Coffee Cake - 1973 Pillsbury Bake Off Winner

Hi There.

Forgive the sideways photo. I have no idea why it has decided to do that, but editing the picture to make it go the other way turns it wonky. I promise the photo being sideways does not affect the flavor of the coffee cake.

The Chief Commentator has often mentioned to me his love of coffee cake. There are few things that make him as happy as the idea of having a delicious slice of heavenly cake with his morning cup of joe. Lucky for him, it appears that both my grandmothers also have a thing for breakfast cakes and breads to be enjoyed with their sanka. This recipe is no exception.

This one comes from my grandma melusines cook book - it's a cut out from a Pillsbury flour bag. It is titled "one-step tropical coffee cake" and under it it says $5,000 flour winner in Pillsbury's 1973 Bake-Off"

So the recipe won $5k for someone several years before I was even born... $5k is a lot of money, especially in 1973... so this must be good right?

Oven @ 350 degrees and you are going to need a 8 or 9 inch coffee cake pan.

Using solid shortening, grease the square pan.

1 1/2 cups flour (Pillsbury of course!)

1 cup sugar

2 teaspoons Baking Powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

8 oz plain yogurt or sour cream (I used yogurt)

1/2 cup cooking oil

2 eggs

Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup, level off.

combine all ingredients in large bowl

stir 70-80 strokes until well blended (ugh! my arms!)

pour into greased pan

set batter aside

topping

1 cup coconut or chopped nuts (I used almonds)

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

combine in small bowl, and sprinkle over batter

bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

tip: 3/4 cup well drained crushed or chunk pineapple, fruit cocktail or mandarin oranges maybe spooned over the batter before sprinkling with streusel mixture. Bake 10-15 minutes longer.

High altitude - 5200 feet, bake basic recipe at 375 for 35-45 minutes. if adding fruit, bake 45 to 55 minutes.

Ok, so I didn't "go there" with the fruit cocktail, oranges or pineapple. It just didn't seem right (although it does seem very early 1970's)

Chief commentator liked how the cake wasn't very sweet. He said it stood up well with his coffee, although he would have liked a little butter drizzled into the topping to make it stick better.

Coffee cake isn't my forte, but I did like it, and I think in part, I liked it because it wasn't overly sweet.