brown, 38-42 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the cake should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Remove the sides of the springform pan. Using a fine-mesh sieve, dust with the confectioners’ sugar and serve warm or at room temperature, cut into wedges.

Coffee Cake Tawk

Coffee cake just makes me smile.


Cinnamon swirly, brown sugar-scented, vanilla-laced, sweet powdered-sugar-glazed coffee cakes are the best variety.

Can't you just breathe it in?

I whipped one up this weekend for an event being held at the Woman’s Civic Club of Hammonton.

But, I often make coffee cake and bring its hominess to my fam. Mommom and Poppop love a coffee cake as do my in-laws. When Mark and I are staying at their Stone Harbor house for the weekends in the summer, we often arrive bearing baked goods. Great company and a fabulous house at the shore are totally worth a coffee cake.

I make this from the recipe in the good, ole’ Betty Crocker’s Cookbook

Yes, I have one of those.

In fact, I think I need to replace it because it is in shambles, dear readers. Those damn red plastic coils break and fall out. And it’s dog-eared, spattered, beaten and battered. But, Betty Crocker’s Cookbook is tried and true for me. It never misses. I love it. It completes me. Plus, I have notes penciled in all over the place in my copy. I don’t know what to do. Maybe I should store it in a Hefty zipper bag or a manilla envelope.

Parting is such sweet sorrow.

I vividly recall upon my engagement to Mark, heading straight to the cookbook section of Barnes and Noble and buying my Big Red No. 9. I thought Betty Crocker was necessary to be a proper wife.

Could I be more delusional?

But, I do give props to this very basic cookbook. It taught me many, many things.

And it is a purchase that triggered my ongoing obsession with cookbooks. I collect them, dear readers. But, that’s for another post…

Today, it’s all about the coffee cake.

Please note that I omitted the nuts and used extra-large eggs.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
From Betty Crocker’s Cookbook, Ninth Edition

Prep: 30 min; Bake 1 hr.; Cool: 30 min.

Makes 16 servings

Brown sugar filling (see below)
3 cups all-purpose or whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
¾ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups sugar
¾ cup butter or stick margarine, softened
1 ½ tsp. vanilla
3 large eggs
1 ½ cups sour cream
Vanilla Glaze (see below)

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom and side of tube pan, 10 x 4 inches, 12-cup bundt cake pan or 2 loaf pans, 9 x 5 x 3 inches, with shortening.

2. Make Brown Sugar Filling. Set aside. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

3. Beat sugar, butter, vanilla and eggs in a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. Beat about one-fourth of the flour mixture and sour cream at a time alternately into sugar mixture on low speed until blended.

4. For tube or bundt cake pan, spread one-third of the batter (about 2 cups) in pan, then sprinkle with one-third of the filling; repeat twice. For loaf pans, spread one-fourth of the batter, (about 1 ½ cups) in each pan, then sprinkle with one-fourth of the filling; repeat once.

5. Bake tube or bundt cake pan about 1 hour, loaf pans about 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan(s) on wire rack. Remove from pan(s) to wire rack. Cool 20 minutes. Drizzle with Vanila Glaze. Serve warm or cool.

Brown Sugar Filling
½ cup packed brown sugar
½ cup finely chopped nuts
1 ½ tsp. ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients.

Vanilla Glaze
½ cup powdered sugar
¼ tsp. vanilla
2 to 3 tsp. milk

Mix all ingredients with a spoon until smooth and thin enough to drizzle.