Pull Apart Lemon Coffee Cake

The title says "cake" but I really feel that "bread" better describes what this is. Sweet yeasty dough cut and slathered with butter and lemon infused sugar is baked and then spread with lemon cream cheese icing.  Once its iced you can just peel the slices off, no need to cut (who has time to find a knife anyways??)

When I think coffee cake I think dense, moist, and sweet.. this is more soft, lemony, and sweet-ish. Bread is a better description.

However, it really doesn't matter what you call it,  its not going to be around for long after you make it. This one was pulled to pieces and disappeared in a flash at our brunch on Sunday. Nobody cared what category of baked good it fell under

 

I found the recipe at 17 and Baking and I knew that I *had* to make it for brunch. I changed the recipe slightly because I wanted to be able to make the dough the night before and then just assemble the loaf and bake it the morning of the brunch.

The dough is a bit sticky so having a stand mixer helps form it without getting it all over your hands. I know that stickiness makes everyone want to add extra flour, but resist the urge! A higher moisture content (which causes the stickiness) makes a softer, more flavorful loaf. Too much flour= dry bread.

It also helps to have a ruler as a guide for cutting the strips of dough before stacking them and cutting again. It early (and thus dark) when I was rolling out the dough so I've hidden my ugly picture of cutting the dough here if you want to see an example.

 

This made the house smell amazing..bread baking + lemon sugar mmm.

After about 20 minutes of baking I tented my loaf with some tinfoil to prevent the top from turning too dark before the rest of it had finished baking. After around 40 minutes I pulled it out of the oven and tipped it onto a cooling rack.

 

The loaf gets spread with lemon cream cheese icing while its still warm. It melts into all the nooks and crannies and makes everything sweet and tangy and gooey.

 

Soft inside with flecks of lemon and orange zest. Once you start peeling...

 

...its hard to stop.

Even the end pieces are delicious, the lemon sugar caramelizes on them and makes a sweet crunchy shell.

I can't wait to try it with cinnamon and brown sugar.

Pull Apart Lemon Coffee Cake (Bread)

Sweet Yeast Dough
  2 3/4 cups  all-purpose flour (You might not use all of this)
1/4 cup  granulated sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) instant yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup  whole milk
2 ounces unsalted butter
1/4 cup (2 fluid ounces) water
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs, at room temperature

Lemon Sugar Filling
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Zest of three lemons
1 tablespoon finely grated orange zest
2 ounces unsalted butter, melted

Tangy Cream Cheese Icing
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup  powdered sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Make the dough:

1. In the microwave heat the butter and the milk together until the butter melts. Set aside to cool slightly. While it is cooling Mix two cups of the flour with the yeast and the sugar in the bowl of a mixer. Then add the water to the milk mixture and stir in the vanilla extract

2. Pour the milk mixture over the flour mixer and stir until combined. Turn the mixer on low speed and add the eggs one at a time, mixing each egg until it is combined. Add another 1/2 of the flour and the salt and mix till combined.

3. Sprinkle the dough with 2 tbsp of flour and knead it with the dough hook for 3 minutes. The dough will be sticky but should become soft and smooth from the kneading.  Place the dough in a large bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place  45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.

Make Ahead Tip: If you want to make the dough the night before you bake it just gently deflate the dough after its first rise, place back in the bowl and cover it with plastic. Stick it in the fridge overnight (it will continue to rise, but at a much slower rate. Plus you get added flavor in the bread from the benefit of a slow, cold rise) The next day take the dough out and bring it to room temperature before proceeding with the next steps. I like to cover my dough with a damp piece of paper towel and stick it in my oven at the lowest temperature until it is room temp.

4. Mix the sugar, lemon zest, and orange zest. It will draw out the citrus oils and make the sugar sandy and fragrant.

5. Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease a 9″x5″ loaf pan or spray it will baking spray

6. Forming the loaf: Deflate the dough with your hand. Flour a work surface and roll the dough into a 20″ by 12″ rectangle.  This part is a lot easier with a ruler on hand! Use a pastry brush to thickly coat the dough with the melted butter

7. Use a pizza cutter, pastry cutter, or a sharp knife to cut the dough crosswise in five strips, each about 12″ by 4″ (it might not be this exact size, but try to make the five strips be equal sizes). Sprinkle 1 1/2 tablespoons of the lemon sugar over the first buttered rectangle and gently press the sugar in. Top it with a second rectangle, sprinkling that one with 1 1/2 tablespoons of lemon sugar as well. Continue to top with rectangles and sprinkle, so you have a stack of five 12″ by 4″ rectangles, all buttered and topped with lemon sugar.  

8. Slice this new stack crosswise, through all five layers, into 6 equal rectangles (each should be 4″ by 2″.) Carefully transfer these strips of dough into the loaf pan, cut edges up, side by side. it might be a little roomy, but the bread will rise and expand after baking. Loosely cover the pan with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place  until puffy and almost doubled in size, 30 to 50 minutes.

9.Bake the loaf for 20 minutes and then check to make sure that top isn't browning too quickly. If it is, just cover the top of the loaf with tinfoil and continue baking. My loaf took a little over 40 minutes to bake completely. When done, transfer to a wire rack and let cool in the pan for 10 to 15 minutes.

10. Meanwhile, make the cream cheese icing. Beat the cream cheese and powdered sugar in a medium bowl with a wooden spoon until smooth, then add the milk and lemon juice. Stir until creamy and smooth. Spread over the warm bread (you might want to put some plastic wrap or parchment paper under the bread to catch the drips)

11. Eat!

 

 

 

Comments

[Cate Holst]

Wow!! I'm so wanting some of this right now! Yum

[Design_kitty]

Sweet! This was all over pinterest for a few days and it kept reminding me. I have no idea that's how you made it "pull apart".

