Coffee Cakes Rise to the Occasion

This is the time of year for simple, homey cakes that are easy to bake. The following recipes are three of my favorites.

CINNAMON COFFEE CAKE

1/4 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking powder

Dash salt

1/2 cup milk

Crumb Topping

Cream butter until soft and light. Beat in half sugar and continue beating until light. Add 1 egg, beating until smooth. Add remaining sugar and remaining egg, beating until smooth again.

Sift cake flour into separate bowl. Stir in cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to batter alternately with milk in 3 or 4 additions, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Spread batter evenly in buttered 8-inch square cake pan lined with parchment or wax paper.

Scatter Crumb Topping over batter. (At this point, batter can be tightly covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated overnight.) Bake at 350 degrees on middle rack about 40 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake in pan about 15 minutes. Place plate over top and invert onto serving platter. Lift off pan. Peel off paper and place rack over cake. Invert onto rack and cool. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Crumb Topping

1 1/3 cups cake flour

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

Mix flour, sugar and cinnamon in bowl. Stir in melted butter. Rub mixture by hand to form coarse crumbs.

CIAMBELLA

3/4 cup raisins or currants

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3/4 cup granulated sugar

Dash salt

Grated zest of 1 lemon

4 eggs, separated

2 1/4 cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 cup milk

3 tablespoons dark rum or grappa

Powdered sugar

Butter and flour 6-cup fluted tube pan and shake out excess flour.

Place raisins in saucepan. Add water to cover and bring to boil. Drain. Spread raisins on plate covered with paper towels to absorb excess moisture.

Cream butter with granulated sugar, salt and lemon zest until soft and light. Beat in egg yolks, 1 at time, beating well after each addition. Sift flour with baking powder. Toss 2 tablespoons flour mixture with raisins in small bowl. Stir remaining flour into butter mixture alternately with milk and rum, beginning and ending with flour. Stir in floured raisins.

Beat egg whites in clean, dry bowl until they hold soft peaks. Stir 1/4 of egg whites into batter, then gently fold in rest with rubber spatula.

Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake at 325 degrees on middle rack about 40 minutes until well risen with deep-golden color, or until wood pick or cake tester inserted into thickest part of cake emerges clean.

Cool Ciambella in pan 5 minutes, then invert onto rack. Lift off pan and finish cooling cake. Dust with powdered sugar before serving. Makes about 10 servings.

Making a sponge from some of the flour and the yeast shortens the process of preparing the loaf. If it is cold in the kitchen, encourage fermentation by placing the bowl containing the finished dough in a large covered casserole half - filled with warm water, or leave it on the stove with the oven on (be sure that the stove top is not too hot, or place a plate or two under the bowl to insulate it).

APRICOT AND RAISIN BRAID

1/2 cup milk

2 teaspoons dry yeast

2 3/4 cups unbleached flour

1 cup dried apricots

1 cup golden raisins

2 eggs

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup blanched, slivered almonds

Heat milk to lukewarm in small saucepan over medium heat. (Milk should not be heated to more than 110 degrees.) Remove from heat and sprinkle yeast evenly on surface. Allow to soften about 2 minutes, then whisk to blend yeast and milk.

Measure 3/4 cup flour into small bowl and stir in yeast mixture with wooden spoon or rubber spatula. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to ferment about 30 minutes, until more than doubled in bulk.

Cut each apricot into 3 or 4 strips. Combine apricots with raisins in medium saucepan and cover with hot tap water. Bring to boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and pour into strainer. Set strainer over saucepan so that dried fruit drains and cools.

Whisk together eggs and yolk in medium mixing bowl. Remove 2 tablespoons eggs to small bowl and reserve, covered, for glazing braid. Whisk in, 1 at time, sugar, salt, vanilla and melted butter, beating to combine well after each addition. Stir in 2 cups flour with wooden spoon or rubber spatula, then add doubled yeast mixture.

Beat dough with wooden spoon until smooth and elastic, about 2 minutes, or use heavy-duty mixer with paddle attachment on low speed (dough will be too firm for hand mixer). When dough is smooth, beat in apricots and raisins. If they have not cooled to room temperature, chill briefly before adding to dough. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to rise until double, about 1 hour.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Press dough lightly to deflate and shape into rough rectangle. Cut dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into cylinder about 16 inches long, flouring lightly, if sticky.

Line large baking sheet or 17x11-inch jellyroll pan with parchment or buttered wax paper. Place 3 cylinders dough on pan and braid loosely together, pinching ends together and turning under at each end of braid. (For best results, begin braiding from middle to one end, then turn pan around and braid from middle to other end. This makes braid same width throughout.)

Cover braid loosely with plastic wrap and allow to proof until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour. Carefully brush braid with reserved beaten egg and sprinkle slivered almonds in line about 2 inches wide length of braid. Press almonds gently to adhere.

Bake at 375 degrees on middle rack about 30 minutes, making sure braid does not color too deeply and that almonds do not burn. If both loaf and almonds are deep golden brown after only short time, cover braid loosely with foil for remainder of baking time. Braid is done when it feels firm when pressed and sounds hollow when tapped on bottom.

Slide braid to rack to cool. Serve braid warm or at room temperature. To reheat, place on baking sheet and cover loosely with foil. Heat at 350 degrees about 10 minutes. Makes about 12 servings.