Daring Bakers Challenge - March 2011: Yeasted Meringue Coffee Cake ~ Mets la main à la pâteI made this yeasted meringue cake just a day before the last day, and I am so glad I made it, because it was lovely! The yeasted bread was so soft and perfectly sweet and made a delicious combination with almond meringue and marzipan. Instead of using walnuts and chocolate in filling, I mixed ground almonds in the meringue and added some grated marzipan and what great result I got. They where gone with the wind. I made one with savory filling with chicken and eggs combined and it turned out a success as well. I will definitely make this cake more times as I loved the texture of the bread, so moist and so soft!
I have given step-by-step instruction with help of photos. I hope you will benefit of it and give this delicious coffee cake a try (recipe at the end of page).
THE DOUGH
THE DOUGH
Combine 230 g flour, salt, sugar and dry yeast in a large bowl
In a saucepan, add milk, water and butter and let warm up on medium heat just until the butter is melted
Take off the heat, add safron strands and let steep for about 10 minutes (re-heat milk until about 40C)
Add the liquid into the dry ingredients little by little with an electric whisk on low speed until all ingredients are well combined
Mix the batter for about 2 minutes on medium speed
Add eggs to the batter
And 150 g flour
Mix the batter for about 2 minutes until combined on medium speed
With an wooden spoon, mix in enough of the remaining (220 g) flour in the batter till it forms a dough
The dough is done when it forms a ball and loosen from the bowl
The dough has to be smooth and elastic
Grease an large bowl lightly with neutral oil and put the dough inside while rotating it so the oil coats all sides of dough, cover with plastic wrap and kitchen towl
LET REST FOR ABOUT 45 - 60 MINUTES (1 HOUR)
ALMOND MERINGUE
LET REST FOR ABOUT 45 - 60 MINUTES (1 HOUR)
Whisk the egg whites in a plastic or metal bowl for about 30 seconds on low speed and then on medium speed until they become frothy and opaque
Add vanilla essense/powder and sugar, one spoon at a time, beat on medium-high speed
Beat until the meringue becomes glossy and it forms stiff peaks
Take about 100 g almonds
And ground them finely
Carefully fold in the ground almonds in the meringue
Until just combined
THE MAKINGAfter 1 hour
THE MAKINGAfter 1 hour
The dough has doubled in size after raising for 1 hour
Divide the dough in half and roll out each to about 50 x 25 cm rectangular, spread the almond meringue filling evenly (leaving 3-4 cm on sides), grate 50 g marzipan on the filling
Roll the dough lengthwise and pinch the edges to seal
Transfer the roll carefully to a greased baking pan and make a circle, pinch and seal the edges
LET RAISE FOR 1 HOUR or until double in size
Brush with beaten egg or use may use the egg yolks that were left
Bake in the middle of oven at 175C for about 20-25 minutes or until golden in color and makes a hollow sound when tapped
Let cool, dust with icing sugar and enjoy!
EGG & CHICKEN FILLED
250 g chicken, boiled or fried
3 eggs, large, boiled
1 tbsp butter or margarine
2 tsp paprika powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt & pepper to taste
cheese, grated
1. Tear the boiled or fried chicken into tiny bites
2. Mash the boiled eggs and mix with chicken
3. Add the seasoning and butter, mix
4. Spread on the rolled dough rectangular and roll it up as the sweet cake
5. Brush with egg, sprinkle grated cheese or any type of seeds
The recipe is adapted from Thedaringkitchen, Challenge March 2011
FILLED MERINGUE COFFEE CAKE
Makes 2 round coffee cakes, each approximately 10 inches in diameter
The recipe can easily be halved to make one round coffee cake
I n g r e d i e n t s
For the yeast coffee cake dough:
4 cups (600 g / 1.5 lbs.) flour
¼ cup (55 g / 2 oz.) sugar
¾ teaspoon (5 g / ¼ oz.) salt
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce) active dried yeast
¾ cup (180 ml / 6 fl. oz.) whole milk
¼ cup (60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature)
½ cup (135 g / 4.75 oz.) unsalted butter at room temperature
2 large eggs at room temperature
10 strands saffron for Ria’s version (Saffron might be hard to find and it’s expensive, so you can substitute with ½ - 1 teaspoon of ground cardamom or ground nutmeg. Or simply leave it plain like Jamie’s version)
For the meringue:
3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar
For the filling:
Jamie’s version:
1 cup (110 g / 4 oz.) chopped pecans or walnuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (170 g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate
Ria’s version:
1 cup (130 g / 5 oz.) chopped cashew nuts
2 Tablespoons (30 g / 1 oz.) granulated sugar
½ teaspoon garam masala (You can make it at home – recipe below - or buy from any Asian/Indian grocery store)
1 cup (170g / 6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips ( I used Ghirardelli)
Egg wash: 1 beaten egg
Cocoa powder (optional) and confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes
**Garam (means “hot”) masala (means “mixture”) is a blend of ground spices and is used in most Indian savory dishes. It is used in limited quantities while cooking vegetables, meats & eggs. There is no “one” recipe for it as every household has a recipe of their own. Below, I am going to share the recipe which I follow.
