Polish Wheel Cake (Kolacz Weselny)

Kołacz weselny is a yeast-raised coffee cake similar in texture to a babka but made in a pan without a central hole, and with a sweet cheese filling. If you can't find dry curd cheese, you might want to make your own farmers cheese from scratch. Kołacz means "wheel" in Polish and weselny is the adjectival form of "wedding". These wheel cakes were traditionally served at weddings and other holidays in the south of Poland, but are rarely seen today. There are many kołacz recipes. Some make a lattice top over the cheese filling, others adorn theirs with braids and bird shapes. This version sports a crumb topping. This recipe will make two large wheel cakes. I use my mother's pan that measures 9x4" deep. If you don't have a pan like this, use two (12") pans that are 3" deep.

Sponge:
3½ tsp. active dry yeast
1 Tbsp. sugar
1¾ cups warm milk
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached

Dough:
4 large eggs
1 cup confectioners' sugar
4 cups all-purpose flour, unbleached
1 tsp. sea salt
8 oz (2 sticks) butter, melted, cooled slightly

Cheese Filling:
2 lbs dry curd, farmer's cheese or ricotta cheese
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. vanilla sugar
1 cup light or dark raisins, plumped in water and drained (optional)

Crumb Topping:
4 oz (1 stick) butter, cold
6 Tbsp. sugar
2 Tbsp. vanilla sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour, unbleached

Make the Sponge:
In a medium bowl, mix yeast, 1 Tbsp. sugar, milk and 1 cup flour. Set aside in a warm place to rise until light and foamy, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, to make the dough, using the paddle attachment in a stand mixer or large bowl, beat 4 eggs with 1 cup confectioners' sugar until light colored and slightly thickened, about 10 minutes. Add flour, salt and sponge, and continue to beat the dough until well incorporated. The dough will be too loose for a dough hook, so continue to use the paddle.

Gradually add melted butter and continue to beat until the dough is smooth and starts to blister, about 10 mnutes. Scrape down dough from sides of bowl, cover and let rise in the same bowl until doubled.

Grease two 12x3" round pans. Stir down dough and pour half into each pan. Cover and let rise until dough comes to within 1" of top of the pan.

Meanwhile, make the crumb topping by mixing 4 oz butter, 6 Tbsp. sugar, 2 Tbsp. vanilla sugar and 1 cup flour as for pie crust. Set aside.

Make the Filling:
Beat the farmer's cheese or ricotta, 4 eggs, 2 cups sugar and 1 Tbsp. vanilla sugar. Stir in drained raisins by hand. Set aside.

Place rack in middle of oven and heat to 325°F (165°C/140°C fan, Gas Mark 3).

When dough has risen to within 1” of the top of the pan, pour half of the cheese filling on top of each pan of dough and allow to sink in, pushing it down, if necessary.

Sprinkle half of the crumb topping on top of each cake.

Bake about 50 minutes or until dough is golden brown. Let cool to room temperature before serving. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Makes 2 (12") cakes.