Cozonac with Walnut Filling

Cozonac with Walnut Filling is a Romanian yeasted sweetbread, which is traditionally made for special occasions like Easter and Christmas. Due to the added egg and butter the bread has a beautiful fluffy and soft texture. This recipe only takes a little effort, but in the end it will be worth it.

Cozonac with Walnut filling adds grounded walnuts, so if you do have a nut allergy I suggest to make this Cozonac instead. The walnut filling itself gives it nice nutty flavor with a hint of cacao and keeps a nice moisture to the bread.

Cozonac with Walnut Filling Ingredients

Flour: In Romania you can buy flour specifically for this, which is type ‘000’, but you can use all-purpose flour for this.

Sugar: Use just plain white sugar for recipe.

Milk: Please use full-fat milk for the this bread, since you want to taste a rich dough.

Butter: Unsalted Butter is the the best choice for this sweetbread.

Rum Essence: In my time in Romania I can say with a surety that this is the flavor number one in Romania.

Walnuts: My family has had it’s own walnut tree and we have used them from the garden, but you should be able to find them in any store. Ground them up as fine as possible for the mixture.

Eggs: Use medium to large eggs and keep them at room temperature

Cozonac with Walnut Filling

Print Recipe

This soft Romanian sweetbread is a classic in Romanian holidays. There a two varieties that I have eaten which is this one and another one with Turkish Delight both of them are delicious.

• Author: Jessica
• Prep Time: 20 minutes
• Proof Time: 90 minutes
• Cook Time: 60 minutes
• Total Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
• Yield: 2 Loaves 1x
• Category: Dessert
• Method: Oven+Bread Pan
• Cuisine: Romanian

Ingredients

Units MUS Scale 1x2x3x

• 1 kg flour
• 250g sugar
• 500 ml milk
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 eggs
• 2 packages active dried yeast (7g)
• 150 g unsalted butter
• 50 ml vegetable oil
• 2 lemons (for the peel)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla essence
• 2 teaspoon rum essence

Filling

• 400 g walnuts
• 150 g sugar
• 50 g cacao
• 1 teaspoon of rum essence
• 3 egg whites

 

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Instructions

1. In a big bowl add your flour.
2. Separate your egg yolk from their egg whites. You will only need 3 egg whites set aside for this. Use up the rest of egg whites for another dish.
3. Separately warm up your milk comfortable to touch add your sugar and yeast to the mix until the yeast mixture doubles.
4. Melt your butter and add oil to it for the end step.
5. Add the lemon peel and salt to the flour and start add your yeast mixture into it. Slowly pour in while kneading. Once the dough comes slowly together add the egg yolks one at a time.
6. Knead until you don’t see any yellow streaks from the egg.
7. Pour the butter and oil little by little until all is incorporated.
8. Let the dough rest for at least one hour or until doubled.
9. Preheat oven to 180C (350F)
10. Line your bread pan 20cmx10cm or 8 inchx 4 inch with a baking sheet. Any long bread pan will do.
11. Ground your walnuts as fine as possible.
12. Whisk you egg whites stiff and add your sugar tablespoon at a time.
13. Fold in your ground walnuts and cacoa to your egg whites.
14. Half the the dough in half and place one dough to an oiled surface. Roll it out into a rectangle and generously spread your walnut filling to the dough!
15. Roll up the long side up and place the loaf seam side down into the bread pan.
16. Let it rest for 30 minutes.
17. Bake in the oven for at least 45 minutes. Each oven is different so it take even up to an hour. Check the bread with a toothpick.
18. Once done brush it with some sugar water (2 tablespoon water with 1 tablespoon sugar).
19. Let it cool completely.

 

Notes

You can use fresh yeast if desired. For this recipe use 50 g of fresh yeast.