Very, very satisfying

There's just something about baking.

This cream cheese and sour cherry coffee cake took some time, but isn't that sort of the point?

Oh, and because I like to give a weather report, I'm happy to report that today is warm-ish (55) and very sunny. Good walking weather, which Theo and I have done during various stages of the baking.

Ok, back to the coffee cake. Here it is, all ready to start rising. And yes, that golden glow is thanks to a stick of butter.

After it's risen, it gets rolled out... large-ish and square-ish.

Then topped with the cream cheese and cherries. I used Cherry Republic's Ruby Red Morsels of Joy. The best, of course. 

Then the whole thing is rolled up like a jelly roll and, according to Martha Stewart, "coil[ed] into a snail shape." 

Then, another brief rise, and into the oven... and... ta da!... loveliness. I don't know why it looks burned. It isn't. Just bad photography, I guess. And of course the glaze is still to come. 

Note: that's my new tea kettle in the background. It has a very nice shape. You can't see it well here, but it'll be in the background of other photos, too, I'm sure.

And finally, here's the coffee cake with the glaze.

Pretty darn good.