Chocolate Meringue Coffeecake

This is what happens when you buy....

1lb of yeast. You start to look for recipes. This one intrigued me because it has meringue in the center??!! It was in one of the cookbooks that my mother's friend gave me (which reminds me I got some more loot from her - the cake pan that I used for this recipe, a nice sheet pan, a food sealer, 8" square metal pan, and a mandolin - sorry no pics).

You can just see the meringue peeking through on the bottom left and up at the top

Chocolate Meringue Coffeecake 

(adapted from Favorite Recipes from All Saint's Church - Margaret Green)

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks)

1/2 c milk

3 T sugar (separated)

2 pkgs yeast (4 1/2 t)

1/4 c warm water

2 1/2 c flour

1/2 t salt

3 eggs, separated

2 t cinnamon

1/2 c raisins

1/2 c chocolate chips

1/4 t cream of tartar (opt)

1 c sugar

The night before:

Melt the butter either in a saucepan or in the microwave. Add the milk. Set aside to cool for a bit.  Dissolve 1 T of sugar in the water (remember the water should be warm ahhh not warm OW) in a measuring cup. Stir in the yeast and set aside. Mix flour, salt, and 2T sugar together and set aside. Go put your jim-jams (PJs) on while the yeast is proofing for a few minutes.

Add the yeast to the flour mixture. Stir. Add the milk and butter. Stir and finally add the egg yolks. Stir until well blended. Cover and refrigerate. Refrigerate the egg whites as well and go to bed.

Early the next day (it doesn't have to be that early - that's just what Margaret said):

Grease a 9" tube pan (mine was 9 1/2"). Blend cinnamon, raisins, and chocolate chips. Set aside. 

Divide dough in half. Roll one piece out on a floured board to 20" x 12" Cover and prepare the meringue. In a mixer, add the whites and cream of tartar. Beat until soft peaks form. Gradually add the 1 c of sugar. Beat until stiff peaks form. Spread half of the meringue on the dough, leaving about a 1" margin. 

Roll up the dough on the 20" side and seal. 

Place in the tube pan joining the ends. Sprinkle the dough ring with the chocolate chip and raisin mixture (Hmmm forgot to take a pic).

Repeat with second half of dough. Insert the dough in the pan but make sure that the ends meet up in a different position than the first ring of dough. 

Bake at 350 for about 1 hour. Cool in pan for 20 minutes. Remove and cool on rack Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar.

Margaret sort of annoyed me here as she did not give the best directions and I had to guess about a few things. I hopefully, have been clearer as this is definitely a recipe worth trying. Yeah I know you need to do a little planning because you have to start it the night before but it really doesn't take that much trouble to remember does it? 

It is a cross between brioche, a coffeecake and I don't know what. Margaret also used 1/2 c chopped walnuts - not so thrilled with walnuts in my coffee cake so I omitted them. Considering I've eaten 3 slices today, I'd say that it must have been pretty darn good without the walnuts. I think I would let the egg white  come to room temperature before whipping them next time - you get more volume that way. I think I think a little vanilla to the egg whites too would be nice.