Buttermilk Coffee Cake

More snow. Or more mud. What do you prefer? Hard to say.

They told us that it wouldn’t be the best time to be in Vermont, and I kind of understad why. Spring is far from coming, and I don’t see any flour blooming or bird singing to the sun. 

I see my pellet stove lightening the big living room and all I want is sitting in front of it and going through all the cookbooks and food magazines around the Inn. So, I started reading the Better Homes and Gardens’ New Cookbook, that I found on the kitchen shelves, and that apparently is a bible book in American homes.

I dunno why, but I always jump to the baking section of any cookbook. I can’t help it, meat doen’t interest me and I ‘m quite happy with my consolidated seafood recipes. 

Plus, I wanted a cake. And I know that you secretly want one, too. For the last rainy days, for those lazy afternoons on the weekend, when you stop snoozing on the sofa and need a tea or a coffee with something to snack on. 

Well, that’s the answer. Why this cake? Because its’s crunchy and crumbly and conforting. And It tastes delicious. And because I love buttermilk and I had a lot in the cooler to use. 

This cake was divided into halves and brought to a dinner and to an afternoon chat in front of a cup of tea. And believe me, it works in both cases. You can kill two birds with one stone, and the recipe is so easy that you’ll be amazed by the ratio effort/satisfaction. 

Can’t wait to make another one.

Buttermilk Coffee Cake

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cups butter

2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

2 eggs, beaten

1 1/3 cups buttermilk (or milk with 1 tbs lemon juice or vinegar)

1/2 cup chopped nuts (pecans, almonds, hezelnuts or walnuts)

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch baking pan; set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside 1/2 cup. Stir baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg into remaining crumb mixture.

In a medium bowl combine eggs and buttermilk. Add egg mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared pan. Stir together reserved crumb mixture and nuts and sprinkle over batter.

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool slightly and serve warm.