Cardamom Coffee Can Cake

If you own a food processor but not a single bread pan, you are probably a good cook who lacks baking confidence! Working with yeast dough can be rewarding, and it need not be intimidating. Cardamom Coffee Can Cake is a great place to start building your skills with yeast dough. This recipe involved no guesswork, no kneading -- and no bread pans. You will need the food processor and three hours of time, start to finish. You can make the starched burlap bows for the cans while the bread is rising and baking.

From Gourmet Gifts: 100 Delicious Recipes for Every Occasion to Make Yourself and Wrap with Style by Dinah Corley

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Ingredients

2 tablespoons coffee cans (1 pound size)		1 1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
3 tablespoons soft unsalted butter		1/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk		1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cool but not chilled, cut into 1-inch slices		2 large eggs
2/3 cup warm water		1/2 cup golden raisins
5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar		1/3 cup unsalted butter
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) active dry yeast		1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 cups all-purpose flour

directions

Total:

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1
Soak the coffee cans in hot soapy water to clean them and remove the labels and glue. Dry the cans thoroughly in a warm oven. Heavily coat the interior of the cans with the soft butter (3 tablespoons) once they have cooled.
2
To make the dough, combine the buttermilk and butter slices (1/2 cup or 1 stick) in a small saucepan over medium heat and warm the mixture until the butter slices start to melt. Set the pan aside. Combine the warm water, 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, and yeast in a 4-cup liquid measure and stir until the sugar is dissolved. Set the mixture aside.
3
Put the flour and the cardamom (1/4 teaspoon) in the work bowl of a food processor fitted with the dough blade or the steel chopping blade. Pulse the machine on and off three times. Add the brown sugar, salt, eggs, and yeast mixture to the flour mixture and process for 1 full minute. With the machine still running, slowly pour the buttermilk mixture through the feed tube, then immediately turn off the processor. Scrape down the sides of the work bowl and add the raisins. Pulse the processor on and off several times or until the raisins are distributed throughout the dough. Divide the batter between the two prepared coffee cans.
4
Cover the cans with a tea towel and set them in a warm, draft-free place to rise for 45 minutes, or until the dough has risen to within 1 inch of the can tops. When the dough has finished rising, remove all but the lowest rack from the oven and preheat the oven to 350˚F.
5
To make the topping, melt the 1/3 cup of butter and brush it over the top of each coffee cake. Combine the granulated sugar (5 tablespoons) and spices (1 teaspoon cardamom and 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon) and liberally sprinkle each cake with half of the mixture.
6
Bake the cakes in their cans for 35 minutes, or until the tops are a dark golden brown. Thump the tops as you would a melon and listen for a hollow sound, like a ripe melon. If you do not hear a hollow sound, bake the cakes for another 8 minutes and test again. Cool the cans for 1 hour on a rack, then unmold them.
7
Wash and dry the interiors of the cans. Roll each cooled coffee cake in a strip of parchment paper and put the cakes back in the cans once the cans are dry. The finished cakes should be tightly wrapped in plastic wrap until you are ready to assemble and deliver the gift.

notes

Easy, inexpensive
Baked coffee cakes can be frozen, if removed from cans
Can be shipped overnight
Do not double
Shelf life: 2 days
Makes: 2 coffee cakes

Wrapping it up:
Cover the cake tops with 9- or 10-inch squares of parchment paper. Attach the four corners of the paper to the sides of the can with a small strip of double-face tape, pressing the corners firmly to the can. Once the cake tops are securely covered with parchment paper, the cans can be simply or elaborately embellished. If you are pressed for time, just wind colored twine around the parchment and slip a gift card between the twine and the parchment. But in the time it takes the coffee cake to rise and bake, you can make these big stiff burlap bows for the cans.

Suggested supplies:
-- 4 strips (about 18 x 2 inches each) burlap or other loosely woven cotton or linen fabric thin-gauge craft or floral wire
-- Spray fabric stiffener (available at craft stores)
-- Double-face tape
-- Glue gun

How to make starched burlap bows:

1. Use a pin or sharp skewer to unravel three or four rows of thread from each edge of each burlap or other fabric strip. Use 2 of the strips to make 2 bows; pinch the fabric strip tightly at the center with one hand, forming the bow loops with the other hand and adding them to the pinched center. Wrap wire around the pinched center of the bow and twist it tightly to accentuate and secure the bow’s shape. Apply the fabric stiffener according to the manufacturer’s directions, and put the bows in a well-ventilated place to dry.

2. Apply a 9-inch strip of double-face tape along the middle of the remaining strips of burlap, leaving about 4 inches of untaped burlap on either end of the strip. Wrap a taped burlap strip around each can, just covering the tips of the parchment paper. Press the taped burlap firmly onto the cans so it is secure, and tightly knot the free ends of the strip.

3. When the bows are dry, press them in place over the knotted center of the burlap can surrounds and use the free ends of the knotted surrounds to tie the bow in place. If the bows are too wobbly, give them additional stability with strategically placed dabs of hot glue.

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Cardamom Coffee Can Cake

Ingredients

directions

notes