Wacky Cake

Yes, that's what it's called Wacky Cake. I love it just for the name. It's comes out of the Great Depression era when eggs, and dairy were scarce, before the word "vegan" was born. It's a moist spongy chocolate cake that will please any party, vegan or not.

I first had it when my always inspiring sister-in-law Gina made it. It's so simple and adaptable.
It would be perfect for any holiday potluck, office party or dessert with your holiday meal.


Sorry I don't have any photos of the finished product. It disappeared too fast !

Wacky Cake

Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose unbleached flour
2 cups sugar
½ cup cocoa powder ( unsweetened)
2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cups canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 cups water

1) Preheat oven to 350 F.

2) Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

3) In another bowl mix the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water.

4) Pour the liquids into the flour mixture and mix until smooth.

5) Pour into a 9 X 13 inch ungreased pan.

6) Bake for 25-30 minutes.

7) Once the cake has cooled frost with your favorite frosting.

I like to frost it with this very simple ganache.


Dark Chocolate Ganache

Ingredients
1/2 cup soy milk
(If you are not concerned about the vegan aspect you can use milk or cream in place the soy milk.)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract ( or almond or peppermint)

1) Bring 1/2 of soy milk to a gentle boil in a small sauce pan.
2) Remove from heat pour over 1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips, let sit for 3-4 minutes.
3) Whisk until smooth.
4) Set aside at room temperature until you are ready to use it. It will solidify as it cools which makes it easier to spread.

This cake will lend itself to modification.
This time of year add peppermint extract to the cake or frosting and dust it with crushed candy canes.
Or go the almond route with almond extract and slivered almonds on top.
Use white frosting instead or try a German Chocolate frosting with coconut and pecans.

Laurie's Little Store

Normally today would be the day I would spend recovering from my annual arts and crafts sale in the beautiful garden on Rigg Street.

For several reason that show did not happen this year. I have decided to take this year off from craft sales. I am loving this decision as Facebook reminds me of all the TOFFEE and jam I would have made by now.

Don't despair, I will be making my famous toffee later this week and boysenberry jam is on the list for tomorrow morning.

My body butters, scrubs, bath salts, Celtic soaps and photo-cards, as well as an array of jams and toffee are still available for your holiday shopping pleasure.
Don't forget massage certificates make great gifts too !!

This year you can shop directly from Laurie's Little Store.
Check out what I have and the price list, email me at parispirate@gmail.com or call /text my cell ( 831-588-9419) to place your order.

It's good to give me advance notice since some of these items I will be making to order !!
You can also set up a time to come to my office to shop in person.

I hope you will shop locally and reduce your holiday stress.

Carrot Coconut Soup and yes I'm still here...

I do still cook and enjoy it, blogging has just fallen to the bottom of my priority list lately.
The other day I saw some beautiful large carrots at the farmer's market and was inspired to make that wonderful carrot ginger soup... I was moved to modify it a bit and the results were fabulous. I used some of my garlic cilantro butter to saute the onions, then added spices and coconut milk. As I haven't been in the blogging mode lately I didn't document of my changes with photos. It wasn't until I was about to eat the last cup that I even remembered to take a photo.

Here is the recipe from memory.

Carrot Coconut Soup.

Ingredients

1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 tbsp. olive oil or 1 tbsp. garlic cilantro butter
2 cloves fresh garlic chopped ( if you don't use the garlic butter)
1 tsp. cumin power
2 tsp. Garam Masala or curry powder
6-8 large carrots, stemmed and chopped into large coins.
fresh ginger, sliced
1 can coconut milk
1-2 cups water, you just want enough to cover the carrots
salt & pepper to taste

1) Saute the chopped onion in olive oil or garlic butter until just beginning to soften.
2) Add the spices except the fresh ginger & garlic, saute another few minutes.
3) Deglaze the pan with 1 cup water, stirring to loosen any dark bits of onion.
4) Add the carrots, coconut milk, ginger, (garlic) and  enough water to just cover.
5) Simmer for 30 minutes or until the carrots are soft.
6) Allow to cool before blending. You can remove some of the ginger if desired and add water depending of the consistency you want.
7) Salt and pepper to taste. Yum !!

Today I made a huge pot of vegetable/ minestrone soup, since all the carrot coconut soup is now gone.  Of course, I didn't follow either of the recipes exactly...that's how soup goes.
I made an apple pie from my galas, I  blended and prepared to freeze my last batch of roasted tomatoes.

So that's been my day in the kitchen.

Oven-Roasted Chicken Shawarma

This oven baked chicken has become my favorite way to cook chicken thanks to my sister-in-law, Gina. She finds the best recipes and then so kindly makes them for me and I get to share them here !!

