The early chapters of Vanished Arizona have a number of enticing references to food. One that particularly intrigues me is Martha’s mention of Kaffeeklatsches, a charming German practice she enjoyed while in Germany.* She wrote, “In this beautiful city, life could not be taken any other than leisurely. Theatres with early hours, the maid coming for me with a lantern at nine o’clock, the frequent Kaffeeklatsch….all so simple, yet so elegant, so peaceful” (8). Martha’s descriptions of the peaceful pleasures of nineteenth-century Germany make me long for a simpler time! (Of course, this is not to suggest that all was well back then – Martha writes with disappointing exuberance of the strict separation between the social classes in Germany (10)). If there is anything I’d welcome from Martha’s day into my own life, though, it is surely this practice of the Kaffeeklatsch.
If you are unfamiliar with the term Kaffeeklatsch, it is defined as an “informal social gathering for coffee and conversation,” according to Merriam Webster. The website German Foods states that the term originates from German laundresses who would gossip as they thwacked their laundry against rocks. “As the German word for smacking is “klatschen,” it eventually became synonymous with idle chatter or small talk,” states this article from German Foods. The article explains how the growing popularity of coffee was used by higher class women as justification for gathering together to gossip. Eventually, the afternoon coffee gossip hour also came to include cake, as revealed in the same article, this blog post, and this article by Emily Racette Parulski on Taste of Home. I wish Martha would have described what sorts of desserts she enjoyed with her coffee, but alas, it is left to the imagination – and to inspiration from a German bakery.
When we lived in Fort Hood, Texas, there was a lovely German bakery that I would frequent as often as possible. Pfeifer’s Bakery had an amazing selection of German style breads, rolls, chocolates, deli meats and cheeses, and – my personal favorite – the most enticing display case filled with German pastries. I would hem and haw over which dessert to bring home to share with my husband. Frequently, I would settle on the creamy, tangy German cheesecake, but once or twice we tried their delightful rhubarb cake. This cake had a thin, flaky crust, a lovely rhubarb filling, and a meringue topping, if memory serves. It was delicious! As I read through Martha’s description of her time in Germany, I thought I would make a rhubarb cake as an example of something she might have enjoyed during a Kaffeeklatsch. I did not have the time, sadly, to try to replicate the rhubarb cake I ate at Pfeifer’s, so instead I made an old family favorite. Though this is not a truly historic recipe, as most of my recipe posts are intended to be, it is one of my all-time favorite rhubarb desserts!
This recipe for Special Rhubarb Cake is originally from Taste of Home. My family has made it for so many years that we have the old, worn magazine clipping of the recipe, rather than the digital version! As the recipe is now posted online, I will simply describe what changes I’ve made. The simple batter is designed to have a subtle flavor so that the rhubarb can shine. Even so, I added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and I would also recommend adding a dash or two of cinnamon. These additions only enhance the flavor of the rhubarb. The cake is topped with a nice, tender streusel. As crumb topping is one of my favorites for coffee cakes, I doubled this and added a little cinnamon here too. I found that the streusel was a bit dry for my own taste, so increased the butter by about two tablespoons. Honestly, it really could have used one or two more tablespoons. If you prefer a drier streusel (fewer large clumps and more of a sandy texture), then you could omit the extra butter. Since I doubled the amount of streusel, I topped the cake with only about half prior to baking and added the rest around fifteen minutes before the cake was finished to prevent the streusel from drying out.
While the cake was baking, I had plenty of time to make the delicious vanilla sauce that goes on top of the cake. This is a very simple sauce, but it can be too sweet for some people, so my family usually reduces the amount of sugar. The recipe calls for three quarters cup of sugar, which I reduced to a little more than half a cup, approximately. Be warned – while the recipe states that the sauce will thicken in 2-3 minutes after it comes to a boil, my sauce took a good deal longer. Have patience, and you will be rewarded!
Every time I have made this cake, it turns out reliably moist, tender, and delicious! It’s an easy recipe that you can feel confident will bake well. I’m typically not much for sauces, but this vanilla sauce really adds a great deal when warmed and generously poured over each slice. Though this recipe does not have historic origins, sadly, (future recipe posts will, I promise!) I can certainly imagine Martha eating it in Germany while drinking coffee served in “generous coffee-cups, with plenty of rich cream” (9). I wonder how often she thought of Kaffeeklatsches and Germany pastries while she was in the hot Arizona desert. Stay tuned for next week’s post when we will resume journeying with Martha!
*Are you curious about Martha’s experiences in Germany? If so, be sure to check out the first two posts in our Martha Summerhayes series!
Bibliography
Summerhayes, Martha. “Chapter 1: Germany and the Army.” In Vanished Arizona: Recollections of the Army Life by a New England Woman, 5-10. Scotts Valley, CA: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform, 2017. First published 1911.
“On the Origin and Importance of Kaffeeklatsch.” German Foods. Accessed June 14, 2022. https://germanfoods.org/german-food-facts/kaffee-und-kuchen-klatsch/.
Glass, Nicole. “Word of the Week: Kaffeeklatsch.” GermanyinUSA. March 29, 2018. https://germanyinusa.com/2018/03/29/word-of-the-week-kaffeeklatsch/#:~:text=The%20origins%20of%20the%20Kaffeeklatsch,soon%20spread%20to%20neighboring%20countries..
Parulski, Emily Racette. “You’ve Probably Never Heard of it, But This Coffee Trend From the ’50s is Still Thriving Today.” Taste of Home. Last updated December 6, 2019. https://www.tasteofhome.com/article/coffee-klatch/#:~:text=Origin%20of%20the%20Coffee%20Klatch,coffee%2C%20usually%20at%20someone%27s%20house..
“Special Rhubarb Cake.” Taste of Home. Accessed June 14, 2022. https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/special-rhubarb-cake/.
Living in History 