Yeasted Meringue coffee cake; Daring Bakers march 2011

Yeah!! I did it! I finshed a Daring Baker challenge ahead of time!It’s been far too long since I last finished a Daring Baker challenge and when I found out that my dear friend from Life’s a Feast, Jamie was co-hosting this event together with Ria from Ria’s Collection, I just knew I had to get of my lazy behind and start baking! And since I know myself I figured it wouldn’t hurt to finish it early so with still two weeks left before the reveal date I think that is a first for me.. 🙂

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.

As soon as I read that this recipe originates from an old handwritten recipe in the collection of Jamie’s dad I was intrigued. It’s a shame I never had any parents or grandparents that were particularly font of cooking as I would have loved to find old recipes like that. I had definitely never made a yeasted cake before and so this weekend, when I had spare time on my hands, it was time to tackle this recipe.

The recipe itself was pretty straightforward; I didn’t run into any issues, apart from the fact that I forgot the cinnamonsugar in the first cake… I was so occupied with making sure I would be able to roll it correctly that I forgot the sugar. I didn’t miss it though, so all good. I made the first cake pretty much exactly the same as per Jamie’s recipe. The second one was similar but I added banana in there. Which I actually thought was a great addition as it made it slightly more moist and well, who doesn’t like banana? (Tom doesn’t, so I am sure he is not happy that I ruined the second cake for him!)

While assembling the cake I was a little afraid that the fact that it overflowed a little bit around the seams would potentially cause problems but it didn’t so the end result was all beautiful and delicious as it was supposed to be. I totally loved the cake and I am sure it will go down really well with Tom’s friends who are coming over tonight. Nothing beats 4 hungry guys when it comes to finishing any sweets you made… 🙂

Yeasted Meringue cofee cake

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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

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Ingredients

FOR THE YEAST COFFEE CAKE DOUGH

• ▢ 4 cups 600 g / 1.5 lbs. flour
• ▢ cup 55 g / 2 oz. sugar
• ▢ teaspoon 5 g / ¼ oz. salt
• ▢ 1 package 2 ¼ teaspoons / 7 g / less than an ounce active dried yeast
• ▢ cup 180 ml / 6 fl. oz. whole milk
• ▢ cup 60 ml / 2 fl. oz. water (doesn’t matter what temperature
• ▢ cup 135 g / 4.75 oz. unsalted butter at room temperature
• ▢ 2 large eggs at room temperature

FOR THE MERINGUE

• ▢ 3 large egg whites at room temperature
• ▢ teaspoon salt
• ▢ teaspoon vanilla
• ▢ cup 110 g / 4 oz. sugar

FOR THE FILLING

• ▢ 1 cup 110 g / 4 oz. chopped pecans or walnuts
• ▢ 2 Tablespoons 30 g / 1 oz. granulated sugar
• ▢ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ 1 cup 170 g / 6 oz. semisweet chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate
• ▢ Egg wash: 1 beaten egg
• ▢ Cocoa powder optional and confectioner’s sugar (powdered/icing sugar) for dusting cakes

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• Prepare the dough:
• In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 ½ cups (230 g) of the flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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).
• 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
• 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.
• 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.

Disclaimer

The nutritional values above are calculated per portion. The details are based on standard nutritional tables and do not constitute a professional nutritional advice.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @insimoneskitchen_ or tag #insimoneskitchen!

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About the Author

Simone van den Berg

Food blogger from the Netherlands. Loves good food. Likes to create healthy and easy recipes for daily use, but also loves the occasional sweet dish. Lives in the Netherlands with her two cats; Humphrey and Buffy. Profession: Food photographer, food blogger, recipe developer and nutritionist

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