Cinnamon Roll Cake

I really enjoy getting on-line (almost) every night to catch up with the blogs I follow.  I feel like I am getting to know the writers without ever having met them.  One of the blogs I get a kick out of is 3 B's Baking, Baseball and Books.  There have been so many recipes from there that I have been wanting to try.  Two that I can't seem to get out of my mind.  Cinnamon Rolls and this Cinnamon Roll Cake.  It was not too difficult to whip up and it tasted divine.  I got a lot of compliments on this one! 

After getting great reviews from this cake - I also have had a lot of people telling me they are trying to lose weight and I am not helping them by baking such sweet treats.   I took it personally at first and got a bit discouraged but I have come to the decision for the month of March that I am going to stick with more meal ideas instead of sweets.  Before I head to the store today I will pick out a cookbook to "cook through".  We'll see how it goes!

Candy Cane Coffee Cake

Happy New Year!  It feels like forever since I have been on the computer and updated my blog.  I hope you all had happy holidays.  Our family was so blessed to spend the weekend of Christmas all together at my parent's house.  Eighteen people under one roof, two nights in a row.  It was my best gift.

I had wanted to get this recipe posted BEFORE Christmas but it just didn't happen.  This coffee cake is something my mom has made for many years.  One recipe makes three coffee cakes so she'll make them and give them as gifts to friends and neighbors and she also saves a few for our family to enjoy on Christmas morning.  (She still makes one with raisins just for dad!)

 I have made these myself the past few years and hope to carry on the tradition. 

I love mixing the dough with my hands and rolling it all out

I also love decorating it and making it look "pretty"

Candy Cane Coffee Cake (Betty Crocker)

2 c. sour cream

2 pkgs active dry yeast

1/2 c. warm water (105 F to 115 F)

1/4 c. butter or margarine, softened

1/3 c. sugar

2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

6+ c. flour

Heat sour cream over low heat just until luke warm.  Dissolve yeast in warm water.  Stir in sour cream, 1/4c. butter, sugar, salt, eggs and 2 c. flour.  Beat until smooth.  Mix in enough remaining flour to make dough easy to handle. 

Turn dough onto floured surface; knead until smooth - about 10 min.  Place in greased bowl; turn greased side up.  Cover; let rise in warm place until double - about an hour. 

Heat oven to 375 F.  Punch down dough; divide into 3 equal parts.  Roll each part into rectangle, 15x6 inches; place on greased baking sheet.  With scissors, make 2-inch cuts at 1/2-inch intervals on long sides of rectangles. 

For the filling, mix together 6 T. butter, softened, 1/3 c. brown sugar, 3 T. sugar, 1 1/2 t. cinnamon.  Spread 1/3 of mixture down center of dough.  Crisscorss strips over filling.  Stretch dough to 22 inches.  Curve to form candy cane.  Bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.  Repeat steps twice with remaining 2 parts of dough.

For the icing, mix together 2-c. powdered sugar and 2-T. water.  Drizzle 1/3 mixture over each cane. 

*To decorate you can use red hots or red frosting and green frosting to make holly berries and leaves.