Tag: coffee

Something about rainy days always puts me in a baking frenzy.  And if it’s a rainy Monday, you can bet your bottom dollar, I’m in an apron, in my kitchen, whipping up something to put in the oven.

I was sitting in my rain boots, sipping on coffee, when I suddenly needed to make this cream cheese berry coffee cake.

Oh, how I begged my mom to make this over and over.  And when she pulled it out of the oven, it always looked like she slaved over it.  The presentation is gorgeous, but the effort is minimal.  That’s my kind of thing.  Can I get an Amen??? It’s light and biscuity, and it just sings like heaven when it melts in your mouth with the jam filling and the vanilla icing.

And when something so heavenly has basic pantry ingredients, I say yeah! baby!

2 cups of Bisquick go into a large mixing bowl.  I usually make my own Bisquick.  Then cut in the cream cheese and butter.

With this thingamajig.  A pastry cutter?  Whatever they are, they are brilliant, and I love mine.

It should look something like this…

Now, add the milk and mix until it becomes a crumbly dough ball.

Next, you’ll need a large cookie sheet and a rolling pin.

*Interesting story about this rolling pin:  it belonged to my Great Great Grandmother and has been passed down 4 generations!  And one day, I hope to pass it on to my daughter.  They don’t make rolling pins like they used to;  this thing can do it all!

Anyways… back to coffee cake.

Gather it into a ball and shape it into a log on the cookie sheet.

Dust your rolling pin with flour, and roll the dough into a rectangle.

Here comes the fun part.  Take a sharp knife and cut slanted strips on the two sides about 1 inch apart, leaving a long strip in the middle of the dough.

It will look something like this.

Next, take your jam of choice.  The original recipe calls for strawberry jam, but when you have the best homemade blackberry jam made by a friend, you always use that, of course 😉

Spread the jam evenly along the middle of the dough.

Then starting at the top, fold the strips over one another, moving from left to right.

Then, you’ll have a lovely (looked like you slaved over it) braided coffee cake! But, easy peasy, right?!

Put into a 375 degree oven and wait it out for 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, it’s time to make the icing.

Put 1 cup of powdered sugar into a bowl along with a little milk and vanilla and mix until drizzle consistency.

When the coffee cake is done, it should look like a perfectly baked golden biscuit.

Once the icing is mixed and the cake has cooled for about 20 minutes, it’s time to drizzle it over.

And then, of course, we all know the next step… cut into it and try not to eat the whole thing.

Cream Cheese Berry Coffee Cake

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INGREDIENTS:

FOR CAKE:

2 cups of Bisquick

1/4 cup of cold butter

3 oz. of cold cream cheese

1/4 cup of cold milk

1/2 cup of berry preserves

FOR ICING:

1 cup powdered sugar

1-2 Tbsp. milk

1/2 tsp. of vanilla

PREPARTION:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Put 2 cups of Bisquick in a large mixing bowl.  Cut in the cream cheese and the butter until crumbly.  Stir in the milk.  Knead until dough forms a crumbly ball.  Place on large cookie sheet and roll into a rectangular shape about 1/4 in thick.  Using a sharp knife, make slanted cuts in 1 inch intervals down the sides of the dough, leaving a long strip in the middle.  Spread preserves down the middle of the dough.  Take the 1 inch strips and fold over the filling.  Bake for about 20 minutes until golden brown.  Meanwhile, stir powdered sugar, milk and vanilla in a small mixing bowl.  When cake has cooled about 20 minutes, drizzle icing over the top.  Cut and serve!