Orange Cranberry Coffee Cakes
Baking is my favorite thing to do. So during the holiday season, I can often be found in my kitchen preparing festive baked goods, such as these coffee cakes.
Baking is my favorite thing to do. So during the holiday season, I can often be found in my kitchen preparing festive baked goods, such as these coffee cakes.
- 1/4 cup water
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- filling:
- icing:
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 tablespoon grated orange peel
- 1/2 cup butter cubed
- 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 cup 2% milk
- teaspoons salt
- 4 to 4-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries thawed
- 1/4 cup dark corn syrup
- cups confectioners~quote sugar
- 3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon orange juice
- 1/4 cup toasted chopped walnuts
- Carbohydrate 3.23441619330602 g
- Cholesterol 17.9227083333333 mg
- Fat 5.58709887564838 g
- Fiber 0.658018742715542 g
- Protein 1.17277211693108 g
- Saturated Fat 2.57814798337035 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (51g)
- Sodium 1831.46054168274 mg
- Sugar 2.57639745059048 g
- Trans Fat 0.453773833394337 g
- Calories 64 calories
Step-by-step
- In a large bowl, combine the sugar, yeast, salt and 2-1/2 cups flour. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, butter and water to 120°-130°. Add to dry ingredients; beat just until moistened. Add egg; beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a stiff dough.
- Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Place cranberries in a blender; cover and process until chopped. Drain well; discard liquid from cranberries. In a small bowl, combine cranberries with remaining filling ingredients. Set aside.
- Punch down dough; turn onto a lightly floured surface. Divide in half. Roll each half into a 16-in. x 10-in. rectangle; spread with filling to within 1 in. of edges. Roll up each jelly-roll style, starting with a long side; seal seams. Place in greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans; shape ends to form crescent shapes.
- With kitchen scissors or a small sharp knife, cut a lengthwise slit down the center of each loaf, 1/2 in. deep and stopping 2 in. from the ends.
- Cover loaves and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.
- Combine confectioners' sugar and orange juice; drizzle over coffee cakes. Top with walnuts; press onto icing to secure.
Why does liquid heated between 120 and 130 degrees Fahrenheit matter when activating dry yeast? Too cool, and the yeast remains dormant; too hot, and thermal death halts fermentation entirely before gluten strands even begin to form. Yeast metabolism requires precise thermal energy to produce carbon dioxide, which aerates the dense flour matrix during the initial one-hour bulk fermentation. Direct liquid temperature control ensures the dough reaches the required smooth and elastic texture during the six to eight minutes of manual kneading.
Adapting this enriched dough for dairy or egg restrictions requires understanding ingredient functionality. Whole eggs provide emulsification and structure via proteins that coagulate during baking, while butter contributes moisture and shortens gluten strands for a tender crumb. Substitute plant-based milk and oil-based vegan block butter at a one-to-one ratio, though protein-deficient substitutes may require an extra tablespoon of flour to maintain dough stiffness. Aquafaba can replace the binder role of the whole egg without introducing animal fats.
Drain chopped fresh or frozen cranberries thoroughly after processing to prevent excess moisture from destabilizing the rolled dough structure. Spreading the filling to within one inch of the edges prevents leakage during the jelly-roll shaping phase and subsequent thirty-minute second rise. Slashing the loaves half an inch deep releases internal steam pockets during the 350-degree bake, preventing structural ruptures along the crescent seams.
Pairing these citrus-forward pastries with unsweetened black coffee or high-acidity black tea balances the sweet confectioners' sugar icing. These beverages cut through the dairy fats and concentrated corn syrup glaze, cleansing the palate between bites of the spiced, walnut-topped crumb.
Adapting this enriched dough for dairy or egg restrictions requires understanding ingredient functionality. Whole eggs provide emulsification and structure via proteins that coagulate during baking, while butter contributes moisture and shortens gluten strands for a tender crumb. Substitute plant-based milk and oil-based vegan block butter at a one-to-one ratio, though protein-deficient substitutes may require an extra tablespoon of flour to maintain dough stiffness. Aquafaba can replace the binder role of the whole egg without introducing animal fats.
Drain chopped fresh or frozen cranberries thoroughly after processing to prevent excess moisture from destabilizing the rolled dough structure. Spreading the filling to within one inch of the edges prevents leakage during the jelly-roll shaping phase and subsequent thirty-minute second rise. Slashing the loaves half an inch deep releases internal steam pockets during the 350-degree bake, preventing structural ruptures along the crescent seams.
Pairing these citrus-forward pastries with unsweetened black coffee or high-acidity black tea balances the sweet confectioners' sugar icing. These beverages cut through the dairy fats and concentrated corn syrup glaze, cleansing the palate between bites of the spiced, walnut-topped crumb.
