Banana Streusel Coffee Cake!

This is a super moist and yummy coffee cake that is perfect for breakfast or brunch or for a snack with a good cup of coffee.   I like cakes like this at times because they are not overly sweet or heavy. 

Here is what you need:

Streusel

1/2 cup chopped pecans (could use walnuts)

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. nutmeg

Cake

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

1 (3.4 oz.) pkg. vanilla instant pudding mix (could substitute banana flavored for more banana flavor)

4 large eggs

1 cup mashed bananas

1/3 cup oil

1/4 cup water

1 tsp. vanilla

Glaze

2 cups confectioner's sugar
5 Tbs. milk or half and half
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   Spray a 10 inch Bundt pan or a tube pan with nonstick baking spray.


In a bowl, combine the pecans, brown sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg for the streusel.


In a mixing bowl, combine the cake mix, dry pudding mix, eggs bananas, oil, water, and vanilla.  Beat for 2 minutes with an electric mixer on medium speed.   Pour half of batter in pan.  Sprinkle evenly with the streusel.   Pour the rest of the batter over all.   With a knife swirl the batter in a figure eight all around the pan, just to lightly mix the streusel into the batter. 


Place in preheated oven and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or when a pick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool in pan for 30 minutes.  Invert onto cake plate. 


When the cake is cooled, prepare the glaze by combining the confectioner's sugar, milk or half and half and vanilla until smooth.  Drizzle over the top of the cake and allow to run down the sides.

Slice and serve!  Yummy! 





Hungarian Coffee Cake!

 

 

This is a really old recipe my mother has had for years and it is so good.  This coffee cake starts with a Sweet Roll Dough, that is a yeast dough.   This dough is good to make a lot of different breads, cakes, sweet rolls, or even dinner rolls.  

 

This coffee cake is not overly sweet or rich, but it has a wonderful buttery cinnamon flavor and smells heavenly while baking!  Here is what you will need for the dough and the cake:

 

Sweet Roll Dough

 

1/2 cup warm water (not too hot)

2 pkgs. active dry yeast

1 1/2 cups scalded milk, that has cooled to lukewarm

1/2 cup sugar

2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

7 to 7 1/2 cups all purpose flour

 

Dissolve yeast in the warm water and set aside.  If the water is too hot it will kill your yeast, so just warm to touch is good.

 

Mix the warm milk with the sugar, salt and eggs.  Add the flour half at a time to the this liquid.  When it is mixed, add the yeast mixture and mix again.  Add just enough flour to make the dough workable.  It will still be sticky for best results.

 

Turn out onto a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.   Place in a large bowl you have greased with oil, greased side up. Cover with a kitchen towel.  Allow to rise about 2 hours or until doubled.   Punch it down and allow to rise for another 30 minutes.  At this point you can make sweet rolls, coffee cake or rolls!   We are making "The Hungarian Coffee Cake", so this is what you will need for that:

 

Hungarian Coffee Cake

 

1/2 of the Sweet Roll Recipe (use the other half for dinner rolls or cinnamon rolls)

1/2 cup melted butter (1 stick)

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts)

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

 

Cut the dough into pieces about the size of walnuts and roll them into balls.   Mix the brown sugar, cinnamon and nuts together in a bowl.  Roll the dough in the butter and then in the brown sugar mixture to coat them. 

 

Place a layer of the dough balls in a 9" Bundt pan you have sprayed well with baking spray.  The dough should just be barely touching.  Sprinkle a few of the raisins over the first layer.  Repeat another layer of dough and raisins.  Let rise for 45 minutes. 

 

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes.  Loosen from edges of pan with a knife and turn out onto a serving plate.   The butter and sugar will run down over the cake. 

 

Serve as is or sprinkle with a little powdered sugar!  This is really good while it's still warm!

 

 

 





Strawberries and Cream Butter Cake!

This recipe is one I found in the Pillsbury 45th Annual Bake-Off Contest publication.  My husband loves strawberries and this is the time of year they are best, so I wanted to make him a really good strawberry dessert.  

 To be honest you can put fresh strawberries and whipped cream on those little round cakes you buy at the store (the ones they keep next to the strawberries) and he is happy as a clam.   However, I didn't think that was blog worthy...lol.  

This cake is best served warm from the oven, either by itself or with fresh strawberries, that have been sliced and macerated, which just means sweetened and refrigerated for a couple of hours to release their juices.  I just use plain ole sugar.  I see recipes for honey and liqueurs and such though. I still use plain ole sugar.

 If I got all fancy with it, my husband would say 'What's wrong with the strawberries?'   Some things need to be left alone...lol.  Add a  dollop of whipped cream and it is wonderful!   You can serve it as a coffee cake or breakfast/ brunch cake by itself and it is also really good.

Ingredients:

1 roll refrigerated sugar cookies

1 cup softened butter (2 sticks)

3/4 cups sugar

3 eggs

3 tsp vanilla

2 1/4 cups flour

1 can sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup strawberry jam (or jelly)

fresh strawberries and whipped cream for topping

Here is what you need:

Roll of sugar cookies, can of sweetened condensed milk, eggs, strawberry jam (or jelly), flour, butter, sugar, and fresh strawberries and whipped cream for topping.

 

Leave the roll of cookie dough out on the counter for about 30 minutes to soften.  Spray a 9"x13" baking pan well with baking spray.  Press the cookies in the bottom of the pan.

Beat together the softened butter and the sugar until it is whipped and light.  Add the eggs and vanilla and beat. Using the low speed of your mixer, add in 1/3 flour, 1/3 condensed milk alternating and ending with flour.   Pour the batter over the cookie layer.

Drop the strawberry jam by teaspoonfuls over the batter and then drag a knife through it lightly to swirl.  You want it to stay on top so be gentle.  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 45 to 50 minutes.  At 45 minutes test it with a toothpick inserted in the center, it should come out clean. All ovens vary and this is a dense cake so it could take the center a few extra minutes.