The original recipe came from the New York Times Cooking website, it has gone through the "Laurie" filter to arrive at its present iteration.

Oven Roasted Chicken Shawarma

• 2 pounds, boneless, skinless chicken thighs
• 1 large onion, peeled and quartered
• 2 tablespoons, chopped fresh parsley ( optional)

For the marinade

• 2 lemons, juiced
• ½ cup olive oil
• 6 cloves garlic, peeled, smashed and minced or grated*
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• ½ teaspoon turmeric
• A pinch ground cinnamon 
• Red pepper flakes, to taste  

1) Combine the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, paprika, turmeric, cinnamon and red pepper flakes in a large bowl, then whisk to combine.
*The recipe asked you to mince the garlic, I have my secret way to avoid the tedious chopping: the micro-grater.
You can also see in this photo that I mix my marinade right into the glass pan I am going to marinate my chicken in.

2) Add the chicken and toss well to coat.

3) Cover and store in refrigerator for at least 1 hour and up to 12 hours.

4) When ready to cook, heat oven to 425 degrees.

5) Add the quartered onion to the chicken and marinade, and toss once to combine.

6) Remove the chicken and onion from the marinade, and place in an oiled baking pan.

7) Roast until it is browned, crisp at the edges and cooked through, about 30 to 40 minutes.

8) Serve with the fresh parsley sprinkled on top.


I love to serve the chicken with my coconut rice, it's also great with roasted vegetable.
While the recipe calls for the boneless, skinless chicken thighs, the next time I make it, I am going to try a using  bone-in chicken pieces.  If you try this,  increase your baking time by 15-20 minutes, depending on the thickness of your pieces.

My favorite chocolate chip cookies.

Chocolate chip cookies are one of those classic cookies that everyone loves. While I can make a mean oatmeal cookie and great brownies, I have not been particularly satisfied with my chocolate chip cookies. They usually come out rather flat and spread out, some people prefer them this way, not me.
A few months ago I had some cookies that knocked my socks off !! They were substantial, chewy and full of chunks of chocolate. The baker said he used a recipe from Smitten Kitchen with some modifications which he rattled off and I promptly forgot.

I did some recipe forensics and found the original cookie recipe from the Cooking NY Times website.
They mention it's more complicated than the one on the back of the chocolate chip package, this is true. It is well worth it and the recipe is large so you can either make them over several days or make and freeze them. The dough will need to be refrigerated at least 24 hours before baking, so keep that in mind.

My Favorite Chocolate Chip Cookies

Don't be put off by the bread flour and cake flour in this recipe. There are ways around it.
 
Bread flour has more protein content than all-purpose, which helps with gluten development. Some recipes call for it when an especially chewy and elastic crumb is desired, but you can use all purpose flour if that is all you have on hand.
Cake flour is a low protein flour that is made from soft winter wheat, it has a very fine texture. The easiest way to make your own cake flour is to put 2 tbsp of cornstarch in the bottom of a 1-cup measuring cup, then fill the cup as usual with all-purpose flour and level top. I don't have cake flour around so I did it this way.

I am not sure why they  have both kinds in the cookies but trust me it works !!

Ingredients

• 2 cups cake flour or 1 3/4 all purpose flour plus 1/4 cup cornstarch.
• 1 ⅔ cups bread flour
• 1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• 1 ½ teaspoons  salt
• 1 1/4 cups unsalted butter
• 1 ¼ cups brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons  granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips 
• 8 ounces dark chocolate bar, chopped
• 1 cup pecans or walnuts, toasted and chopped
• Sea salt ( optional)

1. Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.
2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. 
3. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. 
4. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. 
5. Drop chocolate and nuts in and incorporate them carefully. 
6. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.
7. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
8. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.
9. Scoop 6 large* mounds of dough onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. 
10. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt if desired and bake until golden brown but still soft, 16 to 18 minutes. Baking time will vary with the size of the cookie you make.
11. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. 
12. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day. Eat warm, with a big napkin.

*( I used a 2 inch diameter ice cream scoop.)

Crepes for Bastille Day, July 14, Vive La France !!

The French Bastille Day, their version of 4th of July, is just two days away, what better way to celebrate than with crêpes.

They come from the Breton coast of France, these flat thin pancakes. They are served on the street like Genevieve has in the photo below or at restaurants as a main meal. In Paris, the Rue du Montparnasse is full of creperies, restaurants that specialize in crepes of all kinds.

A regular crêpe made with white flour is called a crêpe, and one made with buckwheat flour is called a galette, so technically my favorite recipe is for galette.

