Recipe: Cinnamon-Sugar Pull-Apart Cake with Lemon Glaze (yeast dough, 9x5-inch loaf)

CINNAMON-SUGAR PULL-APART CAKE WITH LEMON GLAZE
"Warm pieces of yeast dough sandwich cinnamon sugar and easily peel apart for eating. If you're one of those people who goes in for just another "sliver" of cake and finds yourself eating 2 full slices in "slivers" alone, consider yourself a goner with this cake. It's all slivers! I tried to warn you!"



FOR THE DOUGH:
3 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided use
1/4 cup sugar
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup whole milk
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature, beaten

FOR THE FILLING:
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

FOR THE GLAZE:
1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 tablespoons whole milk

TO PREPARE THE DOUGH:
In a large bowl. whisk together 2 cups of the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.

In a small saucepan, set over medium-low heat, combine the milk and butter and heat until the butter has just melted, about 3 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add 1/4 cup water and the vanilla Let the mixture stand until it registers 115 to 125 degrees F on a candy thermometer, 1 to 2 minutes, Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture and stir with a spatula. Add the eggs and stir well. The eggs will feel soupy, and it'll seem like the dough will never come together. Keep stirring. Add the remaining 1 cup flour and stir with the spatula for about 2 minutes. The mixture will be sticky.

Transfer the dough to a large greased bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel, put it in a warm space, and let rest until the dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour. (If you'd like to bake off the bread the following morning, refrigerate the risen dough overnight.)

WHEN READY TO BAKE:
If you refrigerated the dough, let the dough rest on the counter for 30 minutes before continuing.

Put a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 9x5-inch loaf pan.

To make the filling, in a small bowl, whisk together the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

In a small saucepan, set over medium-low heat, melt the butter.

Turn the risen dough out onto a floured counter. Knead about 2 to 4 tablespoons of flour into the dough. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for 5 minutes. On a lightly floured work surface, use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 12-inch-wide and 20-inch-long rectangle Using a pastry brush, brush the melted butter on the dough. Sprinkle with all of the sugar and cinnamon mixture. It might seem like a lot of sugar. Seriously? Just go for it.

Slice the dough vertically into 6 equal strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and slice the stack crosswise into 6 equal slices. You'll have 6 stacks of 6 squares. Layer the dough squares in the loaf pan like a flip-book. Put a clean kitchen towel over the loaf pan and let it rest in a warm place until almost doubled in size, 30 to 45 minutes.

Bah until the top is very golden brown, 30 to 35 minutees. Let cool for 20 to 30 minutes.

WHILE THE CAKE COOLS, MAKE THE GLAZE:
In a medium bowl. whisk together the confectioners' sugar, lemon juice, and 1 tablespoon milk. Add more milk as necessary to create a smooth and pourable consistency.

Run a butter knife around the edges of the pan to loosen the cake and invert it onto a clean board. Invert the cake again onto a cake stand or cake plate. Drizzle liberally with lemon glaze. Serve warm

I think this cake is best served the day it's made, but it can also be wrapped and kept at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Makes 1 (9x5-inch) loaf
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Adapted from source: Homemade Decadence by Joy the Baker (Joy Wilson)