Viennese Coffee Cake - Gluten Free

(re name change - see comments)

Would you make a cherry pie without cherries?
Oatmeal cookies without oatmeal?
Rice pudding without rice?
Potato salad without potatoes?
Of course not ....
so ... then why do we make coffee cake without coffee?

Funny story ...
We attended my husband's cousin's funeral/memorial this summer. At the reception, her son sat down at our table to chat a bit and of course the conversation centered on his mother. Turning to me, he said he had a story I needed to share on our Mennonite Girls Can Cook blog.
His mother, Katie, came to Canada as a refugee in 1947, and got a job working as a house maid for a Canadian family. One day the lady of the house asked Katie to bake a coffee cake and waved a hand toward  the coffee pot, saying she could use that.  Lacking somewhat in confidence, and never having made a coffee cake before, Katie dumped in the dry ground coffee instead of the left-over brewed coffee. Seeing the cake speckled with dark flecks, the lady soon realized what had happened but she very graciously simply excused Katie by kindly saying, "It's all right, no one will know the difference. It will still taste good!"
We all chuckled but  I realized that while I have made many 'coffee cakes', I didn't remember ever actually having used coffee as an ingredient in my recipes.
When we got home I did a bit of a search and found an old Kraft recipe that did list brewed coffee as an ingredient.
I adapted/adjusted the recipe to be gluten free and was very happy with the results.
The cake has a very fine texture and excellent flavour.

• 3/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar 
• 3 eggs 
• 1/2 cup strong freshly brewed coffee 
• 1 1/2 cups Julie's Flour Mix  
• 1/2 cup white rice flour 
• 1 teaspoon xanthan gum 
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon salt 

1.  In your stand mixer, whip butter with sugar until white and fluffy - takes a few minutes. 
2. Add eggs separately and beat well after each addition.
3. Mix all dry ingredients together. 
4. Add dry ingredients and coffee beating until well mixed and smooth.
5. Scrape into a parchment lined loaf pan or in a small tube cake pan. 
6. Bake at 350 degrees F for 1 hour, or until done.
7. Serve plain, dust with icing sugar, or dress it up with whipped cream and fruit. 

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