Almond Vanilla Wafer Coffee Cake

Max, I have made the boiled puddings like your recipe of yesterday. Definitely these are NOT something that you want to make on a day fast approaching 100 degrees like today.

On the other hand, Almond Vanilla Wafer Coffee Cake is worth the time and effort even in the heat. It makes 4 coffee cakes and they freeze quite well. I have never seen another sweet bread or coffee cake that uses Vanilla Wafers as a filling. This came from a 1960’s bread book and the author stated that the recipe was originally Swedish, but that she had changed the filling to vanilla wafers.

I’ll bet originally the filling was chopped nuts and the vanilla wafers was a cheaper alternative. This is so much better than it sounds.

Almond Vanilla Wafer Coffee Cake:

4 cups flour
¼ cup sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, cold and cut into cubes
1 package yeast
1 cup of milk, warmed
2 beaten eggs
5 ½ cups crushed vanilla wafers
½ cup melted butter
1 teaspoon almond extract
2 tablespoons water

Crush the vanilla wafers in a food processor, or use a large zip lock storage bag and a rolling pin. Mix the crushed vanilla wafers, the ½ cup melted butter, the almond extract and water and blend well.

Cut the 1 cup of cold butter into the flour, sugar and salt with a pastry blender, or with your hands (which is messy) until you have fine crumbs. Stir the yeast into the warm milk; then add the yeast and beaten eggs to the crumbs. When it makes a dough, cover the bowl with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator at least 6 hours. It is good for several days.

Next day, divide the dough into four parts. Roll each out into a 16 x 12 inch rectangle with a rolling pin. Divide the vanilla wafer crumbs into 4 equal parts and place one part on the dough. Roll up like a jelly roll from the narrow side.

Place roll on a greased or nonstick cookie sheet, and form into a crescent. Using kitchen scissors make 8 cuts about an 1 ½ deep on the inside of the crescent. Repeat with the other 3 pieces of dough. Each cookie sheet can hold 2 crescents.

Cover the sheets and let rise for about 3 hours, or until doubled.

Bake for 20 minutes until golden in a 375 degree oven. Cool on cooling racks. When cakes are about half cool, drizzle Almond Icing over.

Make 4 crescents. The extra cakes freeze well.

Almond Icing:

3 cups Powdered sugar
2 tablespoons soft butter
½ teaspoon almond extract

Blend the sugar, butter and almond extract, and add enough milk (2 to 3 tablespoons) to make a smooth icing.

If freezing, add the icing after they have thawed.

This sweet dough is good filled with any sort of Danish Pastry fillings.