Every Christmas morning I bake a cake (the cranberry one below I included in a 2011 column, but it’s so good it’s worth a repeat appearance).
Granted, I don’t have any little people in the house who rise at 5 a.m. and can’t wait to tear into their presents, but these cakes go together pretty quickly so you could whip one up after the dust has settled a bit.
Then sit back with a nice cup of coffee and a piece of warm, delicious cake, and it might just be enough to carry you through to Christmas dinner (hopefully someone else is cooking that for you this year).
One note: the baking times shown are just estimates. Because ovens vary a lot, the only sure way to know if a cake is baked is by inserting a cake tester or wooden toothpick into the centre. If the tester comes out without any dough clinging to it, the cake is done. Merry Christmas to you all and happy baking.
Cranberry Raisin Coffee Cake
½ cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 cup milk
1 can whole berry cranberry sauce
½ cup golden raisins
2 Tbsp melted butter
2 Tbsp light brown sugar
Preheat oven to 350° F. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream the butter, granulated sugar and eggs together and beat until fluffy. Sift the dry ingredients together and add to the creamed mixture alternately with the milk.
Combine the cranberry sauce and raisins in a small bowl and set aside. Spread two-thirds of the cake batter into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish. Spread two-thirds of the cranberry mixture over the batter (I find it works best if you drop evenly spaced dollops on the batter and then spread it out gently).
Spread the remaining batter on top, then spoon the remaining cranberry mixture over that. In a small bowl, mix together the melted butter and brown sugar; drizzle over top of the batter. Bake until a tester inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean, about 40 to 45 minutes. Serve warm. Makes 12 servings.
Source: A League of Cooks, published by the Junior League of Vancouver
Blueberry-Apple Coffee Cake
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 large egg
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1½ tsp cinnamon
1 tsp finely grated lemon zest
½ cup blueberries (if using frozen ones, don’t thaw them before adding them to the batter)
¾ cup chopped, peeled apples
Topping:
½ cup brown sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 tsp cinnamon
2 Tbsp melted butter
Icing Drizzle: (optional)
¾ cup icing sugar
1 Tbsp milk
Preheat oven to 375° F and grease a nine-inch round cake pan or an eight-by-eight-inch square baking pan. In a small bowl, mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and lemon zest. In a separate mixing bowl, lightly whisk together the oil, eggs, vanilla and milk.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour the wet ingredients into it. Stir gently just until mixture is well combined. Don’t overmix. Fold in chopped apples and blueberries. Pour batter into pan and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix together the topping ingredients until combined. Sprinkle topping evenly over the batter, and swirl the topping gently into the batter with a rubber spatula. Bake for 25 minutes or until a tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean. Place pan on a wire rack to cool slightly.
While the cake is cooling, stir together the icing sugar and milk in a small bowl; drizzle icing over the top of the cake. Serve warm or at room temperature. Makes eight servings. Source: alattefood.com
Pumpkin Coffee Cake
Crumble topping:
½ cup cold butter, cut into pieces
½ cup packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
Cake:
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
½ tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
3 cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup butter, softened
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup milk
½ cup heavy cream (whipping cream)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1+1/3 cup canned pumpkin puree
½ chopped pecans (optional, these are sprinkled on top of batter)
Preheat oven to 350° F and generously grease a 9x13-inch cake pan.
To prepare the crumble topping: cut together the butter, brown sugar, flour, pumpkin spice and cinnamon until coarse crumbs form; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together pumpkin pie spice, salt, baking powder, baking soda and flour.
In a large bowl with an electric mixer, cream together butter and both sugars. Add eggs one at a time and mix until incorporated. Add milk, heavy cream and vanilla and mix to combine; mix in pumpkin puree.
Slowly pour dry ingredients into the wet and mix until fully combined. Pour half the batter into the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle with half of the crumble topping, then pour remaining batter on top. Sprinkle with remaining crumble mixture and the chopped pecans (if using). Bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let cool to lukewarm before cutting into slices. Makes 12 servings. Source: deliciouslyyum.com
Angela Shellard is a self-described foodie. She has done informal catering for various functions. She can be reached via email at: [email protected].
