It's time, as the saying sort of goes, to wake up and smell the coffee cake.

And who doesn't want to? The thought of a fragrant, crumbly confection, redolent of cinnamon and toasted nuts, accompanied by a steaming hot cup of java, will catapult most of us from warm winter beds. Woe to the packaged pastry masquerading as a Danish or the ubiquitous toaster strudel. We crave the real thing.

Coffee cakes, food historians tell us, originated in Germany and Scandinavia in the 1700s. Coffee had come to Europe through the Netherlands two centuries before, and by the 1880s the Germans had institutionalized the "kaffee-klatsch" (literally coffee plus gossip) as a break in the workday, and it was fitting to have a bite of something sweet to go with the brew. Before the advent of commercially produced baking soda and baking powder (in the mid 1800s), these "coffee cakes" were more like breads, leavened with yeast and sweetened with fruit and sugar. German and Scandinavian settlers in the New World brought with them their tradition of coffee and cake, which noted food historian Evan Jones wrote, "was changed to define the American version of England's tea, a mid-morning or mid-afternoon gathering at which to imbibe and ingest." This, in turn, became institutionalized in the workplace as the "coffee break," sometimes written into employees' contracts.

Nonyeasted coffee cakes, as we know them, began appearing in American cookbooks around the turn of the century. Fannie Merritt Farmer, in her breakthrough 1896 "Boston Cooking-School Cook Book" (the first book to standardize cooking measurements) included two recipes, one for "Coffee Cake" and one for "Rich Coffee Cake." Both used brewed coffee as an ingredient. The "rich" version had twice the butter and more than twice the sugar of its plainer cousin.

Bring back the coffee klatch! Take one of these homemade coffee cakes - from "Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet and Savory" by Lou Seibert Pappas (Chronicle Books, 2006) and elsewhere - to the office. Or invite some close friends over on a weekend morning for some warm cake and strong coffee. If a little gossiping occurs, just consider yourself to be historically correct.

PECAN STREUSEL COFFEE CAKE

For the topping:

1/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits

1 cup pecan halves

For the cake:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk or low-fat plain yogurt

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 9-inch springform pan and line the bottom with a round of parchment paper.

Make the topping: In a medium bowl or a food processor, combine the flour, brown sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle the butter over the top, then rub it in with your fingers, or process it until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Stir in the nuts and set aside.

Make the cake: In a large bowl, using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon, cream the butter and sugars together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until smooth. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and stir to blend. Add to the creamed mixture, alternating with the buttermilk (or yogurt) in two additions. Beat until smooth. Spread evenly in the prepared pan and sprinkle evenly with the topping.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes, then remove the pan sides. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.

Yield: about 10 servings

Recipe from "Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet and Savory" by Lou Seibert Pappas (Chronicle Books, 2006)

CARAMEL-OATMEAL COFFEE CAKE

For the cake:

1-1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup quick-cooking or old-fashioned rolled oats

6 tablespoons unsalted butter at room temperature

2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3 tablespoons molasses

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

2/3 cup whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated or ground nutmeg

For the topping:

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons half-and-half or heavy (whipping) cream

1/2 cup shredded sweetened coconut

3/4 cup chopped pecans or walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 9-inch square baking pan.

In a medium bowl, pour the boiling water over the oats and let stand until cooled to room temperature. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer or a wooden spoon, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Beat in the molasses, eggs, vanilla and the oats mixture. In another bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg and stir to blend. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, beating until smooth. Spread evenly in the prepared pan.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until the cake is golden brown and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.

Just before the cake is done, make the topping: Heat the butter, sugar and cream in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir until the mixture is melted and bubbly. Stir in the coconut and nuts.

Remove the cake from the oven and preheat the broiler. Spread the topping evenly over the cake. Place under the broiler, 4 inches from the heat source, and broil until the topping bubbles and browns, 1 to 2 minutes. Let cool in the pan. Cut into squares and serve.

Yield: 8 servings

Recipe from "Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet and Savory" by Lou Seibert Pappas (Chronicle Books, 2006)

APPLE OR BLUEBERRY STREUSEL CAKE

For the topping:

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

6 tablespoons cold butter

1 cup chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts or almonds)

For the cake:

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1-1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar

1-1/2 cups buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3 cups all-purpose flour

4-1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1-1/2 teaspoons salt

3 cups chopped, peeled apples or 3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 10-inch tube pan.

Make the streusel: In a bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon and brown sugar. Mash in the butter with a fork until well distributed. Add the nuts and mix. Set aside.

Make the cake: Using an electric mixer or wooden spoon, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the buttermilk, eggs and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix well.

Spoon half the batter into the prepared pan. Distribute the fruit and half the streusel on top of the batter. Spoon the rest of the batter evenly over all. Top with the remaining streusel and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until a tester inserted into the cake comes out clean.

Yield: about 12 servings

Recipe from my files

Marialisa Calta is the author of "Barbarians at the Plate: Taming and Feeding the American Family" (Perigee, 2005). For more information, go to www.marialisacalta.com.