By William Kristoph

I Love Coffee Cake

I grew up loving Drake’s Coffee Cakes. Now, as an adult, I like to make coffee cakes. Maybe it’s a weird quirk, but I pretty much love the entire process. There are good smells in the kitchen, it’s relatively easy to do and the results are quick. I like them so much that a few years ago I started making them regularly. They are great for tailgates before FSU football games. There’s no easier breakfast than a sweet breakfast that doesn’t require cleanup. The basis for Bill’s Killer Coffee Cake is found in Joy of Cooking, under “Deluxe Sunday Morning Coffee Cake.”

This is the basis of Bill’s Killer Coffee Cake. It’s very easy and always tasty.

Bill’s Killer Coffee Cake Recipe

(based on Joy of Cooking’s Deluxe Sunday Morning Coffee Cake)

Dry breadcrumbs
2 c. all-purpose flour
1 c.+ 2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 1/4 (10 tbsp) sticks unsalted butter
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 c. buttermilk (use 2/3 c. instead if you are using a fruit filling)
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 c. pecans or walnuts, chopped
1/2 c. packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
(Optional: Your favorite fruit filling)

***All ingredients should be at room temperature***

• Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
• Grease the bottom and sides of a 9″ spring-form pan and coat it with the breadcrumbs. Ditch the extra crumbs.
• Combine the flour, sugar and salt in a bowl.
• Add 10 tablespoons of room temperature butter to the mixture and cut it in.
• Reserve 1 cup of the mixture in a separate bowl to make the topping.
• Add baking powder and baking soda to the mixer and mix it in.(Thanks and apologies to Alexis who pointed out I missed this step after she went through the trouble of trying this. Sorry!)
• Add buttermilk, egg and vanilla to the cake mix. Mix it until it’s smooth (about 2 minutes in a bowl mixer on med to med-high). The batter is heavy and thick.
• Pour the batter into the prepared pan. (If using a fruit filling, add 2/3 to the pan, then add fruit filling pieces and cover with the last 1/3 of the batter).
• Add dark brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans to the reserved cake mix and combine with a fork or whisk.
• Add the topping to the pan and bake at 350 for 50-65 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool on a wire rack with pan sides on for 10 minutes.
• Remove sides after 10 minutes and let cool for 1.5 hours or until fully cooled off.

Tips For Making A Great Coffee Cake

Never scoop with the measuring cup, use a spoon to loosen the flour and place it into the measure cup. Don’t forget to level the measuring cup!

Be sure to aerate the flour, sugar and salt just a bit before adding the butter.

That’s a ton of butter because I made a double batch. If you’re making one cake use only 10 tablespoons. (Yes, ONLY. Paula Deen must love me.)

The mix should look crumbly like this and the butter should be well mixed into the flour. If it’s not, your butter was too cold. Keep mixing.

I like full fat buttermilk, but you can get away with 2% if you want to make it a bit healthier. Fresh eggs make it better and the vanilla can be any kind you have on hand.

Killer Coffee Cake batter is heavy and thick. Mix it well. A bowl mixer is a huge help if you have one.

I prefer to chop whole pecans instead of buying them pre-chopped.

I usually aim for something like this coarseness when the food processor is done with the Pecans.

The topping is awesome and I prefer Pecans in it over Walnuts or anything else.

Whoa, back up, there’s fruit in a Killer Coffee Cake? Not always, but the day I did these I went with apple in one and peach in another.

Don’t worry about the fruit, it’s going to head to the bottom no matter what you do. If it pokes out through the top, that’s okay.

Peach Killer Coffee Cake on the left, Apple Killer Coffee Cake on the right. Where’s my fork?