Yeasted Coffee Cake With Guava Paste, Cream Cheese and Meringue Filling

This month’s daring baker’s challenge was to make yeasted coffee cake with meringue. First I was skeptical about using meringue in the cake. Finally after seeing lot of fellow baker’s clicks and results I decided to add meringue in my cake too. If you ask me whether this is a cake, I will say no, as it tastes and look more like bread with sweet filling.

Normally when I look at the challenges, first thing coming in the mind is that this is not my cup of tea and I am not going to make it. However when I saw this one, I liked it as it deals with yeast and making a bread. In my home, morning session is always starts with oatmeal not with cakes or quick bread. Indian breakfast dishes always become dinner dishes or weekend favorite. Last week I bought a guava paste. Every time walking through that aisle at the grocery store, I will take a look at guava paste and keep them back, but this time I finally bought it. I know guava paste or goiabada is widely used in South American cooking; in India, people from Goa also use them. However they are not popular in south India, we make preserve with jackfruit called chakka varatti. I kept the guava paste for two –three days in my kitchen table, my hubby was so curious to do a taste test. He asked me to open the packet and try it. To my surprise, it tastes similar to our chakka varatti or jackfruit preserve only difference it has flavor of Guava as supposed to be. I even asked him do you think it will be good candidate to make Payasam/pudding. His answer was try it then only you know the end result.

This coffee cake is from the recipe notes of Jamie’s father. Both Jamie of Life’s a Feast and Ria of Ria’s Collection are the hostess of this month has came up with two versions, the first one adds garam masala to chocolate filling, other just plain filling with chocolate and pecan. I made my own changes to recipe, used bread flour instead of all purpose flour and reduced the amount of butter and yeast. I added cardamom to the dough, cashew nuts to the filling and skipped adding any flavors to the filling. I know filling was flavorful by its own right. The cheese and guava paste is called Romeo Juliet in Brazilian cooking as they make a wonderful combination. The bread recipe was really good as it contains less butter and sugar compared to other recipes, so they are going to stick around for long time. I used only half of meringue than prescribed in the recipe. I don’t want to make wreath shape, so made it as loaf. Only difficulty I encountered was while rolling the dough it was not able to hold them tightly as it was heavily filled. Next time I will skip the meringue and go with only guava paste and cream cheese. Here goes the recipe.

One year ago:  Orange tian.
Print recipe from here
 
What you need

For yeast coffee cake dough
Bread flour: 2 cups (300 g) I used unbleached King Arthur bread flour
Sugar: 2 tablespoon (25 g)
Salt: ½ teaspoon (3g)
Instant yeast: 1 teaspoon( 3g)
Whole milk: 1/3cup (75g)
Water: 1/4cup (55g)
Unsalted butter: 3 tablespoon (40 g) at room temperature
Large egg: 1 no at room temperature
Cardamom: 3 no ( Crushed into fine poweder)

For the meringue

Egg white of 1 large egg: I used ½ the amount
Sugar: 1 teaspoon

For the filling
Guava paste: ½ cup (125g)
Water: 2 tablespoon
All purpose flour: 1 tablespoon ( 18g)
Cream cheese: 2.5 oz ( bring to room temperature or microwave high at 15 seconds to soften)
Sour cream: 1/8 cup/41g
Cashew nuts: 1/3 cup ( 39g) chopped into fine pieces.

Egg wash: 1 egg yolk with 2 tablespoon of water

How I made

For prepare the dough:

In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups (300 g) of the bread flour, the sugar, salt and yeast.

In a microwave safe bowl combine the milk, water and butter and heat high for 20 seconds or until warm and the butter just gets melted. Set aside until it gets cooled for 10 seconds. 

In a bowl of kitchen aid stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment add bread flour, the sugar, salt, crushed cardamom, yeast and add milk –water –butter mixture and egg combine everything to form shaggy wet dough. Loosely cover and set aside for 30 minutes to autolyse.

After 30 minutes, knead the dough to 8-10 minutes to form smooth, elastic dough. Transfer the dough to well oiled bowl and coat the dough with oil by rolling it in all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for fermentation for 1 hour 50 minutes. After 1 hour of fermentation, fold and punch down dough and set aside for rest of fermentation.

Prepare your filling:

In a microwave safe small bowl, combine the guava paste and water heat at high for 30 seconds or until guava paste melt to form a jam like consistency. 

In a medium bowl beat room temperature cream cheese, sour cream and all purpose flour to smooth consistency without any lumps and set aside. 

Once the dough has doubled after 1 hour 50 minutes, make the meringue.

In a clean metal bowl add egg white and beat first on low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to high and continue beating until foamy and opaque. Add a teaspoon of sugar, as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form. Set aside. 

Assemble the Coffee Cake:

Line a baking/cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, 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 1/2-inch (3/4 cm) from the edges. Then spread cream cheese and guava paste evenly over the top of meringue one by one. Sprinkle chopped cashew nuts evenly over the filling. 

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 sheet, seam side down. Seal the ends together. Keep aside for second rise for about 45 minutes or until they double in size.

By the end of second rise, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Keep an empty broiler pan in the lower rack of oven. Add boiling hot water into the broiler pan when you are ready to bake the bread. (This will create steam, necessary to make the thick crust).

When you are ready to bake make score the bread with 3-4 diagonal slit and brush the tops of the coffee cake with the egg wash. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.

Remove from the oven and slide the parchment paper off the cookie sheets onto the table. Very gently loosen the coffee cakes from the paper with a large spatula and carefully slide the cakes off onto cooling racks. Allow to cool.

Just before serving, if you wish dust the tops of the coffee cake with confectioner’s sugar . These are best eaten fresh, the same day or the next day.

Want a bite?

Preparation time: 3 hours and 45 minutes
Yield: 1 coffee cake
Verdict; Delicious
Will you make it again: Yes I will

I am linking to Hearth and  Soul Hop #41
Midnight Maniac Meatless Mondays: 26 hosted by Rebecca Jean of Midnight Maniac
My Meatless Mondays hosted by Chaya of My Sweet and Savory
Just another meatless Mondays hosted by Laura of  Heywhatsfordinnermom
Tuesday night supper club #34 hosted by  Christy
Delectable Tuesdays 
Tempt my tummy Tuesdays  hosted by Lisa
Yeast spotting
Crazy about cakes event hosted by Priya