Cherry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake – A can of pie filling and a few tubes of crescent rolls help me assemble this sweet treat. It’s the perfect addition to hot cups of coffee and good conversation.
The origin of the croissant can actually be traced back to 13th century Austria, where it was called the kipferl, the German word for crescent. However it was an Austrian artillery officer August Zang who founded a Viennese bakery at 92, rue du richelieu in Paris.
A can of pie filling and a few tubes of crescent rolls help me assemble this sweet treat. It's the perfect addition to hot cups of coffee and good conversation.
Unroll the crescent dough. Separate into 16 triangles, and set 4 aside for decoration.
On a baking sheet, arrange the 12 triangles into a circle so that the longer points are in the center but do not meet.
Use a rolling pin to roll the dough into a 14-inch circle, pressing the seams together and leaving a 3-inch hole in the center.
For the filling, combine the cream cheese, powdered sugar, egg and vanilla in a medium bowl. Mix until smooth and creamy.
Spread filling over dough. Leave about 1/2 inch uncovered at both edges of the dough.
Use a pizza cutter to cut those 4 triangles you set aside earlier into thirds. Start at the wider end, as it’s easier to judge where your triangle should be cut. Arrange the strips evenly over the filling and press the ends to seal at the center and outer edges.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until it’s golden brown.
Prepare the glaze by mixing the powdered sugar and milk together. Then drizzle the glaze over the top!
The Bundt cake derives in part from a European brioche-like cake called Gugelhupf. In the north of Germany and the southern Anglia peninsula Gugelhupf is traditionally known as Bundkuchen (German pronunciation: [ˈbʊntkuːxn̩]), a name formed by joining the two words Bund and Kuchen (cake).
New Orleans Mardi Gras King Cake is so symbolic of the Mardi Gras celebration for residents it is believed that consuming King Cake outside of the Carnival season will result in rain on Mardi Gras day.
The “king cake” takes its name from the biblical Kings. In Western Christian liturgical tradition, the Solemnity of Epiphany—commemorated on January 6—celebrates the visit of the Magi to the Christ Child. The Eve of Epiphany (the night of January 5) is popularly known as Twelfth Night (the Twelve Days of Christmas are counted from Christmas Eve until this night). The season for king cake extends from the end of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Twelfth Night and Epiphany Day), up until the end of Shrovetide: Mardi Gras, “Fat Tuesday,” or Shrove Tuesday; the day before the start of Lent. Some organizations or groups of friends may have “king cake parties” every week through the Carnival season. In Portugal and France, whoever gets the King cake trinket is expected to buy the next cake for these get-togethers.
A popular theory holds that Mardi Gras’ origins lie in ancient pagan celebrations of spring and fertility, such as Saturnalia and Lupercalia. Some experts contend, however, that Mardi Gras-type festivities popped up solely as a result of the Catholic Church’s discouragement of sex and meat during Lent.
Try these other Southern recipes
Mardi Gras King Cake
One of our best memories is of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, The King Cake is a great Mardi Gras tradition.
Dark green, purple, and yellow or gold sugars, If desired.
Miniature Baby, if desired.
Instructions
Mix 2 1/2 cups flour and yeast in mixing bowl of stand mixer, using the paddle attachment, on low for about 30 seconds.
Heat milk, sugar, and salt in a small saucepan over medium heat until sugar is dissolved and milk is between 120°F to 130°F.
With mixer on low, pour in liquids and mix until incorporated. Add eggs one at a time. Continue mixing until a shaggy dough forms. Clean off paddle and switch to dough hook. Mix in the remaining 1 cup flour a little at a time, adding more or less flour as needed to make a soft dough. Add the softened butter, a piece at a time, kneading until each piece of butter is absorbed.
