Sunday, March 27, 2011

Company-is-Coming Breakfast

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.

The next time you have company visiting overnight, you MUST make this Coffee Cake. Seriously. It's going to be a new company-is-coming breakfast requirement at your house. It definitely is at mine.

Once again, the
Daring Bakers put my baking skills to the test with a delightful treat I'd never heard of, much less attempted in the kitchen. This breakfast ring is essentially a yeast coffee cake, filled with chocolate and nuts.

It tastes like a chocolate-loaded pastry straight off the rack at Panera. Only ten times better.

And honestly, it wasn't near as difficult as I expected (far easier and less awkward to work with than the
Stollen). The best part? Definitely the ooey gooey chocolate in the middle, which firms up beautifully once the bread has cooled.

We've all got our company-is-coming breakfast treats. Growing up, my mom always made Cinnamon-Sugar Monkey Bread for breakfast visitors. I hadn't found my own visitor breakfast niche yet...until I baked this baby last week.

Consider my niche found.

Yeasted Meringue-Chocolate Coffee Cake
(recipe from Jamie at Life's a Feast)

Dough Ingredients:
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 TBSP sugar
  • 1/4 + 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1 - 1/8 tsp. yeast
  • 1/4 + 2 TBSP milk
  • 2 TBSP water
  • 1/4 cup butter at room temperature
  • 1 large egg
Meringue Ingredients:
  • 2 egg whites
  • 1/8 tsp. salt
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/4 cup sugar
Filling Ingredients:
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1 TBSP sugar
  • 1/4 tsp. cinnamon
  • 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Topping:
  • More semi-sweet chocolate chips! (about 1/2 - 3/4 cup?)

Directions:
1) In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast. Set aside.

2) In a small saucepan, combine the milk, water, and butter and heat until just warmed and the butter is melted.

3) Add the butter mixture to the flour mixture with your mixer on low speed. Mix until well-combined. Increase mixer speed and beat for about 2 minutes. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour and beat for another 2 minutes.

4) Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup of flour. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 8 - 10 minutes until it is smooth and elastic (add more flour as neeeded).

5) Place dough in a bowl coated with cooking spray and turn to coat. Cover the bowl and allow it to rest in a warm place, undisturbed, for an hour (it should double in size).

6) Meanwhile, prepare your filling: Combine the cinnamon and sugar together in a small bowl.

7) Once the dough has doubled in size, prepare your meringue: Beat the egg whites and salt together on high speed until light and foamy. Add the vanilla, and start adding the sugar 1 TBSP at a time. Continue beating until stiff, glossy peaks form.

8) Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Punch dough down and roll into a rectangle (about 20 x 10 inches). Spread the meringue over the rectangle, leaving a 1 - 2 inch border around the edges. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar on top, then the nuts, and then the chocolate chips.

9) Roll the rectangle up, jelly-roll style, from the long end. Transfer the rolled log (funny terminology, isn't it?) onto the prepared baking sheet, seam-side down. Pull the two ends together to form a wreath/ring shape, and pinch the edges together to seal. Use a sharp knife to cut slits around the ring, a few inches apart from each other.

10) Cover the coffee cake ring with plastic wrap and set in a warm place for about 60 minutes to rise.

11) Bake for 25 - 30 minutes, or until golden and risen.

12) Once the coffee cake has cooled, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave. Spread or drizzle over the top of the coffee cake and allow to cool and solidify before serving.



20 comments:

  1. Wow! That looks amazing. I think you're right---that would be the best thing ever to serve to guests! I can totally see my grandpa drooling over that :)

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  2. If you make this for company- I will be over for breakfast tomorrow :)

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  3. I love Panera sweets -- and this does look like it could be one of their items!

    The swirl looks so beautiful and so delicious.

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  4. Great job on this month's challenge...looks delish! Cute blog name by the way :)

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  5. Be still my heart. Any company being served this would be the luckiest people ever!!

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  6. I've seen this several times today, and each time I see it, it makes me want to make it a little bit more. It looks so good!

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  7. Wow, that looks SO good!!! I wish I was the company for this ;)

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  8. Oh my...this looks like a piece of heaven. I want some of this now. Thank you for sharing with me. After a very long week, it is refreshing to return to the blogs/people that I love. Your words mean more to me than I can express. Many blessings this week!

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  9. I'm always not brave enough to join the Daring Bakers challenge. This bake is fantastic...you did well.

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  10. Homemade is always better! Delicious filling!

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  11. This is new for me too, it sounds and looks scrumptious. You have no idea how much I love pecans... I'm thinking of rejoining daring bakers again.

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  12. WOW yes you are right this is the cake to have when visitors are coming superb work on the crumb of the final cake looks so airy and light bravo to you.

    Cheers from Audax in Sydney Australia.

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  13. I LOVE the chocolate you put on top. Your coffee cake is calling my name!! :) It looks soooo good.

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  14. Ohh it looks good. I always feel pressure to make something awesome when people are coming over. When I saw your post title I had to read it.

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  15. your coffee cake turned out so good. and the chocolate ganache on top, oh my, I want some

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  16. Yours came out gorgeous! I love the swirl. I also plan to make this again as my friends and I devoured it! Such a nice dough to work with. Great job! :)

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  17. I love me some coffee cake! Yours looks INSANE!

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  18. very impressive, kylie!

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  19. Wow--I'd make this regardless if I had company coming or not. It's looks to good to wait :-)

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