The Delicious Coffee Cakes

Coffee cake is a cake, often sponge cake, which is made with coffee or has a coffee flavour. In other definition coffee cake is a class of cakes intended to be served with coffee or for similar breaks and snacks.

Coffee cake (also sometimes known as Kuchen or Gugelhupf) was not invented. It evolved from ancient honey cakes to simple French galettes to medieval fruitcakes to sweet yeast rolls to Danish, cakes made with coffee to mass-produced pre-packaged treats.

Food historians generally agree the concept of coffee cake (eating sweet cakes with coffee) most likely originated in Northern/Central Europe sometime in the 17th century. These countries were already known for their traditional for sweet yeast breads. When coffee was introduced to Europe these cakes were a natural accompaniment. German, Dutch, and Scandinavian immigrants brought their coffee cake recipes with them to America. 

The first coffee cake-type foods were more like bread than cake. They were simple concoctions of yeast, flour, eggs, sugar, nuts, dried fruit and sweet spices. Over time, coffee cake recipes changed. Sugared fruit, cheese, yogurt and other creamy fillings are often used in today's American coffee cake recipes. [source : Coffee Cakes]

Dandelion Coffee: Natural Healthy Coffee Alternatives

Dandelion coffee is a coffee substitute made from the root of the dandelion plant. The roasted dandelion root pieces and the beverage have some resemblance to coffee in appearance and taste. Coffee made from roasted Dandelion roots has a deliciously unique taste. When brewed properly, it looks and taste just like coffee.

Dandelion roots is rich in vitamins and minerals and even micronutrients. It contains many components that are used in medicines, including inulin which is important in controlling diabetes.

Dandelion Coffee has a bitter flavor that is good for our body and it helps stimulate the digestive system, it starts from the cleansing and the absorbing of the nutrients that we take. This herb can be used as food or medicine. Unlike the coffee that is sold in the market, the Dandelion coffee has no harmful contents. People would be living healthy if they would start the day with a Dandelion Coffee.

Dandelions roots grow vertically downwards with a length of a foot and a half, so you will need a good shovel than can take the roots from underground. Harvesting the roots early spring or late in fall is the best time to get the herbs medicinal and nutritional value. This is the season when the nutrients are mainly are stored on the roots. 

Digging the roots would become very difficult and hard if the ground is dry and hard so you have to check and plan carefully on when to harvest the roots, so it would be easier to harvest the roots when the ground is very soft or after the rain falls. Harvesting the roots from a farm field that is plowed regularly is the best place because the soil is loose and that way the roots can grow very big which is easier for harvesting. Dandelions that grow in the backyard usually have very small roots.

After harvesting, the dandelion roots are dried, chopped, and roasted. They are then ground into granules which are steeped in boiling water to produce dandelion coffee. Dandelions that have thick clumps of leaves would usually have roots that are nice and fat. To make 4 quarts of Dandelion root, it would needed 5 gallons of roots and this will produce 10 gallons of coffee. [source : Dandelions Coffee]