Nutty Orange Coffee Cake

Nutty Orange Coffee Cake
Originally uploaded by watchjennybake.

As someone newly transplanted to the south, I like to try and bake some southern treats from time to time. I was skeptical of this recipe, as I am of many of Paula Deen's recipes - for instance, I don't believe I'll ever be able to make her fudge that has velveeta as a secret ingredient without gagging. No offense, Paula.

This recipe comes from The Lady & Sons, Too, the second cookbook from her very popular Savannah restaurant. She has the recipe available on her website as well as on FoodNetwork.com, so I will go ahead and copy it here for now. I actually own this cookbook, a gift from a minister I used to work with, but this is the recipe I find myself making repeatedly.

Sometimes you use shortcuts while baking. This recipe uses canned biscuits! But by the time you have wrapped a dab of cream cheese in a biscuit, dipped it in melted butter, and dredged it in a mixture of orange zest, nuts, and sugar - you would never imagine any of it came from a can.

The end result is a flaky, sweet (but not overly, balanced nicely with the cream cheese), impressive looking coffee cake, appropriate for brunch or a special breakfast.

Nutty Orange Coffee Cake
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons orange zest
2 (12-ounce) cans refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (10 count)
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese
1/2 cup (1 stick) melted butter
1 cup sifted confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a small bowl, combine the granulated sugar, pecans, and zest; set aside. Separate the biscuits. Place about 3/4 teaspoon cream cheese in the center of each biscuit. Fold each biscuit in half over the cheese, pressing the edges to seal. Dip the biscuits in melted butter, then dredge in the granulated sugar mixture. Place the biscuits, curved-side down, in a single layer in the hollows of a lightly greased 12-cup bundt pan, spacing them evenly (do not stack). Place any remaining biscuits around the tube, filling any gaps. Drizzle any remaining butter over the biscuits, and sprinkle with any remaining sugar mixture. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden brown. Immediately invert the cake onto a serving platter. Combine the confectioners' sugar and orange juice, stirring well; drizzle the glaze over the warm cake. Serve warm.

This time around, I left out the nuts, and it is still wonderful without them. Eventually I want to try making different versions of this - maybe a chocolate chip raspberry one, or a lemon cinnamon version. The possibilities are pretty endless, and the preparation is so quick using the canned biscuits!

I also don't follow the directions about not stacking the biscuits. I always have a few extra, and I layer them around the center of the dish and it works just fine.

Categories: Breakfast, Coffee Cake, Nuts, Orange, Southern Cuisine