It is a small world indeed. I have strong Danish roots in my family tree. As it turned out, one of my best friends at work also hails from Denmark. Her mother is the first generation to arrive and still has strong ties to the language, culture and the food. This is one of her recipes and I think you will find it to your liking.

• Coffee Cake
• ½ pound butter (2 cubes), cold, divided
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons water, divided
• 1 teaspoon almond extract
• Frosting
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 eggs
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon melted butter
• ¼ cup slivered or sliced almonds

1. Coffee Cake Crust: Cut 1 cube of the cold butter into small pieces. Add to 1 cup of flour in a mixing bowl. Use a pastry tool to cut the butter into the flour until it forms a coarse mixture with pea-sized crumbs. Blend while adding up to 2 tablespoons of water in increments. Blend just until mixture can be formed into a ball, do not over mix. For best results, wrap dough ball in waxed paper and allow to sit in the refrigerator for half an hour.
2. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough, sprinkling with flour as needed, in a rectangular shape, 1/8-inch thick. Gently roll the dough into a cylinder and transfer to a cookie sheet that has been lightly sprayed with non-stick spray. Unroll the dough.
3. Coffee Cake Filling: Bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add 1 cube of butter and stir until melted. Add almond extract and cardamom and stir to mix. Remove from heat. Add 1 cup of flour, stir and mix until the mixture pulls from the side. Add eggs, on at a time, stirring well between each addition. Mix until mixture is smooth and uniform.
4. Spread the mixture over the rolled-out bottom crust on the cookie sheet. Use a frosting knife to spread the mixture to the edges of the bottom crust.
5. Bake in a preheated 350°oven for 1 hour. Remove to a rack and allow to cool slightly.
6. Icing: Mix powdered sugar, vanilla extract and melted butter until a smooth and creamy mixture. You may have to add a teaspoon of water, if needed. Spread the icing mixture over the warm coffee cake. Sprinkle with the slivered or sliced almonds.