“Cozonac or Kozunak is a special sweet leavened bread, traditional to Romania, Bulgaria and Serbia. Rich in eggs, milk and butter, it is usually prepared for Easter in Bulgaria, and mostly for every major holiday (Christmas, Easter, New Year's Day, Pentecost) in Romania and Moldova. The name comes from Greek: ϰοσωνάϰι kosōnáki.
Cozonac was the sweet chosen to represent Romania in the Café Europe initiative of the Austrian presidency of the European Union, on Europe Day 2006.” (Wikipedia, 2021) More info here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cozonac
Ingredients:
🌿Dough
1 kg of flour (8 cups)
600 ml milk (20 oz)
150 gr sugar (3/4 cup)
4 yolks
50 gr fresh yeast (2 oz)
50 gr melted butter (2 oz)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp rum extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 lemon and 1/2 orange peel
🌿Filling
500 gr grated walnuts (4 cups)
4 egg whites
100 gr icing sugar (1 cup)
50 ml milk (1/4 cup)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp rum extract
4 tbsp cocoa
Turkish delight 6-8 squares
Gold raisins
Egg wash:
1 egg
2 tbsp milk
🌿Dough Method
Start by placing the flour and salt in a bowl.
Dissolve the sugar and yeast in the warm milk and let them rise for 10 min.
Pour it over the flour and mix.
Add the lightly beaten yolks and start kneading by hand or using a stand mixer.
Gradually add the melted butter and fruit peel, continue to knead until you get a homogeneous composition.
Leave to rise until it doubles in volume.
🌿Filling Method
Beat the egg whites with a hand mixer until peaks form, adding the sugar and milk gradually.
Sift the cocoa over the egg whites, add the vanilla and rum extract and mix.
Incorporate the grated walnuts with a wooden spoon.
🌿Folding method
Lightly grease a work surface with sunflower oil and turn out the dough.
Knead lightly and form six balls of dough.
Roll out the dough balls into a rectangle.
Spread the filling, sprinkle raisins and Turkish delight(cut it into thin rectangles).
Roll each rectangle of dough tightly.
Braid the three rolls and seal the ends.
Place the cakes in the tray lined with baking paper and leave to rise for about 30 minutes in a warm place.
Preheat the oven at 200C/392F/Gas mark 6 and bake for approx 60 min.
Beat the yolk and milk and grease the cakes with it.
Tip: Place a aluminium foil on top when it has a nice colour, to prevent it from burning. Spread kia or poppy seeds for a nicer look.
Leave to completely cool and serve.
Enjoy!
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