Los Angeles City Schools Coffee Cake
Well, my blog is one year old today! To celebrate, I am going back to the beginning. My inaugural post was about the Sweet Rolls that were sold at Nutrition at Paul Revere Junior High and Palisades High Schools. Those cinnamon brown sugar delights were my preferred “Nutrition” time treat. There was another choice, however, and kids were of one stripe or the other. It was either Sweet Rolls or Coffee Cake. Not both and no switching. Me, I had to have that sweet yeasty risen dough filled with cinnamon and brown sugar and perfumed with nutmeg. No quick bread for me. And not for my friends Ami and Jackie either. We were Sweet Roll students all the way. Not that there is anything wrong with the Coffee Cake. Not at all. On the east coast it is known as Crumb Cake, and for easterners it is a very big deal. But for us west coast babies, it was yeast risen Sweet Rolls every day, all the way.
Over the years I have come across several versions of the Los Angeles City Schools recipe. Of the two I have seen most frequently, one was published in The Los Angeles Times, and the other comes with the imprimatur of the Los Angeles Unified School District Food Services Branch, Food Service Handbook. While the finished L.A. Times Coffee Cake is remarkably close to the Food Service Handbook version, the Times’ use of butter and sour cream call its authenticity into question. A school recipe has to use food service proportions, ingredients suited to a school district budget and must take into account storage and ease of use for cafeteria workers. The Food Service Handbook recipe calls for oil rather than butter, and instead of sour cream, a mixture of vinegar and non-fat dry milk. Sounds like school to me.
When I posted my LAUSD Sweet Roll recipe a year ago, my niece Bree of Pizza y Paella commented that she remembered a Coffee Cake from the Culver City Schools Wednesday Early Bird Breakfast “…They served a nice warm, fluffy cake with a half inch thick topping of brown sugar.” So I guess the students of the Los Angeles City School District were not the only ones to enjoy Coffee Cake.
I have a couple of notes about this Coffee Cake.
#1 The classic recipe for a Coffee Cake like this calls for either sour cream or buttermilk. Don’t be put off by the non-fat dry milk, water and vinegar in this recipe. Combine those ingredients, and you’ve made you own buttermilk substitute. Honest. Again, sounds like the thrifty Cafeteria workers to me.
#2 DON’T SKIMP ON THE NUTMEG. NOT HERE. NOT EVER. Don’t buy the pre-ground stuff. There is just no comparison to fresh ground nutmeg. Grate it fresh as you need it. Go out and buy a nutmeg grater. No need to get a fancy battery powered job. MicroPlane makes a nice one. And the old-fashioned tin ones are as good now as when they were first invented. You can hang them inside your spice cabinet and they have a little storage compartment for the piece of nutmeg you are using. Whole nutmeg is easy to find these days, and specialty spice purveyors such as Penzeys Spices and Savory Spice Shop sell wonderful nutmeg.
#3 This streusel recipe, being of food service provenance, calls for oil. But I couldn’t do it. I could not help myself. I substituted unsalted butter for a fluffier, more tasty streusel. Oh, one more thing. I doubled the amount of streusel. Yes, I did. So if you, like me, are a butter streusel loving Pali High Grad, follow the variation at the end of the recipe.
I hope you enjoy this Coffee Cake. And when you make it, email me a photo of you and your Coffee Cake. I’d love to display it in my Readers’ Gallery. Dig out your High School yearbook, make this Coffee Cake, call an old friend and take a stroll down Memory Lane.
1970 Pali High Cafeteria Staff
LAUSD Coffee Cake
As printed in the Los Angeles Unified School District Food Services Branch, Food Service Handbook
makes 18 servings
For the Batter
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. non-fat dry milk
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
2 tbsp. vinegar
1 1/2 cups water
1 cup plus 2 tbsp. salad oil
1 1/4 cups brown sugar, packed
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
For the Topping
3/4 cup plus 3 tbsp. all purpose flour
1/4 cup plus 1 tbsp. brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup granulated sugar
dash salt
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp plus 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 cup vegetable oil
To make the Batter
In a bowl, combine flour, dry milk, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Set Aside. Combine vinegar and water in a measuring cup. Set Aside.
In mixer bowl, blend together the oil, brown sugar and granulated sugar on low speed for 1 minute. Add eggs and continue to blend on low speed for 1 minute. While mixer is on low speed, add the dry ingredients alternately with the water and vinegar to oil-sugar mixture. Scrape down bowl, then blend on medium speed for 1 additional minute. Evenly divide batter between two greased 9×9-inch pans. Sprinkle 3/4 cup topping evenly over batter in each pan.
To make the Topping
In mixer bowl, combine all ingredients except oil. Blend on low speed for 1 minute. Add oil gradually and continue to blend until topping is crumbly.
Bake until tooth pick comes out clean when inserted in the center of cake.
Conventional Oven: 375F for 35-55 minutes.
Convection Oven: 325 F for 35-40 minutes.
My streusel variation
Double the streusel recipe for a thick topping. To substitute butter for oil, use 12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, total. Cut it into chunks and proceed with streusel directions.
Baking Notes
#1 Decrease oven temperature to 350 if you are using black or glass pans.
