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Every year our church in Scandia, Elim, has a winter baking festival. Some of the organizations (Quilters, Christian education, youth groups, social ministry, altar guild, etc.) take part in a contest to see which group can come up with the best baked goods. This year it was coffee cake recipes. One of the good things about this contest? You can buy a piece of coffee cake for 25 cents, go on to the next table and buy a piece of another kind of cake, etc. Five "judges" ranging in age from 10 to 75 decided who wins 1st, 2nd, 3rd place and grand champion. We (the buyers) get to vote also. It's a lot of fun and a good treat to have with a cup of coffee after the worship service. It also gives the participants a chance to "show off" their baking skills and favorite recipes. When you've found one you really like, you can buy a whole cake, put it in your freezer to be thawed when you want to use it. This is something you might consider doing in your church. I won't tell you how many different "tastes" I bought, but they were all good!

So, today I have some of the recipes for coffee cakes that were submitted by groups participating in the baking festival.

The recipes I chose have different fruit fillings in them. Yum-m-m-m-m.

CHERRY COFFEE CAKE

1 c. butter or margarine

1-3/4 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla

4 eggs

3 c. flour

1 1/2 t. baking powder

1-20 oz. can cherry pie filling

In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, sugar and vanilla; beating until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. In a medium bowl combine flour and baking powder. Add to creamed mixture, beating well. Spread 2/3 of the mixture into a greased or sprayed jelly roll pan (10 x 15-inches). Drop spoonfuls of cherry pie filling over top, spreading carefully. Drop teaspoons of remaining batter over cherries. Bake at 350 degrees for 40-45 minutes or just until lightly browned.

Makes a bunch of bars!

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APPLE COFFEE CAKE

Cake:

1 regular size yellow cake mix

3 eggs, slightly beaten

1-20 oz. can apple pie filling

Topping: 1/2 c. butter, slightly softened

1 c. powdered sugar

1 c. flour

Frosting:

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1 T. butter

1/4 t. vanilla

2-3 T. milk

In a medium bowl, mix together first 3 ingredients. Turn into a 9x13-inch sprayed or greased baking pan. Combine next 3 ingredients, cutting butter into sugar and flour until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle over cake batter. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes 12-15 servings.

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RASPBERRY COFFEE CAKE

1 c. flour

1/3 c. sugar

1/2 t. baking powder

1/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1 egg

1/2 c. plain yogurt

2 T. butter, softened

1/2 t. almond extract

3 T. brown sugar

1 c. fresh or frozen (no sugar added) raspberries*

Glaze:

1/4 c. powdered sugar

1 t. milk

3 drops almond extract

In a medium bowl, combine first 5 ingredients. In another bowl, combine next 4 ingredients; add to dry ingredients, mixing until moistened. Spoon 2/3 of batter into an 8-inch round baking pan (1 8x8-inch pan works), sprayed with cooking spray. Combine brown sugar and raspberries; sprinkle over batter. Spoon remaining batter over berries. Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched and is golden brown. Let cool 20 minutes. In a small bowl, combine glaze ingredients; drizzle over cake. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 6 large or 9 small servings.

* If using frozen berries, do not thaw before adding to batter. Also, if glaze is too runny, add a little more powdered sugar, if too thick add a tad more milk.

TFD: In the kettle of life, if you want to keep cooking, you have to keep stirring.

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