Glazed Coffee Cake with Apricot, Cream Cheese and Almonds

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer, dissolve yeast in warm water in large bowl and let it stand 5 minutes. Add buttermilk, sugar, butter, eggs, baking powder, salt and 2½ cups of the flour. With the whisk attachment, beat on low speed for 30 seconds, stopping to scrape the bowl a couple of times. Then beat on medium speed 2 minutes, scraping the bowl occasionally. Stir in remaining flour with a wooden spoon (I added 4 cups all-purpose here, but try 3-3.5 first to see how it works for you). Switch to the dough attachment and knead about 5-10 minutes until smooth and elastic. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky.

2. Turn dough onto a well-floured surface and divide into 3 equal parts. I weighed mine to be sure they were even. Roll each part into a rectangle, 15×9 inches. Place them on greased cookie sheets. (These instructions are for 3 cakes, but I cut 2 of those in half and made 4 smaller cakes to freeze and bake one at a time when I need it.)

3. Now for the filling: With the paddle attachment of your stand mixer, beat the cream cheese with the almond paste until well mixed. Spread 1/3 of the cream cheese mixture in a strip about 2½ inches wide lengthwise down center of the rectangle. Mix the apricot jam with the lemon juice and spread 1/3 of this mixture over the cream cheese mixture. Make cuts in the dough at ½-inch intervals on both of the long (15-inch) sides almost all the way to the filling. First fold the ends in and then fold the strips over the filling, overlapping and crossing in center. You can leave the cake like it is, or it can be carefully stretched into a shape, such as a candy cane or heart, if desired. Repeat for the other 2 dough rectangles.

4. At this point, you can either allow the cakes to rise or you can refrigerate or freeze them. To refrigerate, cover loosely with plastic wrap. The dough will rise in the fridge a bit. You can keep it there for 1-2 days before baking. When ready to bake, allow it to come to room temperature first and to rise more if necessary (it should be double in size).

Here’s how I froze my small cakes: Take an empty cereal box and flatten it, then cover it in foil. Place two sheets of plastic wrap over it so that they hang over the edges. Place two small sized cakes next to each other on it and pull the plastic wrap over to cover them tightly. Put another piece of plastic wrap over the top and tuck it under the edges of the cakes. Carefully cover the whole thing in foil again. Place it directly in the freezer, not allowing the cakes to rise. They can probably be frozen for up to 3 months if covered properly. When you want to bake one, pull it out of the freezer and place it on a greased baking sheet. Cover it loosely with plastic wrap and a tea towel. It can sit on the counter or in the fridge while it defrosts. After it’s defrosted, allow it to come to room temperature and then rise in a warm place until doubled in size.

To let the cakes rise: Remove the plastic wrap and towel, turn the oven on to 450°F (230°C) for one or two minutes and then turn it off. Now you have a warm, draft free place to let the cakes rise. It will take about 1 hour. Dough is ready if doubled in size and indentation remains when touched.

5. When ready to bake: Heat oven to 375°F. Whisk the egg with the milk and brush this mixture over the dough. Then sprinkle slivered almonds over the top. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Mix up all of the glaze ingredients and drizzle it over warm coffee cakes. Cakes are best when served the day they are baked. That is why freezing extra cakes is a good option. Store any leftovers covered in plastic wrap or in an air tight container at room temperature for up to a day.

Note: The filling, while delicious, is more almondy than cream cheesy. If you prefer a stronger cream cheese flavor, you could make a cream cheese glaze instead of the basic glaze provided in the ingredients list. For this, you will beat 3 ounces of cream cheese with 3 Tablesp0ons of powdered sugar. Then add in about 2 Tablespoons of milk and ¼ teaspoon of vanilla. Adjust ingredients as needed to find your desired consistency.