LAUSD Old School Coffee Cake

I am a product of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Cafeteria food is not usually something to be celebrated, in fact of, most of us crack jokes about the food we ate in the school cafeteria or the foods we didn’t eat in the school cafeteria, but among the heckles and catcalls of cafeteria food, there is one that deserves a standing ovation and an encore.   

The LAUSD coffee cake. 

My fondest memory of attending elementary, middle school and high school in the LAUSD is the coffee cake! Apparently, I am not the only one.  Lots of taste buds all over Los Angeles and even those who have relocated to other parts of the country have starry eyed memories of slightly warm, brown sugary, crumb topped nutmeg and cinnamon laced coffee cake. I remember many mornings munching on this coffee cake and trying to shove the last bit of sweetness in my mouth before the bell rang for class. 

In elementary school, I had the art of scoring a piece of coffee cake down to a science. Get to school early to buy a slice before it sold out!  I soon discovered that the genius way to make sure I always had a coffee cake hook up, was to volunteer to work the window at the school cafeteria during the nutrition break. Decades later the memory of this coffee cake makes me smile:-)

A few years back the popularity of this iconic LA sweet treat proved to be such a tasty memory to thousands of now adult LAUSD alumni, that the original recipe nearly 60 years old was printed in the Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles  Daily Newspaper and The Daily Breeze. Now we could all once again sink our now grown up teeth and taste buds into that delicious old school LAUSD coffee cake. The Los Angeles Times has received so many letters asking for the recipe for this treat, that now LAUSD has shared their secret with us.

There are nearly a million slices served each year.

When I saw the recipe, there was no doubt in my mind that this would be a mainstay in my kitchen.  For those of you that reside in other states and countries, this is the mother ship of coffee cake recipes.

When  I made this recipe, the smell coming from my kitchen was so sweet and inviting, that I was expecting the neighbors to ring my doorbell and ask what I was cooking.  This is not just coffee cake, this is comfort cake. Have a piece, I promise it’ll make you feel better.

L.A. Schools School District Coffee Cake

From the Los Angeles Unified School District Food Service kitchen.

For the Cake:

3 3/4 C. all-purpose flour
1/2 C. plus 2 Tbs. Non-fat dry milk, or 1/2 cup buttermilk
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 Tbs. vinegar
1 1/2 C. water
1 C. plus 2 Tbs. oil
1 C. sugar
1 1/4 C. brown sugar
2 eggs

For the Topping:

3/4 C. plus 3 Tbs. All-purpose flour
1/4 C. plus 1 Tbs. brown sugar, packed
1/4 C. sugar
dash of salt
1/4 plus 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 plus 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 C. salad oil

For the cake :

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. In a bowl, combine flour, dry milk, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, baking powder and baking soda. Set aside.

3. Combine vinegar and water in a measuring cup, Set aside.

4. In mixer bowl, blend together the oil, brown sugar and granulated sugar on low speed for 1 minute.

5. Add eggs and continue to blend on low speed for 1 minute.

6. While mixer is on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the water/vinegar mixture tot he oil/sugar mixture. Scrape down the bowl and blend on medium speed for 1 additional minute.

7. Evenly divide batter between two greased 9x9 pans. Sprinkle 3/4 Cup topping evenly over the batter in each pan. (See directions below for topping.)

8. Bake until toothpick comes out clean when inserted into center of cake. Approximately, 45-55 minutes.

Directions for topping:
1. In mixer bowl, combine all ingredients except oil. Blend on low speed for 1 minute.

2. Add oil gradually and continue to blend until topping is crumbly.

Source: Los Angeles Unified School District Kitchen

 

 

This coffee cake was so insanely delicious,that some of us bought two or three slices at a time. If you didn't attend an LAUSD school and have this coffee cake, I feel so sorry for you... and if you did attend LAUSD and you didn't experience this coffee cake, I feel even more sorry for you

 This coffee cake is as familiar to those of us that went to school in Los Angeles as Pimples, braces, and algebra. The funny math and metal mouth we willingly forget, but this coffee cake, we remember:-)

So now that you have the recipe, why don't you make some and invite me over for a slice and we can discuss the good old days over coffee:-) And since we are getting to know each other, why don't you tell me what your favorite stuff from the cafeteria was?

Were you a coffee cake fanatic like me?