Cozonaci with meringue, cocoa and walnuts

Ingredients

For the dough

• 25 g fresh yeast
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 200 ml lukewarm milk
• 200 ml lukewarm water
• 1 kg flour
• 2 eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 50 ml oil

For the filling

• 3 egg whites
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla sugar
• 1 tablespoon cocoa
• 5 tablespoons walnuts

For the add-ins

• 1 lemon
• 1 orange
• 50 g raisins
• 15 ml rum essence
• 100 g rose Turkish delight

For brushing

• 1 egg yolk
• 15 ml milk

Preparation

1. Crumble the yeast and mix it with 1 teaspoon of the 4 tablespoons of sugar, 30 ml lukewarm milk and 30 g of the flour. Cover the yeast mixture and leave it for 15 minutes, until it puffs up and turns foamy. 2. Beat 2 eggs and 2 egg yolks with 3 tablespoons and 1 teaspoon of sugar. Add 170 ml milk, 200 ml water, the salt, the yeast mixture and, gradually, the remaining 970 g flour. Knead for 15 minutes, working in the oil. The dough should be soft and fluffy, and should not stick too much to your hands. 3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and leave it to rise for about an hour, until it has doubled in size. 4. Toast the walnuts at 160°C for 8 minutes, until they start to smell like toasted walnuts, then leave them to cool and grind them. Beat the 3 egg whites until foamy, add 4 tablespoons of sugar and the vanilla sugar, then fold in the cocoa and ground walnuts. 5. Grease the work surface with a little of the measured oil and divide the dough in two. Roll out the first half, spread on some of the filling and add lemon and orange zest, raisins soaked in rum essence and small pieces of Turkish delight, then roll it up. Divide the second half into two rolled-out strips. Spread filling on one and the add-ins on the other, then roll them up and braid them together. I leave one of the strips plain, for myself, and mark the braided loaf so I can tell it apart. 6. Place the loaves in baking pans lined with parchment paper and leave them to rise for 15 minutes. Beat the egg yolk for brushing with 15 ml milk and brush the loaves. 7. Bake in an oven preheated to 170°C for 50 minutes, until nicely browned. Cover them with a towel and leave them to cool for 120 minutes before slicing.