Some thoughts stick to me like nothing else and I cannot stop thinking of how to make it until finally done. I am sure with this one I will keep experimenting until it is even better, but for what it is worth I can tell you I made it while all by myself and no guest announced to help me eat that yummy thing, which I cannot really find a better name than 'Wheel' for. I ate three pieces the first day all by myself ... I cannot believe I admittet that here in public, so please, don't tell anyone! Everyone thinks I am always good with food and am the most disciplined, but when it comes to warm yeast, sugar and the like I loose control over my cravings. What is it with these yeasty beasts? The worst is the sugar cinnamon addiction I seem to have. I loose all sense of enough is enough and could eat the whole thing. Can you somehow relate to that? Let me know in case I am a nutcase I need to know!
Preparation time 30 min
Rising time 20 min +1 +1 hour
Baking time 30 min at 175°C|350°F
You Need
500g flour
1 package fresh yeast (42g) or I pack dry yeast (7g)
250ml | a little more than 1 cup lukewarm milk
50g sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 tbsp. peel of an organic lemon
2 large eggs
100 g soft butter
Filling:
200g ground walnuts
150g granulated sugar
180g butter
3 tbsp. lemon juice
Icing:
1 cup powdered sugar + 3 tbsp. lemon juice
For the dough: Sift the flour into the bowl of your stand mixer. Crumble the yeast into the warm milk (not more than 30°C), add 3 tbsp. of the flour and a bit of the sugar and let this starter rest for 20 minutes, until the yeast causes bubbles and starts reacting to the flour and sugar. I use my oven turned on 30°C and cover the bowl with a kitchen towel. Add to the flour the remaining sugar, salt, lemon peel, in the center drop the eggs – no shell ;-) and the soft butter. The starter should be ready now and you can add it to the bowl as well. Turn the mixer on low first then on medium speed with the paddle attachment and knead the dough until shiny and well worked. Cover with a towel and let it rise in the warm oven for one hour.
Prepare the filling: In a medium pan melt the butter on low heat, take from the stove and add the walnuts, the sugar and the lemon juice and mix thoroughly!
Assembly:
Then take the dough out on your work surface slightly floured, knead the air out and divide it into 4 equal parts, roll each of them out into a circle. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and place the first circle in the center. Spread 1/3 of the filling evenly over it cover with another layer of a circle shaped dough. The last layer will be the forth part of dough.
With a knife cut the tart shape all the way first in quarters, then divide the quarters in 8 then divide them again, until you receive 16 wedges. Take the neighboring two wedges and twist them 3 times outwards, then the next one and the next, until all are twisted and the layers of the filling show. Shape the wheel from the outside to form that perfect round again and let rise another hour covered with a towel. Remove the Nutty Wheel from the oven, brush it with some egg yolk and milk mixture. Preheat the oven to 175°C | 350°F and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown, Serve warm. Sprinkled with the lemon juice icing -
It sounds harder than it is!
