Thread by @lifesafeast

#IsolationBaking recipe for #Christmas is a scrumptious

Apple-Cranberry Coffee Cake Wreath

I’m not an expert at shaping dough into wreaths or much of anything else but this is a wonderfully delicious & rather festive wintry coffee cake.

A great weekend baking project.

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INGREDIENTS for dough

¾ cup (200 ml) milk
¼ cup (50 ml) water
2 ¼ teaspoons (8 grams) active dry yeast
¼ cup (50 grams) sugar
¼ cup (60 grams) unsalted butter, softened to room temp
1 egg
½ teaspoon ground cardamom
½ teaspoon salt
3 ¼ - 3 ½ cups (485 – 520 grams) flour

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INGREDIENTS for the filling *
4 pie apples, like Reine de Reinette or Golden, peeled, cored & cubed
1 cup fresh cranberries
2 tablespoons (30 grams) unsalted butter
6 tablespoons brown sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground cardamom

MORE

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1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp finely grated orange zest

Egg wash: I egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water

You can increase the filling by using 5 apples and 1-½ cups cranberries; just be careful rolling it up to keep the filling inside the dough.

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Make the dough:

Mix the water & milk together in a small saucepan & heat gently until warm, not hot. It should be the temperature of your hand when you test it.

Put the yeast in a large mixing bowl. Pour about ¼ cup (65 ml) of the warm liquid over the yeast and stir

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to dissolve. Add the rest of the warm liquid.

Add the sugar, softened butter & the egg; stir the salt & cardamom into about 2 cups (300 grams) of the flour & add to the batter. Stir to blend then beat with an electric mixer until smooth.

Gradually stir in the rest

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of the flour by hand until you have a smooth dough that’s easy to handle. I stir in all except about ¼ cup (@ 40 grams) which I used to flour the work surface as I knead the dough, thus working in this last amount of flour.

Knead for @ 5 minutes until smooth & elastic.

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Place in a large lightly greased (vegetable oil) bowl, turning once to make sure the dough is greased. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap & then a clean kitchen towel & allow to rise in a warm, dry place until doubled in bulk, 1 hour to 1 ½ hours.

Makes the filling:

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Melt the butter in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Add the brown sugar & cook, stirring, until you have a thick, grainy sauce, @ 1 minute. Add the apple cubes, tossing until all the slices are coated with the sugar-butter. Cook the apples for @ 4 minutes

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& then add the cranberries, stirring to coat with the sugar/juice mixture. Continue cooking, stirring, until the apples are tender, the cranberries are popped & softened & the sauce has been reduced to a glaze, about 3 minutes more. Mix in the spices and the zest & toss

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until the apples are evenly coated. Remove from the heat & cool the filling at least 30 minutes or while dough is rising before using to fill the coffee cake.

Punch down the dough & scrape it out of the bowl onto a floured work surface. Roll the dough out into a

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15 x 9 inches (38 x 23 cm) rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over the rectangle of dough up until about ½ (1 cm) on the top – wide side – and 1/4 inch (1/2 cm) on the other three sides. Roll up tightly jelly-roll style starting on the wide side which should be

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closest to you. Pinch edges of dough to seal, stretching the dough to even out the log. Gently lift the roll to a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet placing seam-side down. Shape the roll into a ring, pushing one end slightly into the other open end then pinching

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closed to seal.

Using kitchen scissors snip slits into the deep into the dough being careful to evenly space the slits & creating an even number of sections. To form a wreath, cut down 2/3 of the way through the ring then turn each section onto its side alternating

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the sections back & forth, towards & away from the center. Brush the dough with the egg wash.

Cover once again loosely with plastic wrap & a kitchen towel & let rise again until doubled, about 45 – 60 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Bake the coffee cake

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until golden brown, 25 – 30 minutes, covering loosely with foil towards the end of the baking if you feel the cake is browning too quickly.

Once baked and cooled, sprinkle the coffee cake with powdered sugar or drizzle with white glaze (1 cup powdered sugar + 1-½

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to 2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed orange juice until desired drizzling consistency.)

Questions? Just ask.