I love yeast-based cakes, above all others - shortcrust, puff pastries or sponge cakes. Even though I have baked many different yeast cakes along the way, I am always delighted when a wonderful, fluffy cake turns out from just a few ingredients. Kitchen magic in its purest form!
A sensational yeast-based cake with orange peel and sweet dried fruit is a perfect duo! The orange wreath looks great and is easier to make than you might think.
Highly recommend!
Orange babka wreath with dried fruits
Wonderful in taste and attractive in appearance. Perfect on a holiday table or as a sweet treat for afternoon tea.
Equipment
- stand mixer with dough hook and whisk attachment
- bowls
- pastry board or countertop
- kitchen scale
- rolling pin
- sharp knife
Ingredients
Dough
- 500 g wheat flour strong or 550 type
- 7 g instant yeast 1 packet
- 200 ml full-fat milk lukewarm
- 80 g caster sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 yolks
- pinch salt
- zest from 1 orange
- 75 g butter melted and cooled to room temperature
Filling
- 200 g dried fruits here: apricots, pears, dates, figs
- 1 bag black tea
- 50 g butter melted and cooled to room temperature
- 2-3 Tbsp brown sugar or cane sugar optional
- 1 tsp cinnamon optional
- 1 tsp orange flower essence or orange liquor optional
Glaze - optional
- 100 ml milk
- 50 g caster sugar
Instructions
Dough
- Rub the orange peel with sugar well between your fingers. Pour into the mixer bowl, add eggs and yolks. Beat until the mixture is pale and fluffy.
- Measure the flour, add instant yeast, salt and mix well, pour into the beaten egg and sugar mixture. Add lukewarm milk and start kneading with a dough hook until everything is well combined (a few minutes).
- While kneading, slowly add the melted butter, waiting until the dough has absorbed a portion before adding the next one. Continue kneading until the dough becomes soft and shiny, about 6-8 minutes. The kneaded dough will be quite loose, that's how it should be, do not add flour. Gather the dough into a ball, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a damp kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place until it doubles in volume (about 1-1½ hours).
Filling, shaping, baking
- Meanwhile, chop the dried fruit into small pieces. Transfer into a bowl, add the entire black tea bag and pour hot water over the whole thing, no more than to the level of the fruit. Set aside to allow the fruit to absorb the liquid and soften.
- Place the risen dough on a board or countertop lightly sprinkled with flour. Knead briefly and gently.
- Preheat the oven to 180℃ (top-bottom).Roll out the dough into a rectangle measuring approximately 50 x 30 cm, with the longer side facing you. Brush with melted butter, leaving a clean strip at the top along the long side. If you want, sprinkle the dough with cane sugar and cinnamon. Take the tea bag out of the fruit bowl. Spread the soaked fruit evenly. If you want, you can mix them with a teaspoon of orange flower essence or orange liqueur.
- Starting from the nearest (longer) side, roll the dough fairly tightly and place it seam side down. Using a sharp knife, cut the roll lengthwise into two halves.Twist them around each other and connect the ends to form a wreath.
- Carefully place the wreath into a round baking tin lined with baking paper (e.g. a tart tin or a cake tin), cover it with a kitchen towel and leave to rise for about 30-40 minutes.Bake the puffed cake for about 30-35 minutes until it is golden brown. Remove from the mold and cool on a rack.
- While the wreath is still warm, you can glaze it with milky glaze. Heat the milk slightly and dissolve the sugar in it. Brush the cake generously with the glaze to give it a wonderfully shiny, sweet crust.
Did you like this recipe?
Show the results of your work! Leave a comment below or tag @brodzka on the Instagram with #corobikasia #Cottage13