Sweet Treats With Shea MacLeod! Back to Blog
Update: The winner of the $10 Amazon.com gift card is Dee Hartman! Congratulations!
I hope that you are all enjoying the giveaways and holiday posts! Some of these posts are making me uber hungry–and our next guest, Shéa MacLeod, is determined to make me even hungrier! Shéa has a great paranormal series out now, but instead of talking monsters, she’s going to share some sweet treats (and *then* we can get to the fun monster talk). Welcome, Shéa!
(And one commenter will win a $10 Amazon.com or B&N.com gift card–winner’s choice!)
I love food.
Yeah, yeah, we all eat food. We all need food. But for me food is about more than just the mechanics of staying alive or even that it tastes good. It’s about family, togetherness, connection, and celebration. Every milestone moment in my life marked with a memory that tickles the senses.
Homemade banana ice cream, sticky and sweet, melting in the July heat as fireworks burst overhead. Violet creams melting in my mouth on the train home from Bath, England. Persimmon pudding slathered in rum sauce on Christmas day.
It’s no wonder I created a character who is as obsessed with food as I am. Anyone who has read the Sunwalker Saga books knows that Morgan Bailey has a weakness for pancakes and cupcakes. Wonder where she gets that from?
But what you don’t know is that Morgan, like me, has a favorite treat she bakes every Christmas Eve morning. Just like her mom did. Just like my mom did. The breakfast delight with flakey moist pastry, tangy raspberry filling, and a drizzle of vanilla icing which I made every Christmas Eve while I was living in England. It was a reminder of home and family and love. And also because it tastes good.
This recipe is from the Luna Café (http://thelunacafe.com/raspberry-cream-cheese-coffee-cake/), but it’s identical to the one my family has been using for years (though mine never turns out as pretty).
Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake
2 cups unbleached, all-purpose white flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup unsalted butter
3 ounces cream cheese (I use Philly)
½ cup milk
½ cup raspberry preserves (or your favorite preserves)
Icing
½ cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon milk
¼ teaspoon vanilla
Optional
2 tablespoons toasted sliced almonds
- In a large mixing bowl, sift the flour, baking powder, and salt. Whisk vigorously to distribute the baking soda and salt.
- With a pastry cutter or fork, cut the cream cheese and butter into the flour mixture.
- Quickly and gently blend in the milk.
- Turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead VERY LIGHTLY for 4-5 strokes.
NOTE This is the step at which you can ruin the coffeecake. If you overwork the dough, the pastry will be tough. Just gather the dough together and don’t worry about making it smooth. It will still look a little rough. That’s perfect.
- On waxed paper, roll the dough to an 8- by 12-inch rectangle.
- Turn dough out onto a lightly greased baking sheet and remove the waxed paper.
- Measure and mark the dough lengthwise into thirds.
- Spread preserves down the middle third of the dough, keeping it about ½ inch from the mark on both sides.
- Make 2¾-inch slight diagonal cuts at 1-inch intervals on each the long sides. Do not cut into the center jam-filled area.
- Fold strips, first one from one side and then one from the other side in a rotating fashion, over the filling. The coffeecake will now resemble a braid.
- Bake in a 425° oven for 12-15 minutes, until the dough is cooked through and the top is lightly browned.
- In a small glass measuring cup with a pouring spout, combine the sugar, milk, and vanilla. Drizzle over the top of the coffeecake.
- If desired, sprinkle on the toasted sliced almonds while the icing is still wet.
- Serve warm.
Makes one 8- by 12-inch coffee cake.
I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I have over the years. Maybe it will mark future memories for you and your family. Happy holidays!
Shéa MacLeod
Book link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Kissed-Darkness-Book-Sunwalker-ebook/dp/B0081JUB60/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1353353192&sr=8-1&keywords=kissed+by+darkness
Book Blurb:
Three years ago, Morgan Bailey narrowly survived a vampire attack that left her with heightened senses, uncanny speed, and a new calling: supernatural bounty hunter. Since that day, sexy, street-smart Morgan hasn’t met a vampire she couldn’t dust or a demon she couldn’t kill—until she’s hired to hunt down a priceless amulet and the sunwalker who stole it. Sunwalkers—powerful vampires immune to sunlight—are notoriously difficult to find, let alone kill. Still, a job’s a job, and Morgan’s never been one to shy away from a challenge. So bring it on…right?