4 or 5 sticks (25 g) Cinnamon Sticks (break a stick and open the scroll)
3 ½ tablespoons (25 g / less than an ounce) Cloves, whole
100 g. (3.5 oz.) Fennel seeds
4 tablespoons (25 g / less than an ounce) Cumin seeds
1 ½ tablespoons (10 g / less than half an ounce) Peppercorns
25 g (less than half an ounce) Green Cardamom pods
In a small pan on medium heat, roast each spice individually (it hardly takes a minute) until you get a nice aroma. Make sure you stir it throughout so that it doesn’t burn. As soon as each spice is roasted, transfer it to a bowl to cool slightly. Once they are all roasted, grind into a fine powder by using a coffee grinder, or pestle & mortar. Store in an airtight container and use as needed.
Directions:
Prepare the dough:
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
2. In a saucepan, combine the milk, water and butter and heat over medium heat until warm and the butter is just melted. Ria’s version: add the 10 saffron threads to the warmed liquid and allow to steep off of the heat for 10 minutes. This will give the mixture a distinct aroma and flavor and a yellowish-orange hue.
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 eggs and 1 cup (150 g) flour and beat for 2 more minutes.
4. Using a wooden spoon, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a dough that holds together. Turn out onto a floured surface (use any of the 1 ½ cups of flour remaining) and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes until the dough 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 (I use vegetable oil) 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.
Prepare your filling: In a small bowl, combine the cinnamon and sugar for the filling if using. You can add the chopped nuts to this if you like, but I find it easier to sprinkle on both the nuts and the chocolate separately.
Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:
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 ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.
Assemble the Coffee Cakes:
Line 2 baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.
1. Punch down the dough and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, working one piece of the dough at a time (keep the other half of the dough wrapped in plastic), roll out the dough into a 20 x 10-inch (about 51 x 25 ½ cm) rectangle. Spread half of the meringue evenly over the rectangle up to about 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Sprinkle half of your filling of choice evenly over the meringue (ex: half of the cinnamon-sugar followed by half the chopped nuts and half of the chocolate chips/chopped chocolate).
2. Now, roll up the dough jellyroll style, from the long side. Pinch the seam closed to seal. Very carefully transfer the filled log to one of the lined cookie sheets, 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.
3. 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.
4. Repeat with the remaining dough, meringue and fillings.
Cover the 2 coffee cakes with plastic wrap and allow them to rise again for 45 to 60 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
Brush the tops 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.
Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.
Just before serving, dust the tops of the coffee cakes with confectioner’s sugar as well as cocoa powder if using chocolate in the filling. These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.
Crèmecannelle version:
Meringue
3 large egg whites at room temperature
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon vanilla
½ cup (110 g / 4 oz.) sugar
1 cup (220 g / 8 oz.) almonds, finely ground
1. 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 ½ cup sugar, a tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.
2. Fold in the finely ground almonds and mix
Filling
100 g marzipan, grated
Follow the steps as in the coffee cake recipe above (except the filling), and sprinkle grated marzipan over the meringue before you roll it.
