Cast Iron Skillet Coffee Cake

My earliest memories of coffee cake were from none other than Ms. Sara Lee. My father was always the one responsible for getting us ready for school in the morning, and breakfast was usually mushy cereal, burnt cheese toast or (if we were lucky) straight-from-the-freezer coffee cake. Sometimes he would even let me have a little cup of coffee to go with it, which I would fill to the brim with cream and load up with sugar. When I would stir it, a syrupy glaze would appear on the spoon, which I loved. This habit still probably attests for the reason I like my coffee so sweet. 

This recipe for coffee cake surpasses anything Sara Lee could ever pull off. I’ve been eager to use my new Lodge cast iron skillet, which made me feel as if I was using a trusty heirloom recipe passed down from my grammy. I don’t believe I will ever have to try out another recipe, as this is true perfection. I can’t wait to make this for my own children one day, and they for theirs. It is that good. 

BROWN SUGAR COFFEE CAKE

Source: The Cast Iron Skillet Cookbook

Cake

• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into 8 pieces
• 1 cup light brown sugar (I used white sugar because I only had enough brown for the topping. Worked like a charm)
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup sour cream
• 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder

Topping (I made double of this. What can I say, I’m a streusel junkie.)

• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3/4 stick chilled butter, cut into 4 pieces
• 1 cup chopped walnuts

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

For the cake: Place the butter in a large mixing bowl. Add brown sugar and beat with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Blend  in vanilla and sour cream. With a rubber spatula, fold in flour and baking powder until completely blended. Generously butter a cast iron skillet and spread the batter evenly in the pan.

For the topping: Mix the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and chilled butter with your fingers until well blended. Sprinkle evenly over the cake batter. Sprinkle with walnuts over the top. Place the skillet in the oven and bake for 35 – 40 minutes (mine took just a few minutes longer).  Serve warm.

Busy, busy, busy…and blueberry pancakes

Hi there! Miss me? Actually, you probably didn’t even notice I was gone. But in case you did, there has been good reason. After a few months of an employment hiatus and the hot pursuit of my dream job (economic depression is for the birds…), I finally found what I was looking for. I will be working for an AMAZING food writer and cookbook author, as her executive assistant. I am hoping to act like a sponge and learn as much as possible, both in this industry and in the kitchen. But that’s not all. I am enrolled in two journalism classes at UCLA, one for travel and one for food. How cool is that? I’ll save a whole post for the food journalism class, but just so you know, it is fantastic!

And just to add some icing to my cake, I just took the big plunge and moved in with my bf. Although I am so excited about this big step, moving is never easy. Add classes and a job to the mix, and sleep seems to get removed from the picture. Enter this here blog. I have just been too tired to post. It’s not that I haven’t been cooking or eating, I just haven’t felt like taking pictures or posting. Bad me. Slap on blog wrist. Anyways, I am hoping that once my life gets a little back to normal, and my schedule settles into place that I can start writing again in a more timely manner.

In the meantime, here is a little breakfast treat. Walt and I didn’t get to spend V-day together (he was working and I was packing/cleaning/procrastinating), so I decided to whip him up a little post heart-day feast. He loves pancakes, and some blueberries managed to make the long trek from Hollywood to Venice, so blueberry pancakes it was! I adapted this recipe from Epicurious, since it had a 4-fork rating (I am huge on recipe ratings for some reason) and lots of rave reviews. I only made a few small adjustments, which I noted below in italics, and the end result was a perfectly sweet yet zesty pancake. Enjoy!

BLUEBERRY PANCAKES

Source: Adapted from Bon Appetit, July 2007 

• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 tablespoons sugar – next time I might add just a little more…I like my pancakes a little on the sweet side
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk – I didn’t have buttermilk, so I used a ratio of 1 cup of milk to 1 tablespoon lemon juice. Let sit for approx. 15 minutes, or until curdled. Alas, buttermilk!
• 2 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted, plus more for cooking
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• Pure maple syrup

Preheat oven to 250°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Whisk first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Whisk buttermilk, eggs, and 2 tablespoons butter in medium bowl; stir into dry ingredients. Fold in berries (I didn’t add the berries until after I poured the batter onto the griddle. This allows for an even distribution of the berries.)

Heat large nonstick griddle or skillet over medium heat; brush with butter. Drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle. Cook pancakes until brown, brushing griddle with more butter as needed, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to sheet in oven to keep warm. Serve pancakes with butter and maple syrup.