Our home in Lebanon was filled with the comings and goings of company during the months surrounding Christmas. Since mom usually had on hand the Master Baking Mix ingredients (October 15 blog post), and the abundant fresh fruit of Lebanon, her quick go-to crowd pleasing coffee cake was the featured item of a winter morning breakfast. She would double this recipe and guests would wake up to the warm aroma of apples and cinnamon. As sides to her coffee cake, she would serve a large platter of scrambled eggs surrounded by her home-made sausage, accompanied by fresh-squeezed orange juice or grape juice we had processed from our own vines.
For the coffe cake:
1. Preheat the oven to 375. Beat together in a bowl the milk and eggs.
2. Add the sugar and Master Mix and mix well for about one minute.
3. Pour into a greased 8″ square baking pan.
For the crumble and apple topping:
1. Combine with your fingers the brown sugar, butter, and cinnamon to make a crumble to sprinkle on top of the cake batter and sliced apples.
2. Thinly slice the apples or pears and lay the pieces overlapping each other in a pattern over the batter, then sprinklye the crumble on top.
3. Bake for 25 minutes. Serve while still warm.
What spice smells like the holidays for you?
Cake: 1/3 cup milk, 1 egg, 1/4 cup sugar, 2 1/4 cup Master Mix
Crumb Topping: 1 or 2 thinly sliced apple or pear, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 3 T butter, 1/2 tsp cinnamon