Polish Coffee Cake (My Grandma’s Recipe!)

Directions

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Grate in the lemon rind.
2. In a small saucepan on the stove, melt the butter and milk together over medium-low heat. Remove from heat, and allow to cool to about 108°, you don’t want to kill your yeast because your milk is too hot. If it is really hot, to speed up the cooling process, I put it in the freezer for a few minutes.
3. Using a wooden spoon, begin to stir the milk mixture into the dry ingredients. Once halfway combined, stir in the eggs. Fold everything together until just blended.
4. Grease and flour a large baking pan. Pour in the batter, it will be thick, and spread evenly in the pan.
5. Cover and allow to rise until it doubles in size, 1-2 hours. I stick mine in the oven with the oven light on, it works pretty quick! (Just be sure not to turn your oven on while it’s in there!)
6. When it’s doubled in size, preheat your oven to 350°. (make sure it’s not in there still!)
7. To make the crumb topping, aka the best thing ever, in a medium sized bowl, stir together the sugar and flour. Cut the butter in in chunks, and using a large fork, begin to mash the butter into the dry ingredients. After a couple minutes, I tend to just use my hand, its much more efficient, and you get a better crumb.
8. Using your hands, while simultaneously squeezing into chunks, spread the crumb topping across the risen cake.
9. Pop in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool for a few minutes before devouring.

source: thebellevieblog.com