Romanian Cozonac Loaf with Walnut and Cocoa Swirl

What you need

• 120 ml (1/2 cup) whole milk
• 65 g (1/3 cup) sugar, for the dough
• 1 tbsp lemon zest, finely grated
• 75 g (1/3 cup) unsalted butter, in small pieces, plus extra for the tin
• 315 g (2 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour, plus extra for kneading
• 1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 85 g (3/4 cup) walnuts
• 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tbsp sugar for the filling
• 1 egg for glazing, lightly beaten
• 1 tsp raw sugar, for sprinkling
• neutral oil, for the bowl

Method

Restated from the original video

1. 1

   Set a small saucepan over medium heat with the milk, dough sugar and lemon zest. Stir until no sugar grains remain.

2. 2

   Take the pan off the heat and stir in the butter until it melts. Let it cool to lukewarm.

3. 3

   In a large bowl, stir the yeast and salt through the flour.

4. 4

   Separate the eggs. Keep the whites in the fridge for the filling.

5. 5

   Add the cooled milk mixture, the yolks and the vanilla to the flour and mix to a soft dough.

6. 6

   Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and springy, about 5 min.

7. 7

   Put the dough in a bowl rubbed with oil, cover and leave somewhere warm until doubled, about 1 hour.

8. 8

   Near the end of the rise, grind the walnuts, cocoa and filling sugar in a food processor to a coarse meal.

9. 9

   Whisk the reserved whites to stiff peaks, fold in the walnut mixture and chill until needed.

10. 10

    Split the risen dough in two. Roll each half into a square of about 28 cm (11 in).

11. 11

    Spread half the filling over each square, keeping a 1 cm (1/2 in) clear border. Roll each one up loosely into a log.

12. 12

    Butter a 23 x 13 cm (9 x 5 in) loaf tin. Twist the two logs around each other and lay the twist in the tin, tucking the ends under.

13. 13

    Cover with a damp cloth and let it rise until almost doubled, about 1 hour.

14. 14

    Heat the oven to 180 °C (350 °F). Brush the top with the glaze and scatter over the raw sugar.

15. 15

    Bake on a low-middle shelf until deep golden and a skewer comes out clean, 35-45 min. Cover loosely with foil if the top browns too fast.

16. 16

    Cool in the tin for 10 min, then turn out and cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Imported from carolinescooking.com. Recipe Grab pulled out what you need to cook it; the video stays where its author put it.