#2 For ease of removal, butter your pans, and line with parchment. Butter the parchment.
#3 I used Williams-Sonoma Gold Touch Bakeware, and my Coffee Cake was done at 35 minutes.
Love LA City Schools Sweet Rolls? Click here for the recipe.
I have no affiliation with any product, manufacturer, or site mentioned in this article.
Note: You can click on any picture to see a slide show!
Saturday, June 25th 2011 at 9:40 am |
congratulations on your first year and many more
Saturday, June 25th 2011 at 10:03 am |
Thank you so much. I have SO many ideas for this year. I don’t know where to start!
Saturday, June 25th 2011 at 10:58 am |
Wow, a whole year has gone by. Your posts and information just keep getting better. All your hard work to get it “just right” pays off. I am so happy to read your blog each time you post. Keep it up!!
Saturday, June 25th 2011 at 11:29 am |
Thanks a million. I can not believe it’s been an entire year – there is lots more to come! I see group efforts in the future…
Saturday, June 25th 2011 at 12:52 pm |
Wow a year!! I am going to revisit that sweet roll recipe. A friend and I were reminiscing about the great sweet roll and sticky buns we had en encountered in our ttravels. I think the LAUSD version is neck and neck with the sticky buns that used to be served at the Hala Terrace at the Kahala Hilton on Oahu. Here’s to Amother Fablous Year!!!
Saturday, June 25th 2011 at 2:36 pm |
Yes, indeed a year. Now I actually have “a body of work” – it is time for an Index. How’s that? I love hearing that the Sweet Rolls can stand up to the Hala Terrace – that is one very high bar. Thanks for the kind words, and thanks for stopping by The Front Burner.
Saturday, June 25th 2011 at 6:48 pm |
Congratulations on a great first year! Wonderful stories, gorgeous photography and delicious recipes, and your site just keeps getting more and more sophisticated! What an impressive newbie in the world of food blog. Keep up the fantastic work, Adri and Bart!
Saturday, June 25th 2011 at 7:10 pm |
Thanks for the very kind words. We enjoy it, and love hearing that others do too!
Monday, December 23rd 2013 at 5:59 pm |
Hi Adri!! I just came across your Blog!! A friend was asking for a recipe for a good coffee cake to make for her hubbie as his gift this Christmas>> I looked at several sites and their recipes..and then I saw yours!! AND THEN..I realized that we were in the SAME CLASS at Revere and Pali!!! Yes!! You may not remember me,,as I was not in the “popular” crowd.. in either school.. But I remember your name.. and your writing is fantastic! It brings back soooo many memories!! I especially LOVE that there is a slight bit of the mustard-yellow book protector cover, from our yearbook, in one of the photos! I cherish my copy of that book..though not all of my school memories are good ones! My (still) BEST FRIEND Paula Vatcher Dunlop and I, went to the Pali Reunion a few years back,,held down the street from where I live.. near Marina del Rey. Were you there?? Paula and I sat at a table together and freaked out at seeing all the folks we used to know..and their spouses.. who were all different and yet, somehow, eerily, the same! THANK YOU for the recipe here.. and for the memories! Do you still live here on the Westside? Who else are you in touch with, from our class?? I am going to send your blog out to Paula>> she will be glad to read it too!
Monday, December 23rd 2013 at 7:12 pm |
Hi Laura!
Small world! Oh my, but I do remember your name. Funny, how coffee cake can bring people together! Thank you for the kind words about my writing. All through school I never once enjoyed writing essays. I left my assignments and term papers to the last possible minute, which of course, only served to increase the distress… I finally figured out the secret. If only my teachers would have asked me to write about something I enjoyed, then I would have been off and running, or writing. I enjoy it so much now, but only because I love food. So there you go. I have not been to the reunions. although on FB I have reconnected with lots of old friends. I am so pleased and truly touched that you have taken the time to write. Happy holidays to you and yours!
Monday, April 7th 2014 at 2:43 pm |
I’d love to find the sweet roll recipe we enjoyed at Robert E Perry Jr. High in Gardena. We had the coffee cake too. Would love that roll recipe!!
Monday, April 7th 2014 at 3:19 pm |
Hi Barbara,
I have written about a sweet roll recipe from LA City Schools (my very first article for my site). Here is a link to it. Give it a try.
Tuesday, May 13th 2014 at 3:14 pm |
would love the have the giant cookie recipe they had at Toluca Lake Elementary in the late 60’s. Chocolate, Oatmeal and I think Sugar.
Tuesday, May 13th 2014 at 8:14 pm |
Hi Carol,
The only cookies I remember were the “Flying Saucer” cookies. They were very large. I wonder if that is the same cookie. Thank you for stopping by, and thanks for taking the time to comment.
Tuesday, October 7th 2014 at 3:25 pm |
I have been looking for this recipe for years. I have never cooked in my 57 years of life, but this coffee cake will be my first. Thank you! Just looking at the pictures brought back daily memories
Wednesday, October 8th 2014 at 6:44 am |
Hi James,
I hope you enjoy this! I always preferred the sweet rolls myself, but this one is a classic.