A Christmas morning delight . . . .

This luscious coffee cake was served on Christmas morning in our house for many, many years.  The recipe came from a Redbook magazine published in the 1970’s, and every year the magazine appeared on the kitchen counter to begin the creation of yet another delectable cake.  Loaded with butter, sour cream, and a streusel filling of nuts, cinnamon and brown sugar, this is the ultimate in coffee cakes.

Last year a request came from one of the boys for the recipe, and the search began anew for the magazine which by now was dog-eared, splattered with mixing bowl spillovers and a variety of smudges of indescribable origin. It had been kept all these years in a cardboard box, along with a variety of other holiday editions of Family Circle, Good Housekeeping, Better Homes and Gardens, Sphere and several other holiday issues of Red Book.  I spent the better part of an evening trying to find the recipe, to no avail.  The magazine that I sought was nowhere to be found, and had obviously been loaned out or misplaced.  I had not baked the Christmas coffee cake in many years, and could not remember when I had last seen the magazine.

An Internet search produced a similar recipe, but with several minor differences.  I passed it along and got a good report on the cake that my son baked for his Christmas morning.  He posted a photograph on his Facebook page and it looked just like the cake we had grown to love.

This year my husband and I decided to have Christmas at the cabin and do our own holiday meal preparation in lieu of a resort vacation. After reminiscing for a few days about holidays of years gone by, we discussed what would be good to prepare in advance to take along with us.  The coffee cake was top of mind, and after another Internet search, a recipe nearly identical to the one I had prepared for nearly twenty years rose to the occasion.  I hope and pray it tastes as good as I remember it and will share the recipe if it is.

We will have it with a compote of fresh fruit and naturally cured smoked ham–on Christmas morning.