Knead for eight minutes on low. The dough should completely clear the sides of the bowl. If it is too sticky, add additional flour 1 tablespoon at a time, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more flour is needed. If the dough seems too dry, spritz with water from a spray bottle a couple of times, mixing in thoroughly before determining if more water is needed. Every 2 minutes, stop the machine, scrape the dough off the hook, and then continue kneading.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times by hand to be sure it’s smooth and elastic. Form the dough into a ball. Place dough into a greased bowl. Turn once so greased surface is on top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Filling
While the dough is chilling, make cinnamon filling. In small bowl, combine the brown sugar and ground cinnamon. Combine butter with cinnamon mixture and mix well.
Roll the chilled dough into a 10 x 20 inch rectangle. Spread the filling on half of the long side of the dough. Fold the dough in half covering the filling. Pat dough down firmly so the dough will stick together. Cut dough into three long strips. Press the tops of the strips together and braid the strips. Press the ends together at the bottom. Gently stretch the braid so that it measures 20 inches again. Shape it into a circle/oval and press the edges together.
Transfer the ring to a parchment lined or greased baking sheet. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let it rise until doubled, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising, preheat the oven to 350°. Bake the cake until it is golden brown, 20 – 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes on baking sheet and then place it on a cooling rack to cool completely before icing. To hide the baby in the cake, if desired, make a small slit in the bottom of the cake and put the miniature plastic baby in after the cake has cooled.
Icing
In a small bowl, mix powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth (add additional milk if mixture is too thick or powdered sugar if too thin).
Spoon icing over top of the cake. Immediately sprinkle on colored sugar, alternating between the three colors.
This recipe uses Rapid Rise yeast which eliminates the time consuming first rise in a typical brioche recipe.
Use a pizza cutter to easily cut dough into strips.
The cake can also be made without braiding. Just roll up the dough jelly roll style after spreading the filling.
Mardi Gras conjures up images of fun, frivolity and feasting and no Mardi Gras celebration would be complete with a colorful King Cake. A brioche or sweet roll dough is braided, baked in a circle and decorated with icing and purple, green and gold sugars. Kind of like a crown shaped cinnamon roll all dressed up for a party.
Sweetheart Cinnamon Rolls – Whether for Valentine’s Day or for when you just want to show someone how much you care, these adorable heart-shaped cinnamon rolls are the perfect sweet treat.
Valentine’s Day did not come to be celebrated as a day of romance until about the 14th century. Although there were several Christian martyrs named Valentine, the day may have taken its name from a priest who was martyred about 270 ce by the emperor Claudius II Gothicus.
Whether for Valentine’s Day or for when you just want to show someone how much you care, these adorable heart-shaped cinnamon rolls are the perfect sweet treat.
Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 9-inch round cake pan with cooking spray.
Carefully unwind each roll into long strip of dough, leaving center coiled. Coil the unrolled end of each strip in toward center, making two equal coils. Pull middle of strip down to make a point, forming heart shape; pinch point. Place in pan, points toward center.
Bake 13 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before removing to cooling rack. Spread frosting over warm rolls.
Quiche Lorraine – This brings back a flood of memories. Nancy started to make quiche shortly after we got married. Then every week-end we had quiche. Nancy has always been creative in the kitchen. I use to call this a “quicky” breakfast.
When most people think of quiche, they tend to assume that it’s French in origin. That’s only natural, since it was in France that quiche first became popular, and it’s been a staple of French cuisine for centuries. Surprisingly, though, the quiche actually originated in Germany.
Unroll pie crust and press into a 9" pie plate, crimping the top edges if desired.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper.
Sprinkle ham, 1 cup of cheese, and green onions into the pie crust and pour the egg mixture over top. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup cheese on top of egg mixture.
Bake for 35-40 minutes until the center is completely set. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before slicing and serving.
According to FoodandWine.com, Candymaker William W. Kolb supposedly invented them in 1908 in New Jersey. He was trying to sell cinnamon candies for Christmas when he decided that dipping apples in the candy would be a fantastic way to showcase the candy.
Toss together the apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a large zip-loc bag to coat the the apples.
cook the apples with 2 tbsp of water and 1 tbsp of butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stirring occasionally about 8 to 10 minutes or until the apples are tender,
