Aranygaluska Hungarian Golden Pull Apart Cake With Walnuts And Apricot Jam Recipes

Steps:

• Soften yeast in warm water and let stand 5-10 minutes so that it proofs.
• In a large bowl, combine shortening, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt, then immediately pour scalded milk over mixture.
• While mixture is warm, mix in 1/2 cup flour and beat until dough is smooth.
• Stir the yeast, then add it to the dough, mixing well.
• Add half of the remaining flour and beat until dough is very smooth.
• Beat in the eggs and enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough.
• Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and let rest 5-10 minutes.
• Knead by folding opposite side over towards you, then using the heels of your hands to push the dough away, then give it a quarter turn and repeat process until smooth and elastic (5-10 minutes) (always turn the dough in the same direction and use as little additional flour as possible).
• Form dough into a large ball and place in a greased bowl.
• Turn the ball over so that the surface on the top is greased and cover bowl with waxed paper and a towel.
• Let rise in warm place (80°F) until doubled in bulk (1 1/2-2 hours).
• Punch dough down with fist, pull the edges into the center, and turn ball over inside the bowl.
• Cover bowl and let dough rise until nearly doubled again in bulk.
• Meanwhile, lightly grease the bottom of a 10-inch tubed pan.
• In a shallow dish combine 1 cup sugar, nuts, and cinnamon and set aside.
• Place melted butter in another shallow dish and set aside.
• Tear off bits of dough and form into balls 1-1 1/4-inch in diameter (about the size of walnuts).
• Roll balls first in melted butter, then lightly in the cinnamon mixture.
• Arrange a layer of balls in the bottom of the pan so that they don't touch each other.
• Sprinkle about 1/3 of the raisins over the balls and gently press into the dough.
• Continue this process until all of the dough is formed into balls and arranged in the pan and all of the raisins have been used up.
• Sprinkle any remaining butter and cinnamon mixture over the top layer.
• Cover pan with waxed paper and towel and let dough rise until light (30-45 minutes).
• Bake at 375°F until golden brown (35-40 minutes).
• Run spatula around sides of pan and invert onto a plate.
• To serve, break cake apart with 2 forks.