Our middle daughter, Abby (age 10) went to Kanakuk summer camp for the first time last summer and had the time of her life! Kanakuk is a Christian, sports-based camp in Branson, Missouri and I really cannot say enough about the wonderful experience our daughter had. She can’t wait to go back next summer!
The morning we picked her up on the last day of camp, we were served Kanakuk’s famous Coffee Cake. This recipe dates back decades and Kanakuk alums (from what I understand) totally bond over the deliciousness of this cake. And for good reason!
*Note: you don’t *have * to refrigerate the topping overnight. Just pop it in the freezer after you make it, and then take out the cake after 10 minutes of baking and add the topping. Otherwise, the topping will melt into the cake (which isn’t exactly a bad thing..)
Kanakuk Coffee Cake (from the Kanakuk website)
Topping (*prepare day ahead and refrigerate)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour
1 tbsp. cinnamon
2 ounces butter
Combine brown sugar, flour and cinnamon and mix well. Cut butter into small pieces and work into dry ingredients with hands. Refrigerate overnight*.
Cake
2 1/4 cups flour
1 3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 eggs
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 sticks butter (melted)
3/4 cups water
4 ounces evaporated milk
Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, and mix well with a whisk. Set aside.
Spray 9×13-inch pan with nonstick spray. Beat eggs with an electric mixer until fluffy. Add vanilla and evaporated milk. Combine butter with water, then pour slowly into batter and mix on low speed. Turn mixer off. Add small amount of dry ingredients and turn mixer on low to combine. Mix well. Scrape bowl and repeat until all dry ingredients have been incorporated. Beat until batter is smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan.
Sprinkle topping (prepared before) on top of cake batter, covering well. Place in oven and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
(Note: you don’t *have * to refrigerate the topping overnight. Just pop it in the freezer after you make it, and then take out the cake after 10 minutes of baking and add the topping.)
