Those of us who love cooking likely have a handful of paragons in our past. From my friend Kathy, I learned dedication to one’s best recipes and the enjoyment of food tradition. (For those who have been reading awhile, this is not the first Kathy I referenced who made these pecan rolls. I have two special Kathys in my life with notable roll recipes!)
This Kathy is the mother of one of my best high school friends. For the past fifteen years, we have visited her house at the holidays. We gather in the kitchen, the heart of their home, and catch up while enjoying her famous taco dip, sugar cookies, brownies, turkey with dressing balls or crumble-topped pumpkin pie.
She was generous enough to share this photograph and recipe with me for Whipped. Her most recent batch of her Orange Coffee Cake was made to bring to the hospital to welcome her newest granddaughter. Thank you Kathy for the years of treats past and the years of treats to come!
Kathy’s Orange Coffee Cake
1 package yeast
½ cup sour cream
¼ cup warm water
½ cup melted butter – Divided
1 cup sugar
2 ¾ – 3 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1 cup toasted coconut
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons orange rind (From fresh orange or dried)
Toast coconut by baking it at 350º for 7-10 minutes. Keep a close eye on it, it can burn quickly.
Combine yeast and water, set aside. Blend ¼ C. sugar, salt, eggs, sour cream and 6 TBS melted butter. Add yeast mixture. Add flour (I use 2 ¾ C) to form stiff dough. Dough will be sticky. Let rise in greased covered bowl in a warm place for at least 2 hours.
Combine ¾ C. sugar, ¾ C. coconut and orange rind and set aside. Roll our half of the dough on a floured board into a 12” circle. Brush with 1 TBS melted butter. Sprinkle with half of the sugar/coconut mixture. Cut into 12 wedges. Roll, starting with wide end, rolling to point. Place rolls, point side down, in ½ of a greased 9”x13” pan. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise till size doubles, at least 1 hour. Bake at 350º for 25-30 minutes. (Bake 20 minutes in convection oven.) Cover with glaze and remaining coconut while still warm, but not hot.
For the Glaze
In saucepan combine:
¼ cup butter
½ cup sour cream
2 Tablespoon orange juice (You can use juice from the fresh orange you bought.)
¾ cup sugar
Boil for 3 minutes.