Ultimate Coffee Cake

This coffee cake is delicious.  My mom introduced me to this recipe last year, and it's been a staple in my recipe box since.   This is the recipe for "Ultimate Coffee Cake" as presented on the Paula Deen show.  Per the comment sections on the recipe on foodnetwork.com, this is an old recipe from the Rhodes bread company.  No matter who came up with the original recipe...it is still wonderful, quick, easy & makes an impressive breakfast dish.

Gooey Awesomeness

I made this earlier this week for a work breakfast pitch-in.  It was still yummy as the day went on, even once the caramel sauce had cooled down (it stays gooey, it doesn't get chewy). I still want to experiment with this recipe to see what it tastes like when using different flavors of pudding, like vanilla. You want to be sure to use raw rolls (not the warm & serve frozen type) & cook and serve pudding (not instant). The bread will need to sit out 8-10 hours to rise prior to baking.  Therefore, you can make this recipe the night before, let it do it's thing on the kitchen counter overnight, and pop it in the oven before you get ready in the morning.  

Ultimate Coffee Cake

16-18 servings, Prep time= 5 min, Rest time= 8-10 hours, Cook time= 30 minutes

Ingredients

Ingredient Lineup

• 16-18 unbaked/raw frozen yeast rolls (I used Rhodes traditional rolls.)
• 1 package of Jello Cook & Serve Butterscotch pudding (3.5 oz)
• 1/2 cup of brown sugar, packed
• 1/2 cup of pecans, chopped
• 1 stick of butter, melted

 Directions

1.  Grease a large bundt pan with butter or cooking spray.  Place the frozen rolls in the bottom of the pan.  (They will not take up much room--don't worry.  Do not put extra rolls in the pan, they will rise up & out of the pan.)

2.  Sprinkle the entire package of jello pudding over the top of the rolls.  Sprinkle the brown sugar over the top of the rolls.  Evenly distribute the chopped nuts over the top of the rolls.  Pour the melted butter all over the assembled ingredients in the pan.  (You do not need to stir the ingredients.  The "toppings" will fill in the crevices between the rolls as it cooks & when you plate the finished coffee cake.)

Ready to chill on the counter overnight & get puffy.

3.  Tightly cover the bundt pan with plastic wrap, this prevents the dough from forming a hard crust.  Let the dough rise overnight (8-10 hours).

4.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If the dough has grown taller than the pan, very gently "punch" the dough back down into the pan 1-2 inches. Bake cake for 25-30 minutes.

The dough after its morning punching

5.  Remove cake from oven & let cool 5 minutes.  Turn pan over onto a large plate or platter.  Gently scrape out any extra caramel & nuts out of the bundt pan.  (If you are using a "new to you" bundt pan, verify in advance that it will fit on the plate you are planning on using.  I learned the hard way that my new bundt pan is bigger than my old one...and I caramelized my counter & stove this time around)

Finished product on the pitch-in counter

I'd say it was a success...because this was all
that was left.