Hello everyone. First, let me apologize for not posting for such a long time. I have been rather lazy uninspired. When I started this blog, I didn’t realize just how hard it is to come up with a topic three times a week. Soooooo, I am going to shoot for once a week for a while, to see if I can get better about being consistent. Then I will increase the postings as I improve. Thank you to everyone for your patience.
That said, I also want to explain why this posting is not about healthy eating, as I am sure you realized by the title. I have decided to start a little business making cakes, cookies and party trays for special occasions. So, if you know anyone in the Atlanta area that needs that service, send me an email and I will be happy to contact you or them.
To get started, I pulled out several old family recipes and broke them down by cost. Most of these are recipes I have not made in years, so I figured I might need to try them out again to make sure they still taste as good as I remember. It is rather strange to be baking things I no longer eat, but I am sure I can find people that will be willing to help me in that area.
This recipe, for example, had to be adjusted. The original recipe calls for two 4.5 ounce jars of baby food plums, apricots or dates. Well, they don’t make those fruits as baby food any longer. I found apricots mixed with other fruits like apples and pears, but not on their own, and I found no plums (or dates). This makes me rather sad, as I can remember as a child loving it when my Mamaw made this cake and let me lick the plum jars. Those were really delicious! I have come up with a substitution that works, though, so I can use this recipe. I rehydrated dried apricots, and ran them through the food processor. I used a 6 oz. package of dried apricots and it made more than I needed. After I made the cake, my mom said, “why don’t you blog about your cake?” So, here it it. My Mamaw’s Coffee Cake recipe:
Mamaw’s Coffee Cake
Cake:
- 2 cups self-rising flour
- 2 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 4 eggs, slightly beaten
- 1 cup plus 1 tbsp. (9 oz.) dried apricots, rehydrated
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 tsp. rum flavoring
Streusel Topping:
- ¼ cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- ½ cup chopped pecans
- Scant 2 Tbsp. flour
Glaze:
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tbsp. milk
- 1 tsp. vanilla
To rehydrate the apricots: Cut apricots in quarters and place in a bowl. Pour very hot water over the apricots to cover, plus about an inch of water. Let stand for 1 hour. Put apricots and soak water in a food processor and process until smooth. Measure out 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (9 oz.) for the recipe.
Preheat oven to 350º. In large mixing bowl at low speed, beat the eggs and sugar until blended. Add oil alternately with flour, mixing well after each addition. Add apricots, vanilla and rum flavoring; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. In separate bowl, stir together topping ingredients. Pour ½ batter into greased and floured 10-inch tube pan. Sprinkle with ½ topping mix. Repeat with remaining batter and topping. Bake at 350º for 1 hour 10 minutes. Cool in pan for about 5-10 minutes.
While cake is cooling in pan, heat glaze ingredients in a small saucepan on medium heat. Turn cake onto plate, with streusel topping facing up. Pour glaze over hot cake.
Mamaw’s Coffee Cake
I hope you will let me know if you try this recipe and how you like it. It is really delicious with a fresh cup of coffee. I will be trying another version with fresh plums. The plums on our tree are getting ripe, so I am going to make a plum sauce by cooking the plums and then running them through the food processor. Later, I’ll try this cake with the plums. I’ll let you know how it turns out.
What is your favorite old family recipe?
Gardens and Garlic 