When I was a small child (as in about six) our family faced some very hard times after my father declared bankruptcy. We had to sell our home and move into a cold water walk up on the proverbial wrong side of town. There was not the money for some of the things we all tend to take for granted these days...if you had to make a phone call you walked up to the corner and put a nickle in the slot, steaks, pork chops and other meats had been replaced with a lot of soups and bread purchased at the day old store across the river from where we lived. During those tough times, the one Christmas Tradition my mother kept going was her baking, and tops on that list was her coffee cake, which to this day some 50 years later is one of my own favorites. Hope you give it a try as it is truly a wonderful taste treat that dates back quite a long way.
Crumble Cake (Mom's Christmas Morning Coffee Cake)
Prepare a 9 1/2 X 13 inch pan (I prefer the Pyrex ones)...butter bottom/sides and dust with flour.
Coarsely chop and set aside 1 cup pecans (half and eight ounce bag)
Next, sift together into a large bowl 3 cups flower and 2 cups white granulated sugar.
Cut into this mixture one cup butter (do NOT substitute margarine) until you have nice pea sized pieces.
Measure out one cup of this mixture and set aside.
Take remaining mixture and add in:
2 tablespoons cinnamon
4 teaspoons cocoa (Hershey's of course)
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground clove
Add in your chopped pecans and one cup of Sun Maid dark seedless raisins. Stir mixture together, and make a well in the center of this mixture.
Pour in two cups of buttermilk (you can add 2 tablespoons of lemon juice too 2 cups of milk as a substitute) and gently mix until all dry ingredients are moist...DO NOT OVER MIX.
Pour mixture into your baking pan and sprinkle the cup of saved mixture over the top to create your crumb topping. Bake at 350 degrees for one hour, or until toothpick stuck into cake comes out clean.
Posted in honor of Rosemary Holman Bauman...miss you Mom.
*Will try to remember to post up a picture of this Coffee Cake after I make it.
