Jewish Coffee Cake Recipe & A Baking Fail • A Simple Pantry

One of my favorite treats growing up was Jewish Coffee Cake.
I would stand around watching Mom make it, just waiting for those batter-covered spatulas and bowls so I could lick them clean.
And the smell of it baking…the aroma of cinnamon wafting around my nose and tickling me with delight.
I couldn’t wait to dig into that cake.

Jewish Coffee Cake is something we’ve been making in the family since before I was born. Unless Mom tells me otherwise, but I believe it is an old recipe. And don’t get me wrong, I am not in the least bit Jewish, and I honestly have no idea how it came to be called Jewish Coffee Cake, but it is what it is. I even tried to Google it and came back empty-handed.

If you know, please tell me. Please.

You might be wondering about the baking fail I mentioned in the title. Well. I’ve been making this coffee cake the same way for years now, and I thought on a whim that I would try something new. Like adding streusel topping.

Needless to say, I made the biggest baking error by forgetting to adjust the cooking temperature to compensate for the added ingredients and the insulating effect the streusel has.

I ended up with this:

Jewish Coffee Cake #Recipe and a Baking #Fail

Whomp whomp whomp.

So today I will give you the basic coffee cake recipe, which I should do first anyway, because it is so divine all on its own.

Jewish Coffee Cake

1 C Shortening

2 C Sugar
1 C Milk
4 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
3 C Flour
1 ½ tsp Baking Soda
½ tsp Kosher Salt

Cinnamon

Sugar

1| In a large standing mixer cream the shortening and sugar for a good 5 minutes.

2| In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda and salt.

3| Add the milk to the shortening and sugar mixture and mix until fully incorporated.

4| Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each one into the batter completely before adding the next.

5| Mix in the vanilla.

6| Pour the flour mixture into the batter and mix until just incorporated.

7| Pour ⅓ of the batter into a greased and sugared bundt cake pan, sprinkling the top with a thick layer of cinnamon sugar mix. Repeat two more times.

8| Bake in a 350 degree oven for 55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted to the center comes out clean.
9| Cool completely and enjoy.

Jewish Coffee Cake Recipe & A Baking Fail

One of the best tips I can give when working with baked goods is to not over-mix when you add the flour. Mix until everything is wet and then stop. Fight the urge to keep mixing. I know it’s hard, but put the spatula down.

Why is this so important? Because of air. As you add flour, you are mixing air into the batter, and that air provides buoyancy. Buoyancy makes your cake soft, light and fluffy. Even the heaviest of cake needs it to survive. When you over-mix the batter, you beat out the air and end up with a dense, dry, tough cake. The only thing that saves a cake like that is a lot of frosting.

Mmm, frosting.

I hope you enjoy some Jewish Coffee Cake for breakfast some day soon. It goes perfectly with a nice cup of Joe. In case you didn’t catch the Coffee part of the name.

Comments

Kaymie says

December 31, 2013 at 4:15 am

Made this for my husband tonight. His late mother used to make Jewish coffee cake (I don’t have her recipe) and he said it is VERY close and VERY good!! Thank you 🙂

Kelley says

December 08, 2013 at 3:32 am

This looks amazing! The streusel topping sounds nice but it looks great just the way it is! And if you ever find out why its called Jewish coffee cake.. let me know! I need to know now! Ha!

Thanks for linking up to the Life of the Party! Im going to feature this in an “Easy Homemade Christmas Dessert” roundup tomorrow!

- Karly Gomez says
  
  December 08, 2013 at 4:06 am
  
  Aww, thanks Kelley, you’re a rockstar!
  
angela king says

December 06, 2013 at 5:27 pm

this recipe looks amazingly good and easy. thanks so much for sharing!

- Karly Gomez says
  
  December 08, 2013 at 4:05 am
  
  You’re welcome Angela!
  
Shauna Smart says

December 06, 2013 at 1:41 am

Thank you so much for linking up to The Weekend re-Treat Link Party this week on The Best Blog Recipes! Wanted to stop by and “Pin” your post to our Link Party Boards (Recipes or Crafts) while I was here !

Shauna @ The Best Blog Recipes

- Karly Gomez says
  
  December 06, 2013 at 5:23 am
  
  Aww, thank you Shauna!

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