Chocolate & Meringue Coffee Cake (Kopie)

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Ria’s original recipe yielded 2 cakes, but this is the recipe for 1.

Yeast cake:
2 cups flour, plus a little more for kneading
3 TBS sugar
¼ tsp salt
½ package active dried yeast
6 TBS milk
3 TBS water
¼ cup butter
1 egg, room temperature

Meringue:
2 large egg whites
¼ tsp salt
½ tsp vanilla
¼ cup sugar

Filling:
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 TBS sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preparing the dough
In a large bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast.
In a saucepan, combine milk, butter, and water and heat over medium heat until warm and butter has completely melted.
With an electric mixer, gradually add warm liquid to flour/yeast mixture, beating until blended. Increase mixer speed and add egg and 1/2 cup flour, beating for about 2 minutes.
Using a wooden spoon, stir remaining flour to make a dough that holds together- you may end up using more than 2 cups.
Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead dough for about 8-10 minutes until dough is soft, smooth and elastic, adding as much flour as needed.
Place dough in lightly greases bowl, turning to coat all sides. Cover bowl with saran wrap and place in empty oven with light on to double in size (about 45-60 minutes).

After an hour, make meringue
In a large mixing bowl, beat egg whites and salt until frothy. Increase speed to high and continue to beat until foamy and opaque. Add vanilla and sugar, one tablespoon at a time as you beat, until very stiff, glossy peaks form.

Assembling the coffee cake
Turn dough out on lightly floured surface. Beat down and roll out dough into a 20x10 inch rectangle. Spread meringue evenly over top the rolled out dough and sprinkle cinnamon, sugar and chocolate evenly over meringue.

Roll up dough, jellyroll or cinnamon roll style, starting on long side forming a log.
Very carefully transfer filled log onto baking sheet or pizza stone and bring ends of log around, sealing ends together, forming a ring, tucking one end into the other and pinching to seal.
Using kitchen scissors, make cuts on the outside edge at about 1 or 2 inch intervals.

Cover coffee cake with plastic wrap and return to empty oven to allow to rise again for 45-60 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Brush tops of coffee cake with egg wash and bake for 25-30 minutes until risen and golden brown. The dough should sound hollow when tapped.
http://sweetebakes.blogspot.nl/2011/03/chocolate-meringue-coffee-cake.html