A delightful 1969 coffee cake recipe that bakes up light and moist, updated with a center filling of homemade pomegranate jelly and cream cheese. Perfect or Sunday Brunch and midnight snacking. Note to skinny self: Make a skinny slice because the filling and double-double topping do not not go light on calories.

Sisters in the Kitchen:

I am one of 6 sisters. Oh yeah! That’s sister power! And one of my sisters has become my new roommate (along with her cute little deer-legged chihuahua puppy). You will find us in the kitchen together dancing to Pandora music and gabbing sister talk through the wee hours of the morning. And right now we’re on a cake history adventure. The objective: to bring back a lovely vintage coffee cake recipe with the added oomph of sister’s jelly and cream cheese filling…and her brown sugar and butter toppings. (She had a craving that could not be stopped.) What can I say? Except that this coffee cake is a warm and heavenly comfort food —  and perfect for sister bonding time with a steaming mug of great coffee.

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Gurl Snacks:

Sister and I have been having fun sampling various decadent delicacies while watching midnight movies — like these special French macarons in colorful flavors from Bottega Louie’s in Downtown Los Angeles.

And we’ve enjoyed a couple of party times since she arrived, including my own birthday celebration — that included a special ice cream cake that brother hauled in from the Carvel Ice Cream parlour in Beverly Hills. Score one for my childhood favorite!

Ridiculously Good Homemade Jelly:

For this food baking party, we cracked open a precious jar of Jack’s homemade Pomegranate Jelly that we bought from Jack himself when we met him at the Pioneer Truck Stop Cafe in Delano, California (when the truck stop was still operating). Jack has giant pomegranate orchards near the truck stop. Lucky for us he  decided to make some extra big batches to share. The jelly gods were with us that day (and, yes, we bought a stack of these jars).

Coffee Cake Recipe Specifics:

Although the 1969 newspaper clipping of this recipe from the Chronicle Telegram (Elyria, Ohio), is a little hard to read, we followed the entire vintage recipe to a tee. Except. (There’s usually one or two of those.) We changed the  center filling. Then sister added her brown sugar double-double topping for a broiled finish. We’re using a breakaway tube pan instead of an 8″ square pan because the filling creates a slightly larger batter (and we wanted to be sure the center baked perfectly). If you to go strictly old school (and do the real deal from top to bottom), use the recipe below but fill the cake with half of this mixture (and sprinkle the top with the balance): 1/4 cup of chopped nuts, 1 Tablespoon of cinnamon and 1 Tablespoon of sugar.

Tools needed for 1969 Jewish Coffee Cake, Filling, Topping and Broiled Sprinkle:
9″ spring form tube pan (aka breakaway angel food pan) or spring form bundt pan
2 large mixing bowls (for dry and wet ingredients)
3 small bowls (for fork-beaten eggs, topping and sprinkles)
Electric mixer
Whisk and spatula
Measuring cups and spoons
Optional: pastry brush

Ingredients for 1969 Jewish Coffee Cake:
1/4 pound unsalted butter (1 cube or 8 Tablespoons), somewhat melted
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 cups cake flour (substitute all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream (high fat)

Ingredients for Coffee Cake Filling (variation from original recipe):
1/4 cup high quality or homemade jelly or jam (we used a homemade pomegranate jelly)
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
4 ounces (1/2 cup) cream cheese, chilled and cubed

Ingredients for Coffee Cake Topping:
1/4 cup golden brown sugar, gently packed
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1/4 cup cake flour (substitute all-purpose flour)

Ingredients for Coffee Cake Broiled Sprinkle:
1/4 cup golden brown sugar, gently packed
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed

Directions for 1969 Jewish Coffee Cake:

1.) Prep pan and oven:

Set the oven rack to center position and pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter (or spray with cooking spray) a 9″ spring form tube pan or spring form bundt pan and set aside.
Tip: We used a spring form baking pan with a removable bottom so that we could easily remove the coffee cake from the pan (without having to flip it upside down) for serving.

2.) Whisk the dry ingredients:

In a medium bowl, whisk until fully incorporated, and set aside:
2 cups cake flour (substitute all-purpose flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

3.) Beat the liquid ingredients:

Using an electric mixer, beat on high-speed for about 2 to 3 minutes:
1/4 pound unsalted butter (1 cube or 8 Tablespoons), somewhat melted
1 cup granulated sugar

Beat into butter-sugar mixture on high-speed for about 2 to 3 minutes:
2 large eggs

Beat into batter on low-speed until fully incorporated (about 1 minute):
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 cup sour cream (full fat content)
prepared dry ingredients

5.) Pour half the batter into the pan:

Eyeball about half of the prepared batter and, using a spatula, scrape half of the prepared batter into the prepared baking pan.

6.) Prepare the filling:

Chop into small chunks (or break apart with your fingers):
4 Tablespoons unsalted butter (cold, in small cubes)
4 ounces (1/2 cup) cream cheese (cold, in small cubes)

7.) Fill the coffee cake:

With half the batter spread evenly in the prepared pan, dot over the top of the half-batter:
1/4 cup high quality or homemade jelly or jam (we used homemade pomegranate jelly)
the prepared butter
the prepared cream cheese

8.) Cover the filling with batter:

Using a spatula, scrape out the balance of the prepared batter and spread it over the filling to completely cover the filling.

9.) Top the batter before baking:

In a small bowl, mix (or smash) with a fork (or crumbled with your fingers):
1/4 cup golden brown sugar, gently packed
1/4 cup unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
1/4 cup cake flour (substitute all-purpose flour)

Before baking the coffee cake, dot the top of the cake with the topping mixture.

10.) Bake it up!

Place the prepared coffee cake (containing batter, filling and topping) into the pre-heated 350-degree oven and bake for about 50 minutes until the top of the cake is golden brown and the sides have pulled from the edges of the pan slightly.
Tip: The traditional toothpick test might not work if you poke the cake at a point that contains the cream cheese or jam filling.

11.) Sprinkle the cake while it’s hot:

In a small bowl, mix with a fork:
1/4 cup golden brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

While the cake is still hot from the oven and before removing it for serving, sprinkle the top of the cake with:
the prepared sprinkle ingredients
Tip: You may wish to use a pastry brush to spread the melting butter and sugar mixture over the top of the baked cake for an even coating.

12.)  Fast Broil:

Broil the topped coffee cake at a maximum oven heat (500 degrees) setting for a minute or two until the sprinkle topping bubbles and caramelizes a bit.
Tip: Don’t take your eyes off the cake at this point and remove it when you see the top of the cake turning lightly golden and caramelized.

Serve the coffee cake warm, if possible, or refrigerate it (because it has cream cheese) for later use. You can gently warm it before serving even after it is refrigerated.

So glad you were able to stop by and check out the results of our sisterly venture down vintage cake lane. Please check out my sister’s new blog, RecipesAndRelationships (just launched and hot off the presses).

Now we have to go for a jog to work off the calories!

Happy vintage cake baking!

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Leslie