TRADITIONAL COFFEE CAKE

Traditional Coffee Cake image

This recipe is from my MIL. This is a yeast bread (German name: Schneeben) she has been making for all her family for years. It is loved by one and all. This has been passed down for at least 3 generations. The original recipe was some of this and some of that, and hands-on instruction to "add until it looks like this". It's been revised by my DH after a helpful review and some experimentation.

Provided by Lavender Lynn

Time 3h45m

Yield 5 loaves

Number Of Ingredients 14

Ingredients

3 cups milk
1 cup shortening
2 tablespoons yeast
1 cup water, lukewarm
1 tablespoon sugar
10 cups flour
2 teaspoons salt
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 tablespoons orange rind or 2 tablespoons lemon rind
1 cup raisins
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar

Steps:

Scald milk and shortening. To do this, bring milk almost to a boil over low-medium heat and then stir in the shortening to melt it. Set aside to cool until lukewarm.
Dissolve yeast in lukewarm water and add 1 T sugar.
When yeast is foamy and the milk is lukewarm add the yeast mixture to the milk.
Add 4 C flour and salt.
Beat well, cover and set in warm place until double in size. It should be the texture of thick pancake batter. (This is a step in old recipes known as the sponge, used to cultivate the yeast.).
Punch Down. Add beaten eggs, 1&1/2 C Sugar, raisins, and orange rind.
Add just enough flour, approx 4-5 Cups, to make soft dough just stiff enough to knead.(this is a judgement call about how much is enough).
Knead for at least 5 minutes, using remaining flour to coat surfaces until dough becomes elastic enough to handle (might need a little more).
Let rise until double again and punch down.
Make into five round loaves and put into greased pie pans.
Spread with melted butter on top and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar mixture.
Let rise again.
Bake @375 degrees F for 35 min or until done. If it browns too quickly, turn oven down to 300 F midway through baking.
When cool, slice 1/2 inch thick to serve. Great toasted!
Same dough recipe without citrus rind makes good cinnamon rolls.

Nutrition Facts : Calories 1890.9, Fat 62.3, SaturatedFat 21.1, Cholesterol 214.1, Sodium 1135, Carbohydrate 296.2, Fiber 9.3, Sugar 90.6, Protein 38.5