There is nothing like warm freshly baked pastry in the morning, an easy, on the go, sweet, soft, fluffy, thing that fits in the palm of your hand. My favorite pastry in the morning is coffee cake. Taking that first bite in the morning, still groggy and half asleep, can wake me up enough to make my taste buds feel like they are making loops in my mouth like a roller coaster, and fill my body with so much warmth and bliss that almost makes you feel like nothing else matters in that moment. Although I love all styles of coffee cake, the Los Angeles Unified School District crumb cake has been my favorite.
I was in third grade, so I must have been 8 or 9 years old. I can remember getting dropped off early in the mornings. There was fog still lingering on the ground, the tables in the outside eating area were damp from the mist in the air, and there was the stench of pork being processed at the nearby Farmer John factory in the neighboring city of Vernon. It was at State Street Avenue Elementary School in Huntington Park where I first had the crumb cake, everyone referred to it as coffee cake. Usually in the mornings, my dad would have breakfast ready for my sister and me. His specialties were oatmeal, breakfast sandwiches, and burritos. The days he didn’t have breakfast ready for us, we ate at school. I looked forward to school breakfast. The cafeteria was filled with cereal with graham crackers, cookies, juice, and on good days, coffee cake. My eyes would light up, and my sister and I looking at each other simultaneously both of us having so much excitement over this coffee cake at the school cafeteria. I was at Los Angeles Unified School District for five more years after that, rarely being able to have breakfast at school, due to a change in my dad’s work schedule.
I was growing up, had more activities to keep me busy, and as time went on I forgot about the coffee cake, but I would be reminded of it every time I would see or try coffee cake. I would always think that it is not as good as the one I had at school. They all disappointed me and left me with an urge to somehow breaking into to the school cafeteria or make friends with a lunch lady to somehow get a hold of it. Luckily the internet came along. You can find almost anything if you type in a few key words and I searched “LAUSD coffee cake” and there were a few recipes to choose from. This receipt was published in The L.A. Times in 1998 and seemed to be the one I was looking for. Although I enjoy cooking, I don’t consider myself a very good baker. I enjoy cooking more savory meals. Baking seems too technical and labor intensive to me, but I follow this recipe to a T. As it bakes, it fills the house with the scent of sweet cinnamon and nutmeg. Taking that first bite makes me remember my sister and I sharing breakfast as kids, and all the memories of being a care free third grader.
LOS ANGELES CITY SCHOOL OLD-FASHIONED CRUMB CAKE
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup granulated sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 3/4 cup oil
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 egg
- 1 cup buttermilk
Ingredients
Directions
Combine flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, salt, nutmeg and oil. Remove 1/2 cup of mixture from bowl, add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and set aside for topping.
Combine remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon, baking soda, egg and buttermilk and blend well. Add to flour mixture. Do not over-mix.
Spoon batter into greased 13×9-inch baking pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup reserved topping. Bake at 375 degrees 30 to 40 minutes.
8 to 10 servings. Each of 10 servings:
398 calories; 273 mg sodium; 22 mg cholesterol; 18 grams fat; 57 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams protein; 0.08gram fiber.
Final product
References
Dosti, R. (1998, April 29). Real City Schools Crumb Cake. Los Angeles Times. Retrieved from http://articles.latimes.com/1998/apr/29/food/fo-43995