Triple Citrus Coffee Cake

Today is Sugar High Friday! Hosted by Alice from My Adventures in the Breadbox, this month’s theme is “Pucker up with Citrus.” I immediately thought of Sorbet, Key Lime Pie, tarts and various fruity sauces that would fit the theme nicely, but none of the recipes I had for those desserts excited me. I’m a sweet girl, not a big fan of tart flavors and puckering up, so I went in search for a challenging recipe that had a nice, soft citrus flavor.

Last weekend I attended the French Culinary Institute’s Passion for Pastry Conference, where I serendipitously learned a great recipe for Triple Citrus Coffee Cake, presented by Tara Bench from Martha Stewart Living. The recipe was obviously perfect for the citrus theme of today’s event, and the bread’s staggered shape looked like a good challenge to create. I was a little nervous attempting this recipe since I had never made bread before. I know what you must be thinking — how can you leave to be a baker and have never made bread? I’ve been too caught up in cakes and cookies and decided to finally use this opportunity as my chance to try it.

The most difficult part of this recipe for me was finding the time required to complete all of the steps. You have to let the bread rise (or “proof” as I learned at the class) twice, which takes a total of 2 hours in addition to the time required to measure and mix ingredients. (It took approximately 4 hours to complete from start to finish.) Once the bread has properly risen, you roll the cream cheese filling into the dough and pinch shut. You then slice the dough and spread the pieces apart like wings, which will puff up and turn a nice gold brown during baking. The instructions are hard to interpret by description alone, so I have included pictures to help show you how it works. A few things I learned while making this recipe:

• The weather and temperature inside your house will affect how much flour you need to add into the dough. I had to add the maximum amount of flour recommended by the recipe (6 cups) to get the dough to properly pull away from the bowl.
• I’m not a fan of poppy seeds, and replaced the amount called for with finely chopped cranberries. It gives the filling an extra cranberry kick and still holds up nicely against the bread. You can also replace the poppy seeds with chopped nuts or other dried fruit.
• Watch the bottoms of the bread, especially the loaf on the bottom rack, as it gets close to being done to make sure you don’t over bake.
• If you don’t want to bake both loaves at once, you can put one in the freezer after it is fully prepared (complete step 6, but do not start step 7.) You must freeze the bread before letting it rise for a second time. Once you are ready to bake, take it out of the freezer and let it defrost for 4-5 hours. This will take the place of the second 30 minute rise the recipe calls for.

The end result is a beautifully shaped loaf that tastes like a cheese danish. The citrus is faintly present, but the cream cheese and cranberries definitely have the most impact. I may rename this recipe to “Cranberry Coffee Cake” or “Cranberry Cheese Danish” in the future, but in honor of the Sugar High Friday theme, we can refer to it by the original Triple Citrus Coffee Cake name for now. Enjoy!

Triple Citrus Coffee Cake
Recipe by Tara Bench, Martha Stewart Living
Makes two 16-inch loaves; each serves 6 to 8

Ingredients

1/2 cup warm water (about 110ºF)
2 packages dry yeast
2/3 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
2 eggs, lightly beaten, plus 1 egg, lightly beaten for egg wash
13 tablespoons (1 5/8 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for bowl
Grated zest of 1 lemon
Grated zest of 1 lime
Grated zest of 1 orange
1 teaspoon salt
5 to 6 cups flour, plus more for work surface
1 pound (two 8 oz. packages) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup dried cranberries (4 1/4 oz.)
2/3 cup poppy seeds (or chopped nuts or dried fruit)

Directions

1. Butter a large bowl; set aside. Stir warm water, yeast and 1 teaspoon granulated sugar in another large bowl until yeast dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Whisk in orange juice, 2 eggs, remaining 2/3 cup sugar, 1/2 cup melted butter, citrus zests, and salt. Stir in 5 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time (add up to one cup flour if needed), until dough pulls away from sides of bowl and forms a ball.

2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface; knead until smooth and slightly sticky, about 5 minutes. Transfer to buttered bowl; brush dough with 1 tablespoon butter. Loosely cover with plastic wrap; let dough rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

3. Meanwhile, make filling; mix cream cheese, confectioners’ sugar, egg yolks, and vanilla in a small bowl until smooth. Stir in dried cranberries and poppy seeds; set aside.

4. Butter two baking sheets; set aside. Punch down dough, and divide in half. Roll out one half into an 11×15 inch rectangle. Brush with 2 tablespoons butter, leaving a 1/2 inch border. Spread 1 1/2 cups filling evenly over butter. Beginning at one long side, tightly roll dough into a log, encasing filling. Pinch seam to seal.

5. Carefully transfer log to a prepared baking sheet. With a sharp knife, make 6 cuts, about 2 inches apart, along one long side of log, cutting three-quarters of the way across.

6. Lift the first segment, turn it cut side up and lay it flat. Repeat with the next segment, twisting so it sits on the opposite side of the roll. Continue down log, alternating sides. Repeat with remaining dough, butter, and filling; place on second baking sheet.

7. Preheat oven to 350ºF with racks on upper and lower thirds. Loosely cover dough with buttered pieces of plastic wrap, and let rise until almost doubled in bulk, about 30 minutes. Brush dough with egg wash, avoiding filling. Bake on upper and lower racks, switching positions of sheets halfway through, until cooked through and golden brown, about 30 minutes. Carefully slide cakes onto wire racks, and let cool completely before slicing.

Posted by Kelli Bernard at 10:02 am. Follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Leave a trackback from your own site.