Making cozonac is a labour of love. This is because it takes time, patience, and a lot of precision to make Romania’s most traditional dessert. And its presence is compulsory at holiday or celebration meals. This Romanian cozonac recipe takes time to make, but the end result is so worth it.
Cozonac is a sweet bread filled with cocoa, walnuts, and other delicious fillings, that is served at the end of a meal, at Christmas, Easter, weddings, Christenings, and funerals. It is custom to give slices of cozonac away on remembrance days as well, or after the mass at church.
There are different recipes for cozonac, some requiring more work than others. You see, the way to tell if a cozonac has been made with love is by how soft the interior is. The more tender and melt in your mouth the texture of the cozonac is, the more the person who made it kneaded it, and kept it in a warm place. It is very common in the countryside for the dough to be kept near the ceramic stove and the cozonac, once baked, to be wrapped in blankets.
This recipe of cozonac only requires a little bit of kneading, whilst still achieving that soft and fluffy interior. I have always loved my cozonac to have plenty of filling, with walnuts, cocoa, raisins and Turkish delight. You can pick whichever filling you like best. The classic is cocoa and walnuts, which I am making in this recipe before topping it with my favourite extras.
The Ingredients for This Romanian Cozonac Recipe
The ingredients for this recipe will make one cozonac. If you want to make two, double the ingredients.
There are two parts in this cozonac recipe. The first one is making the dough from a mixture of flour, sugar, yeast, milk, eggs, butter, and vanilla. You can use fresh yeast or a powdered one. I used a pack of instant yeast, which doesn’t need to be dissolved in warm milk first. Whichever you choose to use, keep in mind that a cube of 25 gr of fresh yeast equals a pack of 10 gr of dried yeast, and 7 gr of instant yeast.
For the filling you will need chopped walnuts, cocoa, sugar, egg whites, milk, and rum essence. You can find the rum essence at Romanian, Polish, or Turkish shops. This is an essential ingredient for many Romanian desserts.
How to Make Romanian Cozonac
Start by making the dough of this cozonac. Firstly, activate the yeast according to the steps on the package. If you want to avoid this step, choose instant yeast. Combine all the wet ingredients except for the eggs in a pot, over a low heat. Lightly beat the eggs and set them aside. Once the wet ingredients are incorporated, mix with the dry ingredients, then add the eggs. Brush the formed dough with oil, and let it raise for an hour or so covered, near a source of heat. It should double in size.
Separately, make the filling by mixing the walnut with the cocoa, sugar, hot milk, sugar, rum essence, and a pinch of salt. Separately, whisk the egg white until it becomes stiff. Fold the egg white into the walnut mix, until you obtain a soft and easy spreadable cream.
Once the dough has doubled its volume, take it out of the bowl and divide it into two equal pieces. The dough might be a bit sticky, so it’s good to brush the surface you’ll be working on with a little bit of oil. I’ve rolled the two pieces directly on the baking paper.
The dough will be quite elastic and easy to work with, a little bