Cape Alava Coffee Cake
Contributed by Linda Hart
During my college days, I worked at the Ozette archaeological site at Cape Alava, on the Washington’s Olympic Peninsula. Because of our isolated location, seemingly miles from nowhere, all of our supplies arrived monthly by helicopter. Most of our staple food items had to be non-perishable, and fresh or specialty ingredients were rare, unless we packed them in on our backs down the 3-mile-long trail to the site. I thought that at a time when some commodities can be hard to find, I’d offer a recipe that calls for basic ingredients that most of us who bake would normally have on hand.
CAPE ALAVA COFFEE CAKE
For the Cake:
1½ cups flour
¾ cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. salt
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 egg
½ cup milk
For the Spicy Topping:
¾ cup brown sugar
3 tbsp. flour
3 tsp. cinnamon
3 tbsp. melted butter
¼ to ½ cup chopped nuts (optional)
For the Icing Drizzle:
½ cup powdered sugar (more if desired)
A few drops of almond or vanilla extract
Enough water to make the make the icing “drizzable”
Preheat oven to 375° F. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a mixing bowl. Combine oil, beaten egg, and milk in a separate bowl. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients. Blend, but do not beat. Spoon batter into a greased 9x9-inch baking pan. Combine the spicy topping ingredients and “crumble” it over the cake batter. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cake cool slightly (don’t serve right away, or it will be gummy). Spoon the icing into a small plastic bag, clip the corner, and squeeze onto the coffee cake. Enjoy! Makes 9 servings.