You do need to plan ahead as the batter needs to sit overnight and then come to room temperature before you make them. You will want to have your fillings ready.
I made them recently for brunch with a friend, she is a vegetarian so our crepes had sauteed mushrooms, roasted asparagus and onions with a Swiss Gruyere cheese. The recipe makes a lot of batter, so I sent some home with my friend, she used it to make a dessert crepe. I dined on crepes with roasted vegetables and cheese for the rest of the week, what a treat.

The filling is warmed before putting it on the crepe.

I like to flip half the crepe over on itself.

 

I served it with a dollop of creme fraiche.

Summer pea soup, lasgna and easy sesame tahini.

Time to check in again with what I have been doing in the kitchen. It's interesting to see what inspires me to cook these days.

I was working in my garden yesterday and realized that some volunteer pea plants were producing a nice amount of peas.

I was thinking about what to do with them when I remembered I had a head of lettuce that needed using in the fridge. Lettuce plus peas equals Potage St. Germain, which is the fancy name for fresh pea soup.
I shucked the peas, there weren't quite enough for the recipe so I added some frozen organic peas as well.  After almost caramelizing the onion, I added the peas, lettuce and broth. After simmering it for about 10 minutes it's waiting for me to puree it in the blender. It will make a nice light summer lunch or dinner

My next inspiration came from a dinner I had at Avanti Pizzeria.
I have eaten there several times recently, I love this place, simple fresh tasty food. The first time, they were out of the lasagna which I had heard was great, so we ordered a pizza Margherita, it was simple but very tasty, I loved how crisp the crust was with just the right balance of sauce and topping.

Luckily the second time, they did have the lasagna, apparently what they put in it, changes daily.
My lasagna had asparagus, fresh corn and mozzarella cheese, I know this doesn't sound very traditional but it really worked. Once again I appreciated their balance of sauce, cheese and filling.
In fact I was so impressed and hungry for more, I decided to try my own version. I used asparagus, yellow squash and onions in mine. I roasted them all first to bring out their natural sweetness and remove moisture. Here is what it looked like before I added the cheese and top layer of pasta. I love the idea of using what I have on hand and playing with a dish like this.

Sesame tahini is something I try to have on hand, it had been on my to-do list for a while. In cleaning out a cupboard I found a large jar of sesame seeds and decided it was time to make it.

It's so very easy, I just had some on a cracker for lunch, it's great in dressings and sauces too.

Looking for inspiration for a recent potluck supper, I saw in my fridge a partly used napa cabbage, and some carrots, time for Asian peanut slaw. These days I don't bother making my own dressing, instead I use the Trader Joe's spicy peanut dressing, it's in the cold case, it makes this salad quick and very easy.

I love this photo from my original post on this recipe.

I am lucky to still have plums, I combined them with some boysenberries to make a fruit crisp yesterday. It smelled delightful, that's all I know since by the time I got to it at the potluck it was all gone.

Plums: plum Zinfandel preserves and more.

Summer is such a fabulous time for fresh fruit, it's hard not to focus on it.
Recently a friend offered me plums from his Santa Rosa plum tree, they are so flavorful and juicy. In fact I had three this morning with my cereal and yogurt for breakfast. Plums like berries are very versatile, they are great eaten fresh, they freeze well and can be made into a host of delicious desserts.

This summer I have been making this rustic fruit tart and wowing my friends. It so easy and quick to make. The one thing I have changed since I posted this recipe three years ago, is the baking temperature, I have bumped it up to 425 F, I find this gives a crisper crust.

Plums can also be used in this clafouti , or cobbler recipe.

When using plums or any stone fruit that clings to the pit, there is a simple way around that.
Check out this post for easy plum processing.

I don't remember when I made up this plum preserve recipe or even the inspiration, it doesn't matter, this has to be one of my current favorites.

Plum Zinfandel Preserves
yield: 7-8 half pints

8 cups plums, seeded and quartered
1 cup Zinfandel red wine
1/2 vanilla bean
spice bag with 3 cardamon pods or 1/4 teaspoon seeds, 1 inch cinnamon stick
6 cups sugar

1) Seed and chop enough plums for 8 cups. See the above link for easy processing of those pitted fruit.

2) In a large pot add the fruit, wine, vanilla bean and spice bag. Simmer for 30 minutes.

3) Add 6 cups of sugar, stir well and bring back to a simmer.

4) Cook for 30 minutes or until the mixture begins to jell. It will stiffen up as it cools so don't over cook it. Remove the vanilla bean and spice bag.

5) If you are going to can it, do the whole canning magic thing with sterilized jars, lids and canning kettle.

