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Originally Published in the Greenwood Daily Journal Saturday March 10, 2011
Last year about this time I told you all that I had a list, a bucket list of sorts, of culinary delights that I have not yet mastered or even attempted to make. Since then I have whacked a few items off of the list. There was risotto, check, pie crust, check, brussel sprouts, check check.
One of my most recent mastered items was baking something with yeast and having it turn out. By that I mean that is rises, doesn’t deflate and turns out when baked. I can not tell you how many things I have made over the years that didn’t rise or were just plain awful. I found that I used too much flour, didn’t check the temperature of my liquids, etc. To remedy this situation I bought a thermometer, a kitchen scale and watched more than a few tutorials on the Red Star Yeast website. I wasn’t going to let yeast get the best of me and I was determined to make a pan of cinnamon rolls that rose like the sun every morning.
It all science to me, one of my favorite subjects. One chemical reaction causes another and before you know it you have created your own edible science experiment. Alchemy in the kitchen.
Left on the list are a few things that I may or may not attempt any time soon. One item in question is the subject of much discussion in my house as of late. Never before has food been so debated, discussed and argued about. I should also add begged, pleaded for and negotiated. My husband even offered to buy me a cast iron skillet to make it in. By now you may be expecting to hear that the item is something hard, exotic or unusual. I hate to disappoint you but what I am talking about is Fried Chicken. Yes, the finger-licking fried bird delicacy is on my list. Not in a good way either.
Full disclosure, I do not like fried chicken. I am not a fan of any meat on the bone, strange but true. I will eat it but I have to pick it all off before I dig in. Mock me all you want but I don’t think I am alone here. I am not sure when or why this started but it is a habit that I can’t seem to shake.
I remember when I was growing up watching Florence Henderson on the Wesson Oil commercial fry up a quick chicken leg and take a bite. I thought “If Mrs. Brady likes it, then it can’t be that bad!”
Then I got older and figured out that a piece of chicken dipped in flour then fried in oil or shortening made a huge mess in your kitchen and it was just a better idea to eat it at a restaurant where the mess was someone else’s to clean up. I know that at this point you are saying I am making much ado about nothing. I am just not good at frying things, and like I said, I am not a fan of fried chicken. Blaspheme, I know!
Then along comes the book and movie The Help. Both my husband and I read the book and loved the movie. The scene where Minnie was extolling all of the many uses for Crisco, from squeaky hinges to dry hands, she effortlessly makes a batch of fried chicken for her new employer. Her new boss suggests that she let the chicken burn a bit so it looks like she made it herself, and Minnie replies: Minnie don’t burn no chicken. My husband looks at me, with his big brown eyes and proclaimed it was a sign.
A sign of what, I ask. A sign that I needed to cross that off my bucket list soon, he replied.
I did cross something off, but not the chicken. That item has been bumped up to the top 5 now. I may not be able to make fried chicken yet but I did master the art of correctly using yeast in my baking recipes. I not only mastered it, but made a few new family treats in the learning process. The particular one I am sharing this week will make an appearance again on Easter. Maybe I want to brag a bit. My ineptitude in the baking department is something of a joke in my family, so I want to set the record straight. I may even make 2.
This strawberry coffee cake is a bit different than your usual pastry. It does not have a glaze drizzle over the top. I think it stands well on it’s own, though, and pairs nicely with a strong cup of coffee or a tall glass of ice cold milk.
It’s a dessert fit for company and that even Minnie would be proud of. And who knows, maybe I will cross every item off on this list in 2012. If not, then I will be eating well while trying.
Strawberry Coffee Cake
1 3/4 C bread flour
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast I used Red Star
1/4 C sugar
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 C milk
1/3 C water
2 TB shortening
1 egg
1/2 C of strawberry, peach or apricot preserves
Topping:
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C flour
1/4 C flaked coconut
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 TB butter, melted
In large mixer bowl, combine 1cup flour, yeast, sugar, nutmeg and salt; mix well. In saucepan, heat milk, water and shortening until warm (120°-130°F; shortening does not need to melt). Add to flour mixture. Add egg. Blend at low speed until moistened; beat 3 minutes at medium speed. By hand, gradually stir in remaining flour to make a stiff batter. Spread in greased 9-inch square cake pan.
Prepare Topping: Combine all Topping ingredients. Set aside.
Spread preserves over batter; sprinkle with Topping. Cover; let rise in warm place until double, about 45 minutes. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown. Serve warm.
