A taste for coffeecake

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A coffeecake can be all things to nearly all occasions. It can be the star of a sumptuous winter brunch or breakfast with family or friends.

Quick and easy to whip up, it lends a festive, comforting presence to any morning meal. An omelet, a fruit plate, fresh-squeezed juice and cappuccino or lattes will round out the spread to perfection.

Many home bakers shy away from turning out coffeecakes, yet they are truly fast to produce and quite forgiving of the novice. All it takes is some planning and a few timesaving hints.

A cake or two stashed in the freezer can be a hidden asset, ready for breakfast or as an afternoon accompaniment with coffee, tea or hot chocolate. A savory cake can also come in handy at lunchtime or as the end to an evening meal.

Don't overlook the decorative dessert cakes turned out in Bundt molds or springform pans, all ready for a party.

My passion for baking coffeecakes goes back to childhood in Oregon, where Swedish yeast breads, sticky caramel buns, and hazelnut-laced rings were everyday breakfast fare. Chocolate marble cake, banana loaves, gingerbread and huckleberry cakes were luscious sweets that filled the sideboard for coffee time, as well as for dessert.

Mother had a commercial Hobart mixer that turned out batters and doughs with speed. I soon followed in her footsteps.

Dozens of trips abroad introduced me to other ethnic cakes that I re-created for family and for magazine articles. My great-grandparents had a bakery in Gothenburg, Sweden, in the late 19th century, and a year ago, I trekked that charming waterfront city, visiting every bakery to garner tea ring inspiration anew.

Blessed with a dozen kinds of fruit trees and a wide choice of herbs, including lavender, my Northern California garden supplies the ingredients at close hand. Fluted copper pans, carried back from France, bake cakes to perfection.

For centuries, coffeecakes have been a delicious adjunct to daily dining. Yet the quintessential coffeecake, a streusel-topped butter cake, is said to be truly American.