[Churchofdiy.blogspot.com]

I am absolutely making this for brunch before a vintage show in a few weeks! WANT.

[Thekitchenbelle.wordpress.com]

Oh wow! I love the way the layers have curled and folded. :D

[Dearinspiration]

Thank you for posting!!! Can't wait to make this as a Valentines brunch treat for the family... :)

[Mylifeunderthebus]

Oh I just want to curl up in those lemony layers and never come out! It is reminding me of a lemon cinnamon bun if that makes any sense!
I ment to tell you we did make those marshmallows and they weren't around long enough to even take a picture!
As far as Lola yes I am hoping to distress her this weekend - as if she hasn't been thru enough! LOL.

[Thegonzogourmet]

Oh my goodness, this has to be straight from heaven. I LOVE lemon anything, and to make it a gooey rich bread cake...can I say cheat meal for the week!!

[Vanessa]

WOW this looks beyond amazing. I am a fan of lemon everything.

[Beth]

Oh my WORD. This looks AMAZING! I am *definitely* going to have to brave the world of rising bread to make this! NOMS!!!!

[Rachel]

Looks amazing. I tried it on the weekend and the dough was SO sticky - I couldn't roll it out! I ended up leaving it in one piece, adding butter/lemon sugar on one side and then rollling it up. It still tasted good. I will try again and maybe add a bit more flour.

[kellypea]

YUM! What a great recipe. I'd have trouble sharing that with anyone.

[Annnyberg]

I am all over this!

[Elizabeth]

This looks so delicious, I can't wait to try it. That you so much for such detailed directions.

Cheers - Elizabeth

[Mama B]

I have a wedding shower to attend this weekend. I may bring this bread. Thanks for sharing!

[Justin Cartlidge]

I'm thinking of taking a stab at making this for my wife, but she does not like cream cheese. I'm no cook or baker, so what could I substitute for the cream cheese frosting? Thanks.

[Stephanie]

Justin: You can make a glaze by mixing a few tablespoons of lemon juice with powdered sugar until it is a consistency that you can drizzle over the warm cake. I'd google 'lemon glaze" to get the ratio of juice to powder if you are un-sure. Good luck!

[Jen Graham]

Yes, yes, and again I say yes. I will so be making this soon!

[Cronwed Mediocre]

god damn! this looks delish!

[QuinnProQuo]

Recipe came out amazing. I madevon per the recipe and one with apricots & sea salt!

[Valérie ILC]

I tried this today but I had a problem : the dough was way too sticky so I added some flour but after I baked it I couldn't seperate the slices... Do you have any idea where the problem comes from ?

[Stephanie]

Valerie: The problem with the bread not pulling apart could be from several things:
-not enough butter brushed on the slices
-over baking the bread
-using a pan that is too small for the bread

[asa]

Possibly the best cake I ever made! Everyone loved it!
Superb :)

[mszig]

This looks delicious! I'm trying it this week.

[Allie @ inonekitchen]

I made this a while back and put it on my blog - it is seriously HEAVENLY. Thanks!

[Gail Morrison]

looks delicious

[pat]

I am unsure about the total amount of flour required in this recipe - in the list calls for 2-3/4 cups and in directions calls for 2 cups to be added initially - then it says to add the 1/2 of the flour in the end - does that mean 1/2 of the 3/4 cups remaining.

[Angela]

I made this bread the other night and left it in the fridge. Just pulled the loaf from the oven 20 minutes ago and it's AMAZING , by far one of the best loaf style bread recipes and super easy to make. I did icing on one half and left half of it without icing for my hubby. Whether you chose to put icing on or not this bread is simply delicious . Thanks for posting :)

[Mary Margaret Embroli]

Oh my! Too beautiful for words.

[herve leger]

i want to eat so good.oh my god

[Mya]

Pat:
I've made this recipe several times (it became a favorite after loaf #1 !) and I am pretty confident the 1/2 you are referring to is actually a 1/2 cup. That is the measurement I use and while I sometimes need an extra tablespoon or two of flour to keep the dough from being too sticky, I also live in a fairly humid area and find most bread recipes I make require that anyway.

[Celeste]

I MUST have this pull apart lemon bread yesterday

[Phyllis]

Wow, my daughter just made this for me for mother's day! It is SO good. It looks, and tastes delicious.

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[mik giambra]

I am going to have to make this for my husband once I come off my "diet" lol :-) He loves LEMON anything!

[Elise]

This was easier to make than I thought it was going to be and the family L O V E D it. It was half gone the first night. Thank you!

[Uzz]

I made this last week, in fact I made two and both loaves were devoured the same day! I didn't have a stand mixer and so used a hand mixer with a dough hook ...killed it as the dough so so sticky!

Ill be making it again as soon as I buy a mixer!

[Amanda]

O My Gosh, I literally got goose bumps and had to cover my mouth *gasp* as I was reading the description and looking that the pictures. LOL. Thank you for posting. Your brunches sound amazing. Wish I was on your invite list! I'm going to "pin" this for sure and my lemon tree is going to become my new best friend!

[Jana Salesman-Timchak]

This was wicked! Loved it!

[cooking rookie]

beautiful!

[gayle]

I tried 5 timed to copy this recipe! I fought for this bread because it sounds so good.

[Karen]

My friend has a shar pei, I'm going to make this delicious bread for him. Can you see the similarity?

[Stephanie]

Karen: That is the best comparison ever!

[Evelyn Wangari]

Beautiful! Looks yummy.