guest post: cinnamon coffee cake kotniuk

There’s been a lot of talk lately about hygge. That Danish sentiment of coziness and contentment. That elusive “everything is right with the world” feeling. Or as my friend Claire puts it, “something like ‘fireplace warmth with candles and family and friends and food, tucked under blankets on a snowy day, cup-of- coffee conversation, scarf-snuggle, squiggly, warm baby love.’”

That’s what this coffeecake does for me. It’s just over-the-top hygge on a plate. Last Sunday morning, my friend Selena (of NPR Morning Edition fame and fortune) whipped it up for a few of us and I begged for the recipe on the spot. So here you are – instant hygge in the guise of cinnamon and love. Enjoy!

My memories of visiting my Grandma and Grandpa’s house in Denver are defined by food: a bottomless supply of pistachios and jellybeans in strategically placed bowls, See’s chocolates, and build-your-own sandwich assembly lines. And always, when we arrived, there’d be a batch of coffee cake already made and and arranged in a tin with wax paper.

There was nothing better than pattering into their funny retro kitchen, prying open the lid, pouring yourself some coffee, and just easing into your vacation morning. It is absolutely the perfect food: vanilla-y and fluffy, with a little sugar, cinnamony crunch. It ruins you for anything else.

When my grandma passed away this past October, I found her recipe box filled with magazine clippings in her cupboard. That coffee cake recipe was right in the front, crinkled and worn. She’d written “Super” in the corner.

Now back home in DC, armed with her recipe box, I whipped up the recipe for some friends (including Jess!). It’s easy, even if it does use a bunch of bowls, pretty quick, pretty fool proof, and I made it with things I just had around the house (which you will have too, if you tend to keep basic baking things stocked). I think the secret to the fluffy-ness is that you mix the sour cream with the baking soda early on, and it foams up like a science experiment. The coffee cake also stays fresh for a good while in a tin — if it doesn’t get eaten instantly.

Here’s the recipe. Enjoy!

cinnamon coffee cake kotniuk

1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t. double-acting baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 cup sour cream (I used a 7oz container of greek yogurt, and that worked great)
1 t. baking soda
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 t. cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350, with a rack in the middle. Butter a pan — my grandma used a 7.5 x 12″ pyrex, I used a 9″ cake pan — whatever you have in that ballpark will probably be fine.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and pinch of salt. In another medium bowl, stir together the sour cream (or yogurt) and baking soda. In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 1 cup of the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream mixture and stir the batter until it’s combined well. Pour the batter into the buttered pan. In a small bowl, stir together the remaining 1/3 cup of granulated sugar, the brown sugar, and the cinnamon, and swirl the sugar mixture into the batter. Bake the cake in the middle of the preheated oven for 30-35 min or until a tester comes out clean. Transfer it to a rack and let it cool.