Coffeecake as we know it today wasn’t so much a creation as it was an evolution, with many countries given as the potential origin point. It is generally accepted that coffeecake originated from northern or central Europe during the 17th century. At that time, coffee was still fairly new to Europe, having only made it to the continent in the previous century.
While the earliest coffeecakes included coffee as an ingredient, updated popular recipes recommend eating the cake with coffee and instead deriving flavor from nuts, dried fruit, oats, cinnamon and other spices. Another addition to coffeecakes has been to incorporate yogurt, cheese or sour cream in the batter to produce the cake-like texture which further deviates from its bread origins.
The countries laying some sort of claim to the coffeecake such as Germany, Austria and Denmark were already well versed in sweetened breads and cakes and found that their local sweet paired incredibly well with this new beverage. It became very commonplace in these countries to have a small sweet served alongside coffee.
When the coffeecake made its way to North America via German immigrants in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, bolstered by the creation of refrigerated sections in grocery stores, the addition of sour cream became more common place, both as a means of adding more moisture into the cake as well as activating the baking soda. Another modification to the coffeecake came with the popularity of the Bundt pan in the 1950s. With its ring-shaped design, the Bundt pan allowed bakers to drastically increase the moisture content in their cakes without having to worry about the center being uncooked.
Sometimes cake, sometimes bread, the only real defining trait of a ‘coffeecake‘ is that it is meant to be enjoyed with a cup of coffee.
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- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp cornstarch
- pinch of salt
- 1 Tbsp lemon juice
- reserved peach juice from canned peaches below
- 1 Tbsp butter,
- 1/4 tsp almond extract
- 2 1/3 cups flour
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 90 gm cream cheese, softened
- 2/3 cup LESS 1 Tbsp Crisco butter flavored veg shortening
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp lemon zest
- 796 ml (28 oz can) peach halves, drain & reserve syrup for peach glaze
Ingredients
Peach Glaze
Coffeecake
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- Drain peach halves; set peaches aside. In a saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt, lemon juice & peach syrup. Bring to a boil then stir in butter & almond extract. Set aside.
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter a 8-inch pie pan.
- In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder & salt. With a pastry blender, cut in cream cheese & shortening until mixture resembles coarse peas. Stir in milk & lemon zest. On a lightly floured work surface, knead dough gently & form into a log shape. Do not overwork dough. Divide into 12 slices.
- You will need 12 peach halves (or pieces). Alternating with dough rounds & peach halves or pieces, form a ring around the sides of the pie pan. Fit the last 3 pieces of dough & peach in the center.
- Bake cake for about 10-15 minutes then pour WARM peach glaze over the PARTIALLY BAKED cake & continue baking for another 45-50 minutes or until cake tests done. Serve warm as is or with ice cream or whipped cream.
