New England Leaves in Fall = Lots O People at the Casa

October 22, 2012

New England Leaves in Fall = Lots O People at the Casa

Make Ahead Coffee Cake

In the midst of house renovations and backyard demolitions, we have had a super busy October. Lots of visitors flocking to see the leaves turn the most beautiful colors. So, as you can imagine, my house was no exception to the New England Fall flocking. Good news is, I love having a house full of loved ones. I warn them in advance that I will be trying out at least one magazine recipe on them. I kept a host of sandwich fixings on hand and lots of wine at the ready (I promise, it's for them, not me ;)), just in case there is a bad recipe. The sandwich stuff is for if the recipe bombs and the wine is for if the recipe...well bombs. Also to maybe persuade a story and swing a vote. Look, all's fair in love and food.

Just in case you weren't able to
see the leaves in New England

Unfortunately and fortunately, I didn't need the sandwich stuff, and the wine didn't produce any crazy fun stories. Can't blame a girl for trying. I figured with the holidays fast approaching maybe some of you will need an idea or two for guests, breakfast is always a good place to start. So, in this blog entry, I opted to go with a great make ahead coffee cake. If you or your guests are allergic to nuts, go ahead and skip this entry. If not, you'll want to print this one out.

I think "make ahead" anything is a great idea when it comes to breakfast. The last thing I want to do before I have had a Diet Coke or coffee, is attempt a magazine recipe. Or any involved anything in the morning. I am not a morning person. So this was great because you put your dry ingredients all together and then throw them in the freezer. When you are ready to make your coffee cake, you just add the wet ingredients and bake. (you might want to look at the previous entry Maple Pumpkin Layer Cake to see an easy way to cut the parchment paper in the bottom of the pan) This recipe was great because it made two coffee cakes. I did one when my parents were here and the other when my Uncle came to visit. I couldn't believe how fluffy the cake turned out even after freezing the ingredients. The adding of the wet ingredients still requires a little work, because you have to heat the milk when you add it...and then there is that damn parchment paper to deal with. I also found that I had to cook my cakes about 10 minutes longer than the recipe said, so make sure to check it with a toothpick before you turn the oven off. Other than that, it was hit and I will make sure to keep a make ahead coffee cake in my freezer.