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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 or cranberries.
Christmas Coffee Cake

Ingredients

Dough

  • 1/4 cup butter
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 (0.25oz) package (7g) or 2 1/4 teaspoons Red Star Active Dry Yeast
  • 1/4 cup granulated sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
  • 1/4 teaspoon table salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 cup mixed candied fruit
  • 1/3 cup walnuts (chopped)

Glaze

  • 1 cup 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 to 110-115°F. Pour mixture into a large mixing 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 in the remaining flour, 1/2 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, about 1-inch thick. 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. Pinch to seal ends together.
  • 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°F. Bake coffee cake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Let cool.
  • Make the icing: stir together the sifted powdered sugar, milk and almond extract. Add more/less milk to achieve desired consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake. Garnish the cake with additional candied fruit and walnuts.

Notes

Photo by Completely Delicious.