Making A Strawberry Ripple Coffeecake

You do not need to get up with the rooster to enjoy freshly baked bread at your mid-morning brunch or coffee break. It just takes a few minutes to stir together the batter and pop the coffeecake into the oven.

The aroma that will fill the house will make everyone's taste buds come alive.

Ingredients:

1 10-ounce package frozen, sweetened, sliced strawberries, thawed
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
¾ cup margarine
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
¾ cup buttermilk

Grease and flour a 10x2 inch round tart pan with a removable bottom or an 11x7x1 ½ inch baking pan. For the filling stir together in a small bowl, the undrained strawberries and the cornstarch until well combined. Cook and stir until this becomes thickened and bubbly. Remove from the heat. Sieve the mixture, discarding the seeds. Set the filling aside to cool slightly.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour and the sugar. Using a pastry blender, cut in the margarine until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Set ½ cup flour mixture aside for the crumb topping. Into the remaining flour mixture, stir in the baking powder, the baking soda, and the salt and mix well. In the center of the dry ingredients, make a small well.

In a small bowl, combine the egg and the buttermilk. Add the egg mixture all at once to the dry mixture and stir just until moistened.

Spread two thirds of the batter over the bottom and about 1 inch up the sides of the prepared pan. Carefully spread the filling on top of the batter in the pan. Spoon the remaining batter in small mounds on top of the entire surface. Sprinkle with the crumb topping.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes. Re,move the coffeecake from the pan. Cut into wedges or squares and serve warm.

To save leftover coffeecake for an afternoon snack or tomorrow's breakfast, place it in a container, tightly cover, and store at room temperature. If the coffeecake contains cream cheese, store it in the refrigerator.

Most coffeecakes are best served warm, but are too hot to serve right from the oven. Let the coffeecake cool slightly before serving.

Now the only thing left to do is start baking this recipe and then make a pot of coffee and enjoy!