Breakfast redefined

Passport & Plate - Yeasted Coffee Cake

USA | Saturday, March 7, 2015 | 5 photos

Ingredients
Bread:
1 egg
225 ml milk
95 softened butter
70 gram sugar
4 gram salt
425 gram flour
7 gram yeast

Fruit Mix:
4 cups pears, peeled cored & cut into wedges
1 tsp lemon juice
75 grams sugar
120 ml water
cinnamon, as needed
30 ml softened butter

Topping: Coarse sugar

 

How to prepare this recipe
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place bread ingredients in order in an electric mixer (or in a large bowl) with dough hook attachment. Combine till dough scrapes the sides of bowl. Knead in bowl or on a table slightly till dough is smooth; let rise until covered for 1 hour, until doubled in volume.
Meanwhile, simmer pear wedges and cranberries in pot with water and lemon for 7 – 10 minutes. Drain, and toss with remaining ingredients.
Remove dough, punch down and let rest 5 minutes. Pat into a buttered pan (springform works well), but any pan will do. Place the pear topping evenly on dough, covering the top. Let rise 15 minutes more. Top with coarse sugar. Bake 30 -45 minutes.

Top with extra coarse sugar, if desired.

 

The story behind this recipe
Years ago I went on what they used to call "Suitcase Tours", in that you visit several countries in a limited amount of days, that you barely have time to unpack your suitcase. It was whirlwind, but exciting for a 10 year old. During a stop in Austria, we had "free time" for about 2 hours to explore and do whatever we wanted. I was starving, so I wanted breakfast! We stopped at a small, ginger bread-looking cafe that catered to tour groups and such, hoping to get a pastry. We sat down and looked at the menu which was in german and english. There we spotted the word "kuchen" , or "cake". So, being a somewat amplified little kid, I turned to my parents, pointed to the menu and proclaimed, "OOOOH! I WANT SOME COFFEE CAKE !", much to the chagrin of our stern-looking cafe workers. My parents decided to order a piece for my sister and I to split. Imagine my surprise, when our stern, grandmotherly looking waitress brought out a small round of what looked like bread bubbling over with fresh fruit. My idea of coffee cake, had been a giant slab of buttery sugared cake like you get at an American diner back in the states. I instantly rejected it, thinking it somehow defied the laws of breakfast ( at least to my ten year old brain). Hunger, however got the better of me. Within my first couple of bites, i was in love. It was so different than any 'breakfast pastry" I had ever tasted. It was breadlike, but slightly sweet, and the warm fruit on top was the perfect complement. Before leaving, I begged my mom to buy me a cookbook from the town, so I could go home and make it whenever I wanted. So, thats what I did. My cookbook reminds me of traveling with my family and exploring sights, sounds and of course, food from other countries. I love to make this recipe, and change the fruits on top, depending on what's in season. Whenever I make it for friends, coworkers and such, they always seem confused as to whether its bread or cake, but they devour it to the last crumb.