Wicked coffee cake

In Kenosha, for Sunday breakfast, Bill, assisted by Andrew (the biscuit smasher) and Caitlin (the sugar roller) made a coffee cake he got from Paula Deen’s show on The Food Network. It is superior kid food, for kids up to 63 years old.

For 4-6 people, you need two cans of refrigerated biscuits, some cream cheese, melted butter, orange zest, sugar, and chopped pecans.

Mix a cup of sugar, the zest off a large orange, and a cup of chopped pecans in a bowl. Melt a stick of butter in a small saucepan.

Pop the biscuit cans (these were large biscuits) and separate the biscuits. Flatten each biscuit, as if you were going to make pizza. Place a teaspoon of cream cheese into the center of the disc and fold over to seal. Manipulate it into a ball.

Roll the balls first in the melted butter, then in the sugar mixture. Position the balls in a bundt pan, in a single layer, then stacking if necessary. Pour excess butter and sugar mixture over, then bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. While it was warm, Bill drizzled a basic sugar glaze over, and it would also be good without.

Serve it by itself, or with eggs and bacon or sausage, or just with the bacon or sausage (nice balance to the sweetness), or with fresh strawberries or peaches. Coffee, of course. And champagne would be great with it.

It is also good left over, either at room temperature or warmed. It would lose too much flavor if it were cold. I had some with red wine on the plane back to San Diego Monday night, and it was super.

I am also thinking about variations. Cook some good sausage, drain, and roll it into the biscuit discs with just half a teaspoon of the cream cheese. Season the melted butter with a teaspoon of Tabasco, roll the biscuit balls in the butter, and stack as before. Sprinkle lightly with oregano, then sprinkle with grated Cheddar cheese and top with grilled onions. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Or follow the basic recipe (plenty of pecans), and at the end pour over some canned cherry pie filling, or chopped canned peaches that have been stirred into a quarter-cup of Grand Marnier. Like they say, a recipe is just a place to start.