I’m combining old and new with a short cut to make a delicious, super easy coffee cake.  Starting with the old: Marsh Bakery in Birmingham, Alabama.  Homey and old style, Marsh Bakery made some of the best coffee cake that I’ve ever eaten!  It was yeasty, with plenty of butter and cinnamon, and it was covered in a brown sugar caramel glaze.  It seemed like they used their incredible cinnamon roll dough to create this coffee cake.  I don’t know, believe me, they’d never tell 🙂

The new would be: In a Southern Kitchen blog.  When Lucy posted her Caramel Apple Cake, I knew that I’d make it.  Actually, I often prepare dishes from her lovely blog.  Anyway, she used granny smith apples for her cake.  Believe me, tart granny smith apples and rich caramel are the perfect match.

For the short cut:  Frozen roll dough.  Remember, I told you that Marsh’s coffee cake was yeasty.  Without a lot of time on my hands, and wanting to impress some company(guests), I knew that this would be a great option for me.  A chance to be lazy and impressive at the same time!

Frozen Dough make it super easy…PetMilk & Granny Smith make it extra tasty!

Let dough thaw and rise before topping with butter, cinnamon, sugar & cooked apples

Fold and cut filling into dough…repeat and repeat again until…

it looks like this…transfer to buttered pan and allow to rise to double…bake until golden.

Caramel Apple Coffee Cake
one 8-inch cake

16 frozen pieces of yeast roll dough
1 granny smith apple, peeled and cored, cut into thin wedges
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
4 tablespoons sugar, divided
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Caramel Glaze:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 cup PetMilk(evaporated milk…not condensed milk)
1/4 cup half & half
pinch of salt

Place frozen dough pieces close together in a single layer on a large plate.  Cover and allow to thaw, and rise slightly before using.  Place apple, 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small saucepan.  Cook on medium heat until apples have softened, about 15 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.  Allow to cool completely before using.

Place thawed dough onto floured surface.  Spread with remaining butter, sprinkle evenly with remaining sugar and cinnamon, and top with cooled apple mixture.  Fold pastry over by 1/3 and cut mixture together using a pastry cutter or knife.  Continue folding and cutting until filling is evenly distributed into dough.  Transfer to a buttered 8-inch round pan.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm area until the dough has doubled in size, about 40 minutes.

Make the caramel glaze:
Place all ingredients, except vanilla extract in a small saucepan.  Heat on medium, stirring occasional until mixture begins to boil.  Stir constantly until mixture thickens, about 18-20 minutes.  Remove from heat.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Bake 20-22 minutes until golden brown.  Spoon warm caramel glaze atop hot coffee cake.