Featured Italian Breakfast

The Best Breakfast Coffee Cake And Oven Pancake

Italian Breakfast

The day after Thanksgiving  is one I have to plan for, too.  Most of the family sleeps over and there are a lot of hungry grandchildren waiting for breakfast.  They like to hit the malls and do some preliminary shopping while anticipating the leftovers for dinner.  So not to disappoint them while sending them onward fortified, I try to have several things on hand, along with the normal eggs and toast, that they can enjoy after making their way to the kitchen. 

Here are some of my choices for this year’s breakfast menu.  You might find them enticing and useful too: 


Breakfast Coffee Cake

INGREDIENTS:

Topping:

  • 1 cup walnut pieces – chopped
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 2/3 cup flour
  • 1/3 cup light brown sugar – packed
  • ¼ tsp nutmeg
  • 5 tbs butter- unsalted, melted

METHOD:

  1. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or wax paper and set aside.
  2. In a medium bowl, stir together, walnuts, flour, sugars, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Stir it just enough to form little clumps.
  3. Carefully sprinkle the topping onto the baking sheet and refrigerate while making the cake.

INGREDIENTS:

CAKE:

  • ½ stick butter – unsalted plus extra for pan
  • 2 eggs – room temperature
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • ½ cup yogurt
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 cup sour cream

METHOD:

  1. Butter the interior of a 9-inch cake pan and pre-heat oven to 350º.
  2. In the bowl of an electric mixer using the whisk attachment, beat the butter and sugar together, on medium-high speed, for about 8-9 minutes, until light and creamy. Scrape down the inside of the bowl occasionally while beating to make sure all is incorporated.
  3. Lower the speed and add the eggs, one at a time.
  4. Sift together the flour, baking powder and baking soda.
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the salt, sour cream and yogurt until very smooth.
  6. With the mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and the sour cream mixture to the butter-cream mixture. Again, scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure everything is well combined.
  7. Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan, tapping it gently on the countertop to make sure it is evenly distributed and free of air bubbles.
  8. Remove the topping from the refrigerator and sprinkle all over the top of the cake, breaking up any very large clumps.
  9. Bake for 55-60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.
  10. Cool in pan for 15-20 minutes before carefully removing it. If you can, make a sling with buttered parchment paper by lining the pan and leaving a 3-inch overlap on each side.
  11. Use the sling to remove the cake from the pan without disturbing the topping too much. Or you can just cut into squares and serve from the pan.


Another offer may be my easy Oven Pancake.

Oven Pancake

Italian Breakfast

I like to make this with apples, but you can use peaches, or pears too at different times of the year.

INGREDIENTS

  • ½ Stick Butter – unsalted 
  • 4 Generous Cups Tart Apples – peeled and diced 
  • 3 Tbs Light Brown Sugar – firmly packed 
  • 1 Tsp Cinnamon 
  • Pinch of Nutmeg 
  • Pinch of Salt 
  • 4 Eggs – slightly beaten 
  • 1 Cup Milk – whole 
  • 1 Cup Flour – all purpose
  • Juice of Half of a Lemon  
  • 1 Tsp Vanilla 
  • Confectioners’ Sugar – for dusting  

METHOD

  1. Preheat oven to 425º and place oven rack in lower third of your oven. 
  2. When the oven is heated, place a large baking dish in the oven.  This can be a dish that is at least 12” in diameter or a 9”X13” casserole dish.  Whichever is handy. 
  3. In a large pan, melt 2 Tbs of the butter, add the apples and cook until just tender, stirring them around frequently.
  4. Sprinkle the brown sugar overall, add the lemon juice, cinnamon, nutmeg and stir well until all combined and the apple are glazed with the sugar. 
  5. Carefully remove the dish from the oven, add the remaining butter and swirl around to cover the bottom and sides of the dish.
  6. Spread the apple mixture all over the bottom of the dish. 
  7. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, flour, vanilla and salt until well combined.
  8. Carefully pour this mixture over the hot apple mixture.
  9. Return the dish to the oven and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the pancake is all puffed up and a nice golden brown.
  10. Sprinkle with the Confectioner’s sugar and serve immediately while still piping hot. 

Buon Mangiata!

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