Night Before Christmas Coffee Cake

[nverland]

Night Before Christmas Coffee Cake
Prep Time 30 minutes Cook Time 30 minutes Rising Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Total Time 1 hour
Servings 12 servings

Ingredients

CAKE:
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees F)
1 .25-ounce envelope active dry yeast (dissolved in 3 tablespoons warm water)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt

TOPPING:
2/3 cup granulated white sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/2 cup nuts, chopped maraschino cherries or candied cherries

Instructions

PREPARE THE CAKE:
In a large bowl, use an electric mixer to combine the sugar and butter. Mix in the eggs, milk, dissolved yeast in water, and vanilla.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and salt; add to the wet mixture and beat until incorporated. Set the bowl aside, cover loosely with a clean dishtowel, and let the dough rise until doubled in size (1 1/2 to 2 hours).

PREPARE THE TOPPING:
In a small bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, melted butter and nuts (you can use the cherries for a festive look if you don't care for nuts).

ASSEMBLE THE CAKE:
Punch the dough down and spread into a greased 9 x 13-inch pan. Sprinkle the topping on top.
Place the pan in a cold oven and cover with a clean dishtowel. Let it sit overnight in the cold oven to rise. You can turn on the oven light to add a little bit of heat to the oven.

BAKING THE CAKE:
The next morning, remove the dishtowel (don't forget this step!!), turn the oven to 350°F. and bake for 30 minutes. Serve warm.

Recipe Notes

*This makes one large coffee cake, but you may also opt to split the dough in half and prepare two 8-inch round or square pans instead.