Monday, June 30, 2008

Danish chocolate-streusel-swirled coffee cake

Danish chocolate-streusel-swirled coffee cake

Computers can be and are used in many different ways and for both good and bad. It has become a constant part of most people’s lives and sometimes it is extremely necessary.

I was once talking to Fatima (my maid) about that and she told me that her two daughters - one is 15 and the other, 13 – had been asking for a computer. I told her that a computer would be very good for the girls – they could use it for school papers, research... And then she told me that the only thing her daughters wanted to research about was Chris Brown. :)

Like many of you, I use the computer for both work and fun. It has been a great tool for knowing people from all around the world – people who love cooking, baking and sharing recipes with others.

The sweet and talented Dita is one friend I made through Flickr. She has some amazing photos and delicious recipes there and on her blog as well. She recently made the glazed apple lattice coffee cake I posted days ago. And it looked so gorgeous! To make things even more fun, she even prepared a video!

Because Dita made such a beautiful coffee cake, I felt like making another one. I got the recipe here and loved it so much I immediately bought the book. It makes 2 huge loaves, so get people to share them with or halve the recipe.

Danish chocolate-streusel-swirled coffee cake

Danish chocolate-streusel-swirled coffee cake
from Coffee Cakes: Simple, Sweet, and Savory

Coffee cake:
1 package (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
¼ cup (60ml) warm water, 105 to 115ºF (41 to 46ºC)
pinch of sugar + 6 tablespoons
12 tablespoons (168g) unsalted butter at room temperature
½ teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract, or ½ teaspoon ground cardamom – I used cardamom
3 large eggs
4 ½ to 5 cups (630 to 700g) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup (240ml) warm milk, 105 to 115ºF (41 to 46ºC)

Chocolate streusel:
2/3 cup (134g) sugar
¼ cup (35g) unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons (42g) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 egg white, beaten until foamy
3 tablespoons sliced almonds – I used chopped hazelnuts

Make the dough: in a small bowl, sprinkle the yeast over the warm water. Add the pinch of sugar, stir to dissolve, and let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat the 6 tablespoons sugar, the butter, salt, and vanilla or cardamom together with a wooden spoon or a heavy-duty electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and beat well. Add 1 cup of the flour and beat until smooth. Add the milk, then gradually add 2 cups of the flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well. Stir in the yeast mixture. Gradually add enough of the 1 ½ to 2 cups remaining flour to make a soft dough. Turn out on a floured board and knead until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a buttered bowl, turn to coat, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 ½ hours.

Now, the chocolate streusel: in a medium bowl or a food processor, mix the sugar, flour, butter, cocoa, and cinnamon together. Cut the butter in with your fingers or process until crumbly.

Assemble the coffee cake: punch down the dough and turn it out on a lightly floured board and knead lightly until smooth, 1 or 2 minutes. Cut the dough in half. Roll one half into a 10-by-14-inch (25x35cm) rectangle. Spread evenly with half of the Chocolate Streusel. Roll up and place, seam side down, on a buttered baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough and filling, placing the loaf on a separate buttered baking sheet.

With clean scissors, snip each loaf at ¾-inch intervals, cutting three-fourths of the way through the dough:

Starting at one end, pull and twist each cut slice on its side to lie flat on alternate sides – as you can see, I wasn’t very successful here:

Cover with a towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (175ºC). Brush the loaves with the egg white and sprinkle with the nuts. Place in the oven, reduce the heat to 325ºF (160ºC), and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until golden brown. Transfer the loaves to wire racks to cool completely. Cut into ¾-inch-thick slices to serve. Or, wrap and freeze for up to 2 months.

Makes 2 very large loaves

Danish chocolate-streusel-swirled coffee cake

39 comments:

Cannelle Et Vanille said...

this looks absolutely delicious!!!

Thistlemoon said...

Looks gorgeous! So in sync with the Daring Bakers posts out there too! You must be psychic along with all your other many talents. ;)

I also love Dita's blog!

Julie said...

Chocolate and pastry, how can you go wrong.

mari said...

Damn. That looks so good. I would inhale in one breath. Never share it with anyone else.

Deborah said...

I don't know what I would do without a computer these days - or the internet. It's funny how dependent we get on something that we lived without 20 years ago...

This looks DELICIOUS!

Ann said...

This is beautiful!!! You mentioned you made a lemon tart this weekend (like me), so I can't wait to see the post! Aren't they delicious? It lasted about 2 days in my house. :)

Sharon said...

Wow, this looks so delicious. I'm definitely bookmarking this one to make for a party!

Anonymous said...

Nummy. :) They look like cinnamon rolls before cooking. :)

I get withdrawal symptoms if I don't have computer/internet access for 24 hours. I'm that bad.

Cookie baker Lynn said...

This looks fabulous! I love recipes that make enough to share with friends.

Lisa said...

Lovely! Cardamon, chocolate, almonds or hazelnuts - I can just smell it now. I know it must be delicious.

Happee Monkee said...

holy moly, it looks gooood

Jaime said...

wow, how funny that you would post this right after the DB challenge! it looks magnificently delicious!

