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Sunday, March 27, 2011

Meringue Coffee Cake with Chocolate Filling

Yummy, comforting, yeasty goodness for the March 2011 Daring Bakers’ Challenge
Source: Adapted from The Daring Bakers’ Challenge March 2011 hosted by Ria and Jamie

Taste: 5 (out of 5)

Difficulty: 4 (out of 5)

Ingredients

For the yeast coffee cake dough
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (910 cal)
- 1/4 cup sugar (195 cal)
- 1 tsp active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup 2% fat milk (30 cal)
- 2 tbsp water
- 1/4 cup Becel margarine at room temperature (430 cal)
- 1 large egg at room temperature (70 cal)
For the meringue
- 2 large egg whites at room temperature (30 cal)
- pinch of salt
- 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup sugar (195 cal)
For the filling
- 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (100 cal)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar, not packed (275 cal)
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted (860 cal)
For egg-wash
- 1 beaten egg-white with a tsp of sugar (30 cal)
Total: 1 round (10’’ coffee cake), 12 servings, 3125 cal, 260 cal / serving

Instructions

For the dough
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine the sugar, salt and yeast with 1/2 of the flour.
2. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and margarine and heat over medium heat until warm and the margarine is just melted.
3. With an electric mixer on low speed, gradually add the warm liquid to the flour/yeast mixture, beating until well blended. Increase mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes. Add the egg and 1/2 of the remaining flour and beat for 2 more minutes.
4. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the remaining flour) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until it is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, keeping the work surface floured and adding extra flour as needed.
5. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let rise until double in bulk, 45 – 60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.
For the filling
6. Melt the butter and stir in the cocoa powder and the sugar until uniform with no lumps. Set aside.
For the meringue
7. Once the dough has doubled, in a clean mixing bowl – ideally a plastic or metal bowl so the egg whites adhere to the side (they slip on glass) and you don’t end up with liquid remaining in the bottom – beat the egg whites with the salt, first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add the vanilla then start adding the sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.
For the assembly
8. Line a baking/cookie sheet with parchment paper.
9. Punch down the dough. On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread the filling and then the meringue over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges.
10. Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to the lined cookie sheet, seam side down. Bring the ends of the log around and seal the ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.
11. Using kitchen scissors or a sharp knife (although scissors are easier), make cuts along the outside edge at 1-inch (2 ½ cm) intervals. Make them as shallow or as deep as desired but don’t be afraid to cut deep into the ring.
12. Cover the coffee cake with plastic wrap and allow to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.
13. Preheat the oven to 350F / 180C.
14. Brush the top of the coffee cakes with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.
15. Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheet onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cake off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.
16. Just before serving, dust the top of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

Afterthoughts

- First of all, thanks so much to Jamie and Ria for the yummy challenge :-)
- The cake turned out very tasty, a little too big for me, since I cook for only two. So next time I will follow the example of kristy_baker and make two 6-inch cakes with different fillings.
- My dough only rose in the oven, this did not impact the taste, but I had been somewhat concerned until I tasted the cake. So next time I will “activate” the yeast, just like when making bread: I will put the yeast in lukewarm milk with a little bit of sugar and let it rest for 5 minutes, until it becomes bubbly. Then I’ll add the milk with the activated yeast to the flour together with the other liquid ingredients.
- My filling was more liquid than the ones on the Daring Baker’s site, and some of it poured out of the cuts. Based on other posts, it happened to several other bakers. Fortunately there was the parchment paper. Maybe I should use drier filling or make smaller cuts and only on the very top of the cake.

Blog-checking lines: The March 2011 Daring Baker’s Challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria’s Collection and Jamie of Life’s a Feast. Ria and Jamie challenged The Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake.

26 comments:

Renata said...

What a gorgeous sliced coffee cake!

Audax said...

That slice of coffee cake is p.e.r.f.e.c.t. the colour is amazing and the texture of the crumb is stunning. Yes the taste is 5/5. Yes I like you notes very wise advice.

Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

Rachel said...

My filling came out too in the chocolate one. Despite that it was an amazing cake. Love how perfect yours turned out.

Lindsey @ Gingerbread Bagels said...

Your coffee cake is gorgeous! I love your photo and how you can see the inside. It looks sooo good! :)

Liz That Skinny Chick Can Bake said...

Love your distinct layers...beautiful slice :)

shelley c. said...

Oh yum - that slice of coffee cake looks so deliciously appetizing. Beautiful work on this month's challenge!

Lisa said...

Ooh, that photo makes me want a slice of YOURS!

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Wow the filling is awesome.. outstanding.. great job on the challenge. Fabulous !!!

Pavithra
www.dishesfrommykitchen.com

GourmAndrea said...

Beautiful crumb!!

Unknown said...

Beautiful cake! The color is gorgeous and the inside filling looks soooo oooey gooey that I just want to lick it :D

Jeanne said...

The filling looks so delicious! My filling was really messy and oozed out as well, but it definitely didn't affect the final cake. Excellent work on this challenge!

Beloved Green said...

I just made some coffee cake yesterday. Yours looks delish!

You prepare your yeast the same way I do :-)

megi said...

Your coffee cake looks delicious, the crumb is impressive!

Rumana Rawat said...

Oh yum - that slice of coffee cake looks so deliciously appetizing.

Alpineberry Mary said...

I love the way the cocoa & brown sugar filling looks. It must have tasted amazing.

Absurd Baker said...

This is looking so good! Friends are coming to play some jazz soon and I will bake that for them! Thanks for this lovely looking baked good!

Deeba PAB said...

That's just beautiful. Love your choice of filling and that cross section is making me hungry!

s said...

PERFECT!!! just too good,

dokuzuncubulut said...

Thank you for visited my site. I like your blog so much. This recipe is very nice i'd like to try it. Hope to see you again.

Kristen said...

It has been so fun to see the different interpretations of this month's DB assignment. Yours looks wonderful.

Unknown said...

looks DELICIOUSO!

Wolf said...

Be careful- when I used a drier filling in one of mine, the result was a slightly dry cake.

I do like the look of yours though, it looks delicious!

The Chocolate Priestess said...

This is the sort of recipe I'd never think of but it looks and reads great!

A frog in the cottage said...

thank you very much for your comment on my blog post "big hazelnuts french macarons" i guess you can switch italian meringue for french meringue, if you try let me know how it goes !! Your blog is awsome & the pictures a real delight

Miriam said...

The title alone had me sold :), delicious! Miriam@Meatless Meals For Meat Eaters

Unknown said...

I want some now! This looks so so good! I came across your pictures on Fliker and am happy to follow your blog now too!