KOKOSH CAKE @ Ta'am

Hungarian chocolate yeast cake

For the chocolate filling

• 200g (2 cups) cake crumbs (and flavor cake will work)
• 80g (1 cup) unsweetened cocoa powder
• 300g (1 ½ cups) caster (superfine) sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 3 teaspoons vanilla
• 120ml (½ cup) soya milk (or more as needed)

For the dough

• 7g (2 ¼ teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 50g (¼ cup) plus a teaspoon sugar
• 60ml (¼ cup) war, water
• 420g (3 cups) flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 75 ml (⅓ cup) apple juice/orange juice/soya milk
• 3 eggs, 2 whole and 1 separated
• 115g (½ cup) unsalted butter (or vegan alternative) at room temperature

Pre-heat oven to 180℃ (350℉), line one cookie sheet with baking paper. Prepare a surface with either a baking mat or baking paper so you are ready to roll out the dough.

Make the filling: in a medium bowl, mix together the cake crumbs, cocoa powder, sugar, and salt, add the soya milk, and vanilla and mix to create an almost spreadable crumb mix, you may need more soya milk depending on how dry the cake is. Set aside.

To make the dough: In a small bowl, stir together the yeast with a teaspoon of sugar, add the warm water, and let it sit until foamy, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the flour, salt, remaining sugar, orange juice, whole eggs and yolk, and butter (or vegan alternative), when the yeast is foamy add that too.

Mix at low speed until everything comes together, take the dough out of the bowl scraping everything together and knead briefly but thoroughly making sure that all the margarine is well combined in the dough and no visible lumps remain.

Cut the dough into 2 equal portions. Working with one piece of dough at a time, on the baking mat or the baking paper, that has been dusted well with flour, using a floured rolling pin, roll out the dough into a large rectangle as thin as possible (about ⅛ of an inch thick). Spread half the filling on the rolled out dough, leaving a 1-inch border, brush the border with the reserved egg white, so the cake will seal easily. Starting at one of the short ends of the rectangle and using the baking mat or paper, to help, roll the dough and filling, jelly-roll style. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Brush the top with egg white and use a fork to prick all over to prevent too much tearing, that said the dough may tear no matter what, but it will still taste amazing.

Repeat with the second portion of the dough and remainder of the filling. Place the second roll on the baking sheet parallel from the first, but with a 2-inch gap between them.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, until golden on top, best served warm, but still pretty incredible served at any temperature.