6) For those canning the preserves, use the 5 minute hot water bath. Otherwise it will keep in the fridge for several months and makes a great gift.

The depth of flavor is amazing with the tart plums, vanilla and spices !!

Berries !!

I was fortunate enough to visit my brother last week, he has managed to grow a great stand of berries: loganberries ( similar to a raspberry but with a more exotic flavor), boysenberries, olallieberries and a few other odd varieties. He is a generous soul and allowed me to pick to my heart's content. I frozen a large bag full and brought a container home to eat, which I did each morning for breakfast. I had plans to make great creations with these berries but they were just too tasty fresh like that.

With berry season in full swing here are a few of my favorite recipes, they use all kinds of berries and mostly can be substituted. Hopefully they will inspire you or like me maybe you will just eat they fresh !!

Raspberry Rose Curd

Summer Fruit Tart

Fruit Crisp

Easy Fruit Jam

Fruit Ice Cream

Strawberry Tart

Strawberry Cake

Dried Strawberries

Bread, aspargus, lemonade and more.

As promised, here is what happened in my kitchen on Sunday.

First I got out our bread machine, which I still love even though gluten is such an outlaw these days.
This all whole wheat bread recipe is the only one I make these days. It is perfect for morning toast which how most of our bread gets eaten.

It took me five minutes to assemble the ingredients which are very basic, and in 3 hours I had this wonderful loaf of bread. As it was baking the house smelled so good !!

Next while the oven preheated to 300 F, I got out the pork shoulder roast I was going to slow cook. We buy most of our meat from Fiesta Farms at our farmer's market. I love knowing that the animals were raised in my own county by caring farmers.
I planned to make this pork shoulder a simple version of these country style ribs. I browned the roast first in my enamel/ cast iron dutch oven. To the pot I added 2 cups of my own roasted tomato sauce, 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce, a half cup of barbecue sauce from Trader Joe's and one chopped onion. I put the lid on, put it in the oven and cooked it for 3 hours. I did check it every hour and turned it over once. It was melt it your mouth tender and provided us with meals for days. I served it with some quinoa potato pancakes I had in the freezer.

My next task was to make lemonade with some lemons that had been in my fridge a long time.
I added on of my own limes to add to this refreshing drink.

Remember those white beans I made last post ?? I finally got around to making the white bean and kale soup. By this time my kale had become salad so I used some baby spinach instead.

I have been lazy these days about making my own stock and I have forgiven myself.
Some time back, some friends told me about Better Than Bouillon, an easy to use organic soup base.
I used it in this soup and I have to say, I like it a lot. It is salty so I did not need to add any extra salt to the recipe, just the two tablespoons of bouillon base. It gave the soup a nice depth without overpowering the flavor of the vegetables and beans.

It is so nice that asparagus are still in season at my farmer's market. My last kitchen project was to roast the bunch of asparagus. You can certainly do this right before you serve them, I am partial to them cold and like to have them around to add to my lunch or dinner salad.

This week I have been eating the slow roasted pork with a quinoa potato pancake and a green salad one night. The next night I will have the white bean soup with homemade bread and cold asparagus.
Yum !!

Oh Jeez...strawberry rhubarb crisp, beans, beets and more

Has it really been since March 29 since I last posted... ????
I have been taking a break from making new food and from blogging about it.
I feel guilty and I have to admit it feels like homework I would rather put off.
I have had "blog" on my to-do list for weeks, maybe months.

I am still eating and still cooking just on a much smaller, less exciting scale.
Cooking lots of great homemade food from fresh local ingredients takes a lot of time and energy.
I am guessing you already knew that.

There was a flurry of activity in my kitchen this morning.
Here is what occurred.

I made strawberry rhubarb crisp using my own rhubarb.

I cooked some beets to make to make a beet, spinach and goat cheese salad.

I made yogurt, which will yog for 8-10 hours today.

 And I soaked yellow beans from the Lompoc Bean Store, which I will cook tomorrow in the crock pot and eventually use to make this wonderful kale and bean soup.

That wasn't so hard, except for all the interruption from texting friends and family...
My new goal is to to something like this every week or so, no promises.

Snickerdoodle with fancy sugar and more good things to eat.

The other day I was so surprised and pleased to find a package delivered to my door.
It had this lovely bag of cinnamon spice vanilla sugar, from my dear friend who knows I love to bake.

I was inspired to make Snickerdoodles, childhood favorite, as they are rolled in sugar before baking.
I was hoping these simple cookies would highlight the fancy sugar.

