By Barbara Beltrami
One of my earliest social occasions as a young married woman was the coffee klatch. Recently graduated from college, a new mother and far away from home, I was lonely and bored. The only people around were my grumpy landlady and the tenant in the apartment next door who spent eight hours every single day cleaning her three-room apartment and screaming at her husband.
I would walk up and down the hill where we lived or sit on the one bench in town, rocking the baby carriage and hoping to meet someone, anyone. But I met no one. Then one day as I was sitting in the laundromat, the woman who owned it invited me upstairs to her apartment to pass the time and chat over coffee and a cake she had just taken out of the oven.
That was my first coffee klatch and the beginning of my one and only friendship in that forsaken little town. It taught me the value of what can happen over a cup of coffee and a slice of warm cake. When I moved, a year or so later, I lost no time in inviting my new neighbors in to coffee klatch, and it soon became a regular Tuesday morning ritual as each of us took our turn hosting and baking, sharing stories, gossip, outgrown baby clothes, radical ideas (it was the ’60s) and, of course, recipes while our babies napped. Here are a few of those recipes, including the one from Christine, my laundromat friend.
Christine’s Buttermilk–Brown Sugar Coffee Cake
YIELD: Serves 8 to 10
INGREDIENTS:
1⁄3 cup room temperature butter
½ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup packed brown sugar
1 large egg
1 cup sifted flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup buttermilk
1⁄3 cup packed brown sugar
1⁄3 cup chopped walnuts
½ teaspoon cinnamon
DIRECTIONS: Grease an 8-inch square or round pan. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, granulated sugar and ¼ cup brown sugar. Beat in the egg until completely blended. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and half teaspoon of cinnamon. Stir dry mixture into the butter mixture, alternately with the buttermilk until thoroughly combined. Spread evenly in baking pan. In a small bowl combine brown sugar, walnuts and cinnamon. Sprinkle on top of batter, cover and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Preheat oven to 350 F. Bake 40 minutes or until cake tester or knife inserted in center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature with coffee or tea and good friends.
Liz’s Blackberry Coffee Cake
YIELD: Serves 8 to 10
INGREDIENTS:
¾ cup milk
½ cup unsalted butter, melted
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
1 large egg
1½ cups flour
½ cup whole wheat flour
½ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
11⁄3 cups fresh blackberries, rinsed
½ cup sifted confectioners’ sugar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
3½ tablespoons milk
¼ teaspoon almond extract
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease a 9-inch square or round pan with butter, then dust with flour. In medium bowl, beat together the ¾ cup milk, ½ cup melted butter, vanilla extract and egg. In another bowl, combine the flours, granulated sugar, baking powder and baking soda. Stir dry mixture into wet mixture and half the blackberries. Turn mixture into prepared pan and spread evenly. Sprinkle top with remaining blackberries. Bake 30 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool 15 minutes. Meanwhile in a small bowl, combine the confectioners’ sugar, tablespoon butter, 3½ tablespoons milk and almond extract. Whisk until well blended. Drizzle over warm cake. Serve warm with coffee or tea, friends and neighbors.
Naomi’s Pecan-Crumb Coffee Cake
YIELD: Serves 8 to 10
INGREDIENTS:
½ cup room temperature butter
One 8-ounce package cream cheese
1¼ cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup milk
1½ teaspoons vanilla extract
½ cup flour
½ cup sugar
½ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup butter, cut into half-inch pieces
DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8- by 13-inch baking dish. Cream the butter and cream cheese. With mixer on medium speed, add sugar, a little at a time, until mixture is light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time and beat just until yolks disappear. Stir together next three ingredients and add to first mixture, alternating with the milk and making sure the flour mixture is first and last. Finally, stir in vanilla. In a small bowl, combine the half cups of flour, sugar and pecans with the quarter cup of butter; stir or whisk vigorously until mixture resembles coarse meal. Pour batter into prepared baking dish and sprinkle with flour and pecan mixture. Bake 30 to 40 minutes, until an inserted tester comes out clean. Let sit for 15 minutes before serving with coffee or tea and new and old friends.