Savory and southern
Sweet Potato-Sour Cream Coffee Cake
If you have weekend houseguests, this is the cake you want on your pedestal. It is a fuss-free keepers and sublime with a cup of coffee. Even the best coffee cake can be improved by the addition of sweet potatoes, which offer additional moisture and a gorgeous autumnal color. Makes 8-10 servings
For the Topping
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup brown sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• 1 cup chopped pecans
For the Coffee Cake
• 2 cups sifted cake flour
• ½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1 ½ cups mashed sweet potatoes
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 10-inch tube pan.
To make the topping, in a small bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon with your hands. Pinch in the butter until the mixture is crumbly, then mix in the pecans.
To make the coffee cake, sift together the flour, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time until well blended. Turn the mixer on high and beat 1 minute. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the flour mixture and the sour cream. Then gently fold in the mashed sweet potatoes and vanilla until well blended.
Pour three-quarters of the cake batter into the prepared tube pan. Top with three-quarters of the streusel, then add the remaining cake batter and sprinkle the remaining streusel on top.
Bake 50-60 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool in the pan on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and place on the rack to cool completely. Transfer to a cake stand or serving platter, streusel side up, and top with powdered sugar or a simple glaze if you like.
From April McGregor’s Sweet Potatoes cookbook.
Apple and Bacon-Stuffed Collard Roll Ups
My husband, a born and bred southerner, hates collards. I took this attitude as a challenge. This recipe was inspired by Greek stuffed grape leaves, and it received my reluctant collard eater’s seal of approval. Use small or cabbage collards for tender leaves. Makes 6 appetizer servings
• 2 cups cooked brown rice
• 3 tablespoons peeled, finely chopped apples
• 4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
• 3 tablespoons chopped toasted pecans
• ½ teaspoon black pepper
• ½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 6 small collard leaves
In a bowl, combine the rice, apples, bacon, pecans, pepper, salt, and olive oil.
Steam the collard leaves on a rack over boiling water in a covered pot for about 5 minutes, until they’re bright green and soft but not limp. Don’t overcook them.
Place a leaf on a cutting board and use a sharp knife to cut away the center stem, cutting each leaf in half lengthwise. Discard the stem. Spoon a scant ¼ cup of the filling in the center of each half. Fold the short ends of the leaf over the filling, then fold the bottom up and roll. Tuck in the top of the leaf and place the roll seam-side down on a serving plate. Repeat with the remaining leaves and filling.
Serve immediately or cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
From Debbie Moose’s Southern Holidays cookbook.