Soft sweet dough filled with the most flavourful nut filling imaginable!
½ Basic sweet dough recipe
Filling
250 ml walnuts or pecan nuts, coarsely chopped
60 ml milk
60 ml sugar
15 ml honey or syrup
2,5 ml ground cinnamon
15 ml raisins or sultanas, cut up finely
30 ml chocolate chips or chopped chocolate
1 ml vanilla essence or 5 ml brandy or dark rum
Glaze
1 large egg yolk
15 ml water
- Make and cool the filling while the dough is rising.
- Place all the ingredients for the filling into a small saucepan and stir over moderate heat until the chocolate has melted.
- Continue stirring until the paste becomes smooth and thick. Cool to room temperature.
- Roll out the dough thinly on a floured surface to a rectangle of about 35 x 25 x 1 cm and spread evenly with filling, allowing about 2 cm at the edges uncovered.
- Roll up the dough from the longer side and tuck in the ends at the sides to seal in filling.
- Grease a baking tray with butter or margarine and place the roll onto the baking tray. Allow to rise in a slightly warm protected spot until doubled.
- Bake the roll unglazed at 160ºC for 20 minutes.
- Beat together the egg yolk and water for the glaze and brush generously over the partly baked roll.
- Bake 10 to 15 minutes more until golden and thoroughly baked if tested with a metal skewer.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack and wrap in aluminium foil until required.
- Serve thinly sliced as is or lightly buttered if preferred.
Yields: One large loaf or at least 16 – 20 servings
Note
Although the loaf may be eaten shortly after baking it improves in flavour if wrapped in foil and refrigerated for a day or two.
Recipe for Sweet Dough by Carolié de Koster from the Art Of Cooking recipe book page 850.