Christmas Coffee Cake

A frosted holiday yeast coffee cake filled with nuts and candied fruit.

Use whatever candied fruit you prefer, such as pineapple, cherries, citrus peel, raisins, cranberries, etc. Your grocery store may have a holiday display with a seasonal variety to choose from.

Ingredients

    1/4 cup (56 grams) unsalted butter
    1 cup (237 ml) whole milk
    2 1/4 teaspoon (7 grams, 1 envelope) active dry yeast
    1/4 cup (50 grams) sugar
    1 large egg
    3 1/2 cup (420 grams) all-purpose flour
    1/4 teaspoon salt
    1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    1 cup (150 grams) candied fruit
    1/3 cup (43 grams) walnuts, chopped
    For the glaze:
    1 cup (227 grams) powdered sugar, sifted
    2 tablespoons milk
    1/2 teaspoon almond extract



Instructions

    Heat the butter and milk in a small saucepan over low heat until butter is melted. Remove and cool for about 5 minutes, until 110-120 degrees F. Pour mixture into a large bowl and add the yeast, sugar and egg.
    Mix in 1 1/2 cups of the flour, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, candied fruit and walnuts. Add the remaining flour 1 cup at a time, mixing after each addition until incorporated. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm place. Let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
    On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a rectangle. Starting with a long end, roll it up tightly. Place rolled dough on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and shape into a ring.
    Use a sharp knife to make cuts two-thirds of the way into the dough every 2 inches. Twist each section so that it lies parallel to the sheet pan. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled again, about 30-45 minutes.
    Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake coffee cake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool.
    To make the icing, stir together the sifted powdered sugar, milk and almond extract. Drizzle over cooled cake. Garnish the cake with additional candied fruit and walnuts.  (completelydelicious.com)