A CULINARY DISASTER AVERTED!

We’re having company tomorrow morning, so I thought I’d throw together a coffee cake last night. I have some CINNAMON CHIPS that I’d brought back from the states and decided to try the Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake listed on the package.

Cinnamon Chip Applesauce Coffeecake

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup applesauce
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Cinnamon Chips
1 cup chopped pecans(optional)

Directions:
Heat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

Beat butter and sugar in large bowl on medium speed of mixer until well blended. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in applesauce. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended. Stir in cinnamon chips and pecans, if desired. Spread into prepared pan.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Drizzle with glaze or sprinkle with powdered sugar. 12 to 15 servings.

EASY GLAZE: Stir together 3/4 cup powdered sugar and 1 to 2 tablespoons warm water.

VARIATIONS:

FLUTED CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup fluted tube pan. Prepare batter as directed; pour into prepared pan. Bake 45 to 50 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in thickest part comes out clean. Cool 15 minutes; invert onto wire rack. Cool completely


Okay, simple enough, right? I decided to use butter flavored Crisco instead of real butter because it’s lower in saturated fat. Those Crisco sticks are so handy, and I usually bring a couple of packages back from the states.

A also decided that instead of making one large 9 X 13 pan, I’d use two 9 inch cake pans instead, then I’d have another coffee cake in the freezer, just waiting for our next guests!

Although I have started seeing small packages of applesauce at the IperCoop, I usually make my own, and luckily I had some in the freezer. A quick defrost in the microwave and I was ready to bake!

I read the packaging for the Crisco sticks, knowing that I’d have to add a few spoonfuls of water to make it equal to butter. No problem. I followed the directions, mixed, folded and stirred, but by the time the batter was ‘finished’, I just knew something was wrong.

The batter seemed unusually heavy to me. It was definitely heavier than a cake batter, but it wasn’t just that. I read and reread the directions. Had I missed adding some milk or other liquid to make it lighter and more like a batter rather than a dough? No, I’d used all the ingredients listed, so I decided this must be the way it was supposed to look and feel. I divided the batter between the two cake pans, and when both pans were full I licked the excess batter off my fingers. Then the light bulb started to come on…but still slowly.

What was wrong? It wasn’t that the batter was heavy, or too dry….the batter tasted too heavy…..too greasy….too Crisco-y. And then the light bulb popped on completely! When I’d read the Crisco directions, I remember looking at the stick of Crisco, and suddenly I realized that one stick of Crisco equals TWO sticks of butter! I’d read the recipe calling for two sticks of butter and had used two sticks of Crisco…double the amount needed!

So now back to square one. First I took the batter out of the cake pans and put in back into the (thankfully!) very large bowl I’d used. In a separate bowl I combined the eggs and the sugar, added the vanilla and applesauce, then mixed in the dry ingredients and cinnamon chips.. Once this was all combined I added it to the existing batter and worked like hell to get it well mixed! It still wasn’t a light, pourable batter like a cake mix, but at least now it didn’t taste like Crisco!

And of course now I had a double recipe, meaning that I’d end up with two round coffee cakes and a 9 X 13 inch pan to boot! The best news of all is that they all turned out great! I iced the larger one and we’ll have it tomorrow when company comes. The two smaller coffee cakes are in the freezer, so if you’re ever in the neighborhood early in the morning, stop by for coffee and coffeecake!

(And the moral of this story is: trust your instincts....and always lick the bowl!)