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.
They described it as: “A gorgeous brioche-like dough rolled jellyroll style around a whipped meringue and whatever filling you choose, shaped into a wreath and baked…Beautiful to put together and gorgeous out of the oven, the cake is light and fluffy, barely sweet, the meringue miraculously melts into the dough as it bakes leaving behind just a hint of sweetness and adding to the perfect moistness of the cake.”
I would consider this more of a sweet roll than a coffee cake, but what ever you call it, you’ll call it delicious. The dough was silky smooth and so easy to work with, but rolling the meringue without it oozing out all over was definitely a challenge.
Instead of the chocolate and nut version, I opted to flavored the meringue with orange extract and filled it with dried cranberries. After shaping the roll, I sprinkled it with citrus infused sugar. I drizzled the baked coffeecake with a lemon glaze after it had cooled slightly.
White chocolate chips would have been a fabulous addition to the filling of this coffee cake as well. I definitely intend to make this dough again. I think it would be perfect for any sweet roll recipe.
Cranberry Orange Meringue Coffee Cake
Ingredients
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
For the meringue:
- 3 large egg whites at room temperature
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- ½ teaspoon orange extract
- ½ cup 110 g / 4 oz. sugar
Filling, Topping and Glaze:
- ½ cup dried cranberries
- 1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
- 1 teaspoon grated orange rind
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 5 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
Instructions
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.
- 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.
- Switch to a dough hook and stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a smooth dough (I only used 1 cup) and knead the dough for 5 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, sexy and elastic, and adding extra flour if needed.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until double in bulk, 45–60 minutes. The rising time will depend on the type of yeast you use.
Once the dough has doubled, make the meringue:
- In a clean mixing bowl 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 and orange extracts 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 ½-inch (¾ cm) from the edges. Sprinkle dried cranberries over meringue.
- 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. Combine ½ cup granulated sugar and rinds. Sprinkle evenly over rolls.
- 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 gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool 15 minutes.
- Combine powdered sugar and lemon juice. Drizzle over rolls.These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.
Thanks Jamie and Ria for a fabulous challenge! Please visit the Daring Kitchen to see a slideshow of the fabulous Coffee Cakes the Daring Bakers created for this challenge and additional tips and recipes.
Lea
Cranberry and Orange sounds delicious!
Beautiful cake, love your topping!
Bizzy
Barbara, this is just another of your most beautiful bakes. Love the flavors and the look.
Judy
Love this recipe, it’s so different. I have it in my queue.
Jane
Wow, this is an extremely interesting and unusual recipe. I’ve never encountered a meringue that gets rolled into a dough like this. It certainly looks heavenly. I’m so intrigued I think I may have to try it one of these days. Your coffee cake looks like it couldn’t have turned out more beautifully! Wonderful!
Megan
Oh Barbara, it looks wonderful. I like the flavor you chose. And I bet white chocolate chips would be great. Oh how I wish I lived by you. I would come over for coffeecake. I’d even bring the milk! 😉
Anything ever become of the stolen post?
Perfecting Pru
I like the idea of orange and cranberry, I was commenting just today to someone about what a great combination it is. Your coffee cake looks really wonderful. I’m hungry just thinking about it. It was a very good challenge.
Nutmeg Nanny
This looks amazing! Loving the cranberry orange combination. I honestly had the best of hopes to do Daring Bakers this month but then totally flaked out. I really need to get back into the swing of things.
cakewhiz
i love the way this looks… reminds me of a basket..hehe 🙂
Beth
That looks just perfect. I am swooning!
Barbara
I’ve been reading about the different recipes each of you made for this challenge, Barbara. I think the idea of a meringue layer is intriguing. Yours turned out beautifully. I like your choice of orange and cranberry; my favorite coffeecake used to be an almond tea ring made by Sanders. Think I would try almond paste and sliced almonds when I try it.
Bridgett
I adore the orange and cranberry combo. This looks like it came straight from a bakery. You do wonderful work!