Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Tassenkuchen a.k.a. Coffecake

Tassenkuchen
Tassenkuchen. A cake that's not too sweet. A cake that goes great with a cup of coffee or a pot of hot tea. Coffeecake in other words. Tea cake, maybe. Or just do as I do and call it... Breakfast Cake.

Using Cosby-esque logic, this cake has milk and eggs and wheat and fruit in it... why wouldn't it be good for breakfast? I dare say, it's healthier than the plates of greasy beige food at the local Lenny's. Or the box of vitamin-enriched sawdust and food coloring that passes for cereal. As a bonus, kids will think you are epically awesome. Or even awesomely epic.

We've had this cake as breakfast for the last three days and it's actually a pretty darn pleasant way to begin the day. Besides, it makes a nice change from our usual porridge. Of course, if you are in the habit of taking tea in the afternoon, or coffee with friends, by all means have this cake later in the day. It's not very sweet or moist, but has a really nice eggy-buttery-ness to it with a subtle lemon peel scent. Come to think of it, it's probably fine at any time.
  • Tassenkuchen from the Design*Sponge "In The Kitchen With" series
Notes: The batter went together really nicely, as did the chocolate glaze. If left unglazed, you should serve it the same day. Glazed, it will keep a little longer. I made a double-batch of the glaze because I think it might work well on a chocolate cake I will be making in a few days.

The recipe is for a normal-sized Bundt pan but you could instead make 12 little Bundt-lettes, or 6 Bundt-lettes and one 8" round cake (that's what I ended up doing). Keep the oven temp the same regardless of pan, however, the baking time will change some so keep track and check periodically after the first thirty minutes. Test with a toothpick when it looks nearly done. 

The cake released fine from the 8" cake pan but not so fine from the Bundt-lette pan (which, I might add is non-stick). Three of them came out in pieces. My little inner-voice said, "Shouldn't you butter AND flour the pan?". And I replied, "No, the recipe says only to butter it". Listen to the little voice in your head at all times. Trust yourself. 

Full Disclosure: I did not make this cake with the intention of serving it as breakfast. We simply had leftovers and I thought to myself, "Tassenkuchen for breakfast... why the heck not?". 
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