Apricot, Almond, and Chocolate Coffee Cake

The recipes in the book are starting to go towards the sweeter side of the spectrum (finally!) and this coffee cake was no exception. I'm not the biggest dried apricot fan, but they worked in this recipe. This coffee cake was more like the cross between a danish and a cinnamon roll--with untraditional flavors. The dough started with milk, sugar, yeast, flour, and salt--after those were blended, I began to add in a stick of butter. This part took longer than I expected--the butter just didn't want to incorporate. Ten minutes later, the sticky, doughy mess was transformed into a silky, soft ball of dough. While the dough proofed, I created the filling. First, dried apricots were pureed in the food processor then added to simmering water and rum to help plump up the bits. Next, almond paste and butter were mixed together to create a smooth paste. When the dough was ready, I rolled it into a rectangle and covered it with a layer of the apricot paste then the almond mixture. I finished the dough off with a sprinkling of semisweet chocolate chips and rolled everything up. Unlike cinnamon roils, this dough stayed in one long log, with each individual roll laying to the left or right of the "spine". I think the author intended the sections to stand up more vertically, but I thought it looked more interesting to smush them down a bit to expose the inside. After another hour of proofing the coffee cake baked for 25 minutes in a 375-degree oven. When the coffee cake came out, I brushed it with an apricot glaze to make it shine. This morning I finished the cooled cake with a drizzle of vanilla sugar icing. I think it was the perfect breakfast to kick off the week!