But the sunwalker ends up tracking her down. And not only that, he turns out to be cunning, charming—and undeniably gorgeous. Nevertheless, she can’t ignore the destruction he is capable of: the sunwalker possesses an ancient secret which, if unleashed, could destroy the human world. Captivating and fantastical, Kissed by Darkness introduces a kick-ass new heroine and an addictive new series for fans of urban fantasy.
Blog:
http://sheamacleod.wordpress.com/
Twitter:
https://twitter.com/Shea_MacLeod
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Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake– Oh good gosh… It’s weird how you don’t even know you’re hungry until someone starts talking about something delicious…
oh I am going to enjoy making that recipe – my husband is from NY and LOVES a good coffee cake! And, I have to check out your books!
Wow does that ever look good! I need to go shopping to buy the ingredients to try this. 🙂
Wow, that looks simply delicious!! We’ve never had any food traditions. My mother in law made a breakfast dish with eggs, bacon or sausage and cheese. She made that every Christmas morning. She’s gone now and I have no idea what the dish was called or how to make it.
Oh, I love cream cheese in coffee cake! I’m not much of a cook, but this sounds yummy. Your book also sounds yummy!
Thanks for the recipe.
I don’t usually go for coffee cake, but that raspberry cream one sounds amazing.
two of my favourite foods, coffee cake and cream cheese! yum!
If I swap out the raspberry for strawberries my mother would LOVE this so much. She is allergic to raspberries.
Wow… sounds great but too much work involved! I think I will make it once a year at the most… but sounds really yummy…
gosh that sounds fantastic. Love raspberry anything.
The Raspberry Cream Cheese Coffee Cake recipe had me going OMG yumm over here. Then I realized no one likes raspberries but that’s okay more for me lol.
That sounds delicious!!! I love food too, and baking.
That sounds amazing! Thanks!!
That sounds so good I may have to try it.
It looks absolutely delicious. Thanks for the recipe.
Yum! Looks amazing! Thanks for the giveaway!
The recipe looks yum!!!
My mouth is watering, this looks so delish. I am finding a ton of good recipes today. Love it.
This sounds and looks divine, I’ll definitely attempt to make this soon!
This recipe look good, thanks for sharing!
Great recipes thank,great prize
thank you for this receipe ( at least one i can try^^)and thank you a lot for sharing some memories with us too
isabelle(dot)frisch(at)gmail(dot)com
Sounds really good I just can not do fruit in pastries. They get a little soggy and I can’t do it. I honestly can not even eat cinnamon rolls because they get soggy gooey in the center. I know it is sad but I keep trying and it just does not work. Thank you though
yum! sounds good. i don’t often venture in the kitchen but i might have to pass this recipe to my mom.
I am adding this to my recipe box. My mother-in-law is coming for the holidays and I want to be able to wow her.
Great recipe!
I’m not a big fan of raspberries but this does sound like a delicious treat. Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your recipe Shea, looks scrumptious!!!
Thank you for the recipe, Shea! I like to consider myself something of a foodie too. Although I have a love/hate relationship with food, I’m still totally a food snob. 😀 I love characters that think about and discuss food too. It just adds that extra sense of realism and a dynamic personality.
That looks really delicious!
Thanks for sharing your recipe. I am looking forward to your book!
Happy Holidays, Shea! That coffee cake sounds delicious. As I stated in another blog one of my favorite things about Christmas is all the holiday dessert recipes I see online. Thank God my hubby can cook. 🙂
Wow! This recipe looks delicious! My grandmother always made fresh cinnamon coffee cake every year for christmas morning. I loved kneading the dough and putting the cinnamon sugar on top as a kid!
Sounds amazing! The book and recipe 🙂
Sounds delicious! Thanks for sharing
I am so in love with this recipe. It has everything I love: cream cheese,raspberries, and coffee cake. I will make it and not share…HAHAHAHAHA
Kissed By Darkness sounds great, it’s now on my Amazon wishlist.
We always make almond pastry for Christmas morning – sort of like a almond flavored giant cream puff with almond icing – yummy!
That sounds so good!