Lemon-Scented Pull-Apart Coffee Cake
- about 2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (12 1/4 ounces)
- 14 cup granulated sugar
- 1 (2 1/4 teaspoon) envelope instant yeast
- 12 teaspoon salt
- 13 cup whole milk
- 2 ounces unsalted butter
- 14 cup water
- 1 12 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 12 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons finely grated lemon zest (3 lemons)
- 1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
- 2 ounces unsalted butter, melted
- 3 ounces cream cheese, softened
- 13 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- Make the Sweet Yeast Dough.
- Mix two cups (nine ounces) flour, the sugar, yeast and salt in a medium bowl with a rubber spatula.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan or in the microwave, combine the milk and the butter and heat until the butter is melted.
- Remove from the heat, add the water and let rest a minute until just warm (120 to 130F).
- Stir in the vanilla extract.
- Pour the milk mixture over the flour-yeast mixture and, using a rubber spatula, mix until the dry ingredients are evenly moistened.
- Attach the bowl to the mixer, and fit the mixer with the paddle attachment.
- With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, mixing after each addition just until incorporated.
- Stop the mixer, add 1/2 cup (2 1/4 ounces) of the remaining flour and resume mixing on low speed until the dough is smooth, 30 to 45 seconds.
- Add 2 more tablespoons flour and mix on medium speed until the dough is smooth, soft, and slightly sticky, about 45 seconds.
- Lightly flour a work surface and knead the dough gently until smooth and no longer sticky, about one minute.
- Add an additional 1-2 tablespoons of flour only if the dough is too sticky to work with.
- Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place (about 70F) for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
- An indentation made with your finger should keep its shape.
- Meanwhile, make the lemon sugar filling.
- Mix the sugar, lemon zest and orange zest.
- Itll draw out the citrus oils and make the sugar sandy and fragrant.
- Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350F (175C).
- Grease a 9x5 loaf pan.
- Gently deflate the dough with your hand.
- Flour a work surface and roll the dough into a 20 by 12 rectangle.
- (I suggest using a ruler and getting this as accurate as possible, for a prettier loaf that will fit better in the pan.
- I also suggest making sure both sides are floured, so that the dough will be easy to lift up later.)
- Use a pastry brush to spread the melted butter evenly and liberally over the dough.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough crosswise in five strips, each about 12 by 4.
- Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lemon sugar over the first buttered rectangle.
- Top it with a second rectangle, sprinkling that one with 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon sugar as well.
- Continue to top with rectangles and sprinkle, so you have a stack of five 12 by 4 rectangles, all buttered and topped with lemon sugar.
- (I suggest carefully sprinkling the sugar and pressing it in lightly to keep it from falling off.
- ).
- Slice this new stack crosswise, through all five layers, into 6 equal rectangles (each should be 4 by 2.)
- Carefully transfer these strips of dough into the loaf pan (I would like the pan with parchment paper for easier removal), cut edges up, side by side.
- it might be a little roomy, but the bread will rise and expand after baking.
- Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place (70 F) until puffy and almost doubled in size, 30 to 50 minutes.
- When you gently press the dough with your finger, the indentation should stay.
- Bake the loaf until the top is golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes.
- (To avoid a doughy middle even though the top may be browned, I recommend using a cake tester to make sure it's done, and covering the top with foil if it's browning too quickly.
- The internal temperature should be about 190 F) Transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, make the cream cheese icing.
- Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth, then add the milk and lemon juice.
- Stir until creamy and smooth.
- The recipe recommends you tilt and rotate the pan while tapping on a table to release the loaf.
- I suggest carefully running a knife around it.
- Flip the loaf over onto a cooling rack, then flip onto another rack so that its right side up.
- Spread the top of the warm cake with the cream cheese icing, using a pastry brush to fill in all the cracks.
- (You might want to put a pan or piece of wax paper under to catch any drips.)
- Best if served the first day.
- SOME TIPS:
- Read the recipe all the way through so that you understand all the steps before starting.
- The construction phase is a bit more complicated than a simple monkey bread or even a simple cinnamon roll.
- Make sure you have really fresh yeast, otherwise you may have trouble.
- The recipe does not contain a proofing period before adding all the other ingredients.
- Draw a diagram of the cutting in order to have it make sense.
- You may want to draw a rectangle with the cutting in order to see the dimensions more clearly.
- The resulting smaller rectangles (4-by-2 inches) are delicate, especially with the filling.
- A suggestion is to turned the loaf pan on its side (short side down) and stacked gently.
- The recipe asks you to remove the cake/bread when it is golden.
- This does not necessarily mean that the inside has completed cooking.
- The minimum internal temperature for breads is 185F but 190F for this bread would be better.
- (The maximum would be around 199F to 200F.
- ).
flour, sugar, yeast, salt, milk, butter, water, vanilla, eggs, sugar, lemon zest, orange zest, unsalted butter, cream cheese, powdered sugar, milk, lemon juice
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/lemon-scented-pull-apart-coffee-cake-478063 (may not work)