Lydia (The Perfect Pantry) said...

This is just the kind of cake I like with afternoon tea -- but I'm not daring enough to try to make it!

Manggy said...

Gorgeous tea ring! I'll always equate tea rings with you from now on ;) That and cookies :) I too thought there was cinnamon in the filling. I wonder how it would turn out in combination with chocolate?

Rita Sella said...

Your pictures are great pat, and that danish coffee cake, my hubby surely will devour that. thanks for idea.

Lia said...

hey Patricia, ur bread looks suberb! iam drolling over here ^_^

Dita said...

Hi Pat, how are you today? still raining in Brazil? ;)
Oh how sweet of you. And this cake makes my mouth watering. I'm drooling again here :), as always everytime I visit your blog.
You always make me want to give it a shot! :D
By the way, I've read your e-mail, but so sorry I haven't replied yet. But I will :).
Can I have your e-mail address? (not flickr mail), because I need to attach some pictures.

Nic said...

Oh this looks lovely! It's coffee time here and I wish could reach in and grab a slice.

Emily said...

Ohhh. It's so swirly! I'm enjoying these pictures. They're hynotizing.

LyB said...

Patricia, you make the most fabulous looking coffee cakes! It seems I'm always looking at your pics right as I'm having my morning coffee, I'm so craving a slice of this cake right now! :)

Stella said...

this is what i call YUM CHA! oh goodie! I want my share, I want my share! *raises hand frantically!!*

Anonymous said...

This is just lovely!
AT first I thought.. wait, I thought she left the daring bakers. Very similar look to these!

Anonymous said...

So gorgeous! I mean it's just lovely!

Gigi said...

Patricia you're killing me with your coffee cake. I am going to have to book mark this for later. Looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Patricia, how absolutely lovely those look.

Dharm said...

That looks just lovely Pat. And how cool that is almost like the DB challenge this month!

Unknown said...

Marvelous!!!!! I love the perfect slices! Great job!

Patricia Scarpin said...

Aran, thank you!

Jenn, I know! I was blown away by the coincidence. :)
Dita is such a sweet person, besides being talented and gifted!

Julie, I agree. :)

Mari, the recipe makes a lot, honey. :)

Deb, I can't go without it either. :)

Ann, I did! I'll be posting it next week (I have another very special lemon recipe programmed for this week).
My sister, who is crazy for anything lemon like me, finished it off in one day. :)

Sharon, thank you!

Joy, I'm that bad, too. :)

Lynn, I love that too. :)

Lisa, I'm glad you like it.

Monkee, thank you!

Jaime, I was surprised and glad. :)

Lydia, maybe the hubby? :)

Mark, as long as you equate me with great things like that, I'm glad. :)
Cinnamon and chocolate complemented each other beautifully here.

Rita, that is a quite a compliment coming from you, sweetie, tks!

Lia, thank you for stopping by!

Dita, not raining, but still a bit cold. :)
You are so kind, my dear friend, take your time to reply the email, I know you've got your hands pretty full with those adorable girls around. :)

Nic, I wish I could share it with you, darling.

Emiline, I'm glad! Tks, sweetie!

LyB, thank you, dear!

Stella, xxoxoxoxoxoxoxox

Kristen, I was pretty surprised about how in sync we are. :)

Cathy, thank you!

Gigi, do so!

Hi, darling! Thank you!

Dharm, you are right. :)

Sher, thank you!

Peter G | Souvlaki For The Soul said...

As usual your baking skills are amazing Patricia. I love coffee cake!

Kajal@aapplemint said...

I think i'm addicted to my computer, specially blogging n flickering ! cant imagine life without it now.
And speaking of which ... i cant imagine how u must 've kept your hands off these divine choc swirl danishs ! Absolutely fantastic.

Peter M said...

Cinnamon buns and coffee cakes are always fun to take apart and eat from the inside out...Ummm!

Anonymous said...

I love the way the inside looks, very pretty and delicious looking too :)

Meeta K. Wolff said...

oh my this is such a good looking swirl! where's my piece sweetie?

Peabody said...

Doesn't taht just say breakfast of champions!!! Love it, turned out so nice.

Anonymous said...

Those swirls look picture perfect Patricia! Lovely, lovely cross section shots especially. I can practically smell how good they are from here :)

Anonymous said...

danish.chocolate.streusel.coffee.cake - how much better can it be? Not much, I can tell you.

Sounds great and looks even better.

Alexandra

Elle said...

Love the way the chocolate, spices, etc make such a pretty swirl when cut...it sounds really delicious!

Deeba PAB said...

What a gorgeous looking danish. Hot off this months Danish challenge at the DB's, Danish & with cardamom are my firm fave. Yours looks SO GOOD...bookmarked for the moment it becomes cooler!! I read your profile that you've been in the kitchen since you were 11...maybe my daughter will put that on her blog (if she has one or if they are still around) when she grows up! Great post!!

WendyinKK said...

I tried this "cake" and got it posted today. Loved it :)

http://wendyinkk.blogspot.com/2010/07/chocolate-streusel-coffee-cake.html

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