“They’re up,” Michelle reported. “I’ll be right back, Hannah.”
When Michelle left, Hannah took a deep swallow of her favorite wake-up beverage and smiled as she looked out of the kitchen window. One of the arc lights that bordered the condo complex was casting shadows on the snow, and she wondered whether Clara had completed her assignment for painting class by finishing her photos of shadows. She was still thinking about Clara’s assignment and how much work it would be to take photos every two hours of the shadows falling in a particular spot, when she heard the door open and Michelle came back to her chair at the table.
“It’s cold out there,” Michelle said, picking up her mug of coffee and holding it in both hands. “Clara answered the door and she said to tell you that she had a few more photos to take of the pine tree.”
“That’s good.” Hannah wondered again if Michelle had possibly read her mind. “I was just thinking about that.”
“So was I, so I asked her. Remember how Great-grandma Elsa used to say, Great minds think alike?”
“I do. And she always used to follow it up with, And fools seldom differ.”
“That’s right! I’d forgotten all about that part!” Michelle took a swallow of her coffee and stood up. “I’m going to make my bed before Mike comes in for his breakfast. Have another cup of coffee, Hannah. It’ll only take me a minute or two and then, when Lonnie gets here, we’ll all have breakfast.”
“Do you want me to make some scrambled eggs and sausage?” Hannah asked her.
“Sure, if you don’t mind. Otherwise, just wait until I come back and I’ll do it.”
Hannah had just put the sausage on to cook and was whipping up eggs with a little cream in a bowl on the counter when Mike came into the kitchen.
“How are you this morning?” he asked.
“I’m fine, Mike. I know I slept better because you were here.”
Mike grinned his famous sexy grin. “That’s good. It’s probably because you felt safe.”
“That’s probably right,” Hannah told him, not mentioning the fact that delicious food and good wine might have had a bit to do with it.
“The year before she died, my wife got me a bumper sticker. It said, Feel safe at night. Sleep with a cop.”
Hannah laughed. She couldn’t help herself. It was funny. “Your wife had a sense of humor.”
“Yes, she did. And so do you, Hannah.”
Warning bells went off in Hannah’s mind. Mike was comparing her to his wife. Should she be a bit worried about that?
“Something sure smells good,” Mike commented, taking a deep breath of the Apricot Coffee Cake – scented air. “What is it?”
“Michelle baked a coffee cake with apricots.”
“But that’s not all. I smell sausage.”
“Yes, you do. And pretty soon you’ll smell scrambled eggs with cheese.”
Just then the doorbell chimed and Mike turned to head for the living room. “That’s probably Lonnie,” he called back over his shoulder. “Go ahead and cook. I’ll get it.”
Hannah gave a fleeting thought to whether or not Mike would peer through the peephole before he opened the door, something he never failed to remind her to do. Then she concentrated on melting butter in her largest frying pan and grating some sharp cheddar to flavor her scrambled eggs.
“Hi, Hannah,” Lonnie greeted her as he followed Mike back to the kitchen. “Where’s Michelle?”
“Making her bed and getting dressed. She’ll be out here in a minute, Lonnie.”
“Something smells good!” Lonnie repeated Mike’s earlier comment. “What is it?”
“Apricot Coffee Cake,” Hannah told him. “Pour yourself some coffee and sit down, Lonnie. The eggs and sausage will be ready in less than five minutes and then we’ll eat.”
APRICOT COFFEE CAKE
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F., rack in the middle position.
The Cake:
1 cup salted butter, softened (2 sticks, 8 ounces, ? pound)
1 and ? cup white (granulated) sugar 1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 and ? teaspoons baking powder
6 large eggs
3 cups all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
The Filling:
3 cups chopped apricots (I used canned apricot halves)
? cup white (granulated) sugar ? teaspoon cinnamon
? cup all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
The Crumb Topping:
? cup brown sugar (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
? cup all-purpose flour (pack it down in the cup when you measure it)
? cup softened butter (? stick, 2 ounces, pound)
Hannah’s 1st Note: If you choose to use drained canned fruit, put it in a strainer and save the juice for the kids. Then pat the fruit dry with paper towels before you chop it in pieces.
Grease the inside of a 9-inch by 13-inch rectangular cake pan, or spray it with Pam or another nonstick cooking spray.
To Make the Cake:
Mix the cup of salted, softened butter with the white sugar until it’s light and fluffy.
Mix in the salt, vanilla extract, and baking powder. Mix until everything is thoroughly combined.
Mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
Mix in the flour in one-cup increments, mixing thoroughly after each addition.
Give the bowl a final stir by hand and then spoon HALF of the batter in the cake pan and spread it out with a rubber spatula. Leave the rest of the batter in the bowl. You’ll use it later.
To Make the Filling:
In another bowl, mix the chopped apricots with the white sugar.
Sprinkle in the half teaspoon of cinnamon and mix it in.
Sprinkle the flour on top of the fruit and mix it in thoroughly.
Spoon the fruit mixture on top of the batter in your cake pan. Distribute it as evenly as you can.
Drop spoonfuls of the remaining batter on top of the fruit. Spread them carefully with a rubber spatula, but it won’t be enough to cover the apricots completely. That’s okay. This coffee cake will look pretty with the apricots peeking up through the batter.
To Make the Crumb Topping:
Use a fork from your silverware drawer to mix the brown sugar and the flour together.
Mix in the softened salted butter with the fork. Continue to mix until everything is crumbly.
Hannah’s 2nd Note: You can also make the Crumb Topping in a food processor if you use chilled butter. Process the ingredients in an on-and-off motion with the steel blade.
Hannah’s 3rd Note: If you’re using softened butter and the crumb topping becomes smooth and doesn’t crumble, simply stick it in the refrigerator for 10 to 15 minutes. Then, when you add it to your coffee cake, it will crumble on top.
Use your impeccably clean fingers to crumble the topping over your coffee cake as evenly as you can.
Bake your Apricot Coffee Cake at 350 degrees F. for 45 to 60 minutes or until the top is golden brown. (Mine took 50 minutes.)
Remove your Apricot Coffee Cake from the oven and set it on a cold stovetop burner or a wire rack. Let it cool until it is just barely warm.
Serve Apricot Coffee Cake by cutting it in squares that are the size of sweet rolls, removing the squares with a metal spatula, and placing them on breakfast plates. Make sure that there is plenty of softened, salted butter for those who want to use it with their square of coffee cake, and a large pot of strong black coffee served with cream and sugar for those who want it. If there are children at the breakfast table, pour tall glasses of icy cold milk to go with their squares of Apricot Coffee Cake.
Hannah’s 4th Note: Some people serve this Apricot Coffee Cake with powdered sugar icing drizzled on the top, but personally, I don’t think it needs icing. Recipe follows just in case you’d like to try it.
POWDERED SUGAR ICING
1 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar ? teaspoon vanilla extract ? teaspoon salt
2 to 4 Tablespoons cream
Mix the powdered sugar with the vanilla extract and the salt. Make sure everything is thoroughly combined.