Have no fear I am not living on cookies alone.
Here are some inspirations from what I have been making lately.
Yesterday I made a batch of my favorite coconut curried rice. I love it with sauteed greens and garlic cilantro baby lima beans. I was surprised to discover that this rice freezes very well. 
Last week's menus included polenta and fresh roasted asparagus.
I love tortilla soup which recently ended up on my dinner table.
All the fresh citrus my sister has been sharing, inspired me to make this salad again.


Snickerdoodles

Makes three dozen 3 to 4-inch cookies. Your mileage will vary by the size scoop you use.

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 stick  butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs

Rolling mixture: 1/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon.


1) Preheat the oven to 400° if you are not going to chill the dough, with one rack in top third and one rack in bottom third of oven. Line baking sheets parchment paper; set aside.

2) Sift together flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

3) In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
 4) Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine.

5) Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.

6) At this point,you can chill the dough for an hour (or overnight) before scooping it, or if it isn't too difficult to scoop into balls and roll make them now.

7) Once dough has chilled, in a small bowl, combine remaining 1/4 cup sugar and the ground cinnamon.
8) Use a small ice-cream scoop or spoon to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar.

9) Place about two inches apart on the prepared baking sheets.

10) Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after five minutes.
 

11) Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about five minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack.

Winter squash, it's what I've been cooking.

 Just yesterday I roasted and steamed a very large winter squash we grew in the fall. It was warty and French: Galeux D' Eysines it is called. While each winter squash is slightly different in texture, flavor and character, you can use any of them in the recipes below.

There was so much lovely orange cooked squash I got inspired to make my winter squash spice soup.
I now have a half gallon for lunches, dinner and some to freeze for later.

I also decided to make these lovely winter squash biscuits, Genevieve found this recipe and I love them for a snack, with dinner or even toasted for breakfast. My squash was very moist, so when I added it to the dry ingredients, there was no way I could work it like the recipe calls for.
I made them into what my mother used to call "drop biscuits". She would make these instead of rolling the dough and cutting them out. The advantage is that you don't have to add more flour in order to work the dough, in fact you handle them less which is a plus when it comes to biscuits.

Here they are before they went into the oven. The baking time is the same but so much easier to make.

I saved some of the chunks of squash to heat up as a side dish to make a quick version of my "pumpkin" bouranee. I use the garlic cilantro butter that has now become a staple in my fridge.
I just shave off three or four slivers of the "butter", toss it on the squash before I heat it up. If you want more of the authentic flavor, you could sprinkle on some smoked paprika and a dash of coriander.

Cilantro Garlic Butter

Ingredients

1/2 cup soft butter
4 cloves garlic
1/2 cup fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped

1) Start by whizzing the peeled garlic cloves in your food processor.
2) Add the fresh chopped cilantro. Whiz that a bit.
3) Add the soft butter and whiz some more until it's fairly smooth. It's doesn't have to be pureed.
4) Scrap into a small bowl and store in the fridge, try not to eat it on EVERYTHING :-)


You know I'll bet that butter would be great on the squash biscuits !! Better go try it right now ;-)

Good Morning: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

A few weeks ago I attended a family weekend filled with games, walks, and of course, great food.
I know my host loves breakfast sweets and I had some sour cream in my fridge, it was time to make this sour cream coffee cake.  Warning: it is full of butter and sugar and sour cream, yum !!
This coffee cake is rich and dense and freezes beautifully, which is a good thing because it makes a huge bundt cake.


Sour Cream Coffee Cake

1 cup ( 2 sticks) butter at room temperature
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla

Cinnamon Walnut Topping

Stir together all three ingredients in a small bowl.

3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon


1) Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 9 inch non-stick tube pan.

2) Make the cinnamon walnut topping and set aside.

3) In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

4) In a small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the sour cream and baking soda. Don't worry if it foams up, that is normal.

5) (Don't do this yet !!)***The original recipe has you beat the butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla all together with an electric mixer.

Which is what I did...

The batter did not get "light and fluffy" as the recipe claimed it would even after more than 5 minutes.

***Instead I would recommend creaming the butter and sugar first for 5 minutes, then adding the eggs and vanilla and beating until that is fluffy.

6) With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the sour cream mixture in two additions. Mix until just moistened.

7) Spread a third of the batter into the pan, then sprinkle on a third of the topping. Repeat ending with the topping.

8) Bake for 60 to 70 minutes. Cool in the pan for 30 minutes. Complete cooling on a rack.

I didn't get any photos of this beauty sliced, my bad...
I highly recommend making this coffee cake ahead of time, as I mentioned at the beginning, it freezes beautifully and is delightful toasted for breakfast, brunch or with afternoon tea.

You could also add grated orange zest to the batter or use pecans instead of walnuts.