Thursday, December 13, 2007

Mom's German Walnut Coffee Cake


When I was young my three brothers and I eagerly awaited the German walnut coffee cake my mother made every year for Christmas breakfast. Now, preparing this cake for Christmas morning has become a part of my family's holiday traditions.

I don’t exactly understand the chemistry of it, though. The coffee cake is a yeast bread, but as soon as it’s mixed, it’s put in the refrigerator where it sits overnight. (It rises only slightly in the refrigerator). In the morning the heavy dough is rolled into a rectangle, filling is added and the bread is baked. Yet it always rises beautifully, like the kind of bread that needs to rise in a warm room, receive a punch and rise again.

This coffee cake is very easy to make and the recipe is quite dependable. I’ve never had it fail. It feezes well and keeps for several days. The recipe, with step-by-step photos can be found at Kitchen Canvas.

3 comments:

andrea joseph's sketchblog said...

Coffee and walnut cake is my favourite. My mother used to make a great one too. Love this painting.

Sandy said...

What a wonderful memory that lives on - Great sketch and Thank you for the recipe - I will try this!

Laura Frankstone said...

What a completely charming sketch! It somehow shows your affection for that cake---can't explain how. I will check out the recipe, too. Thank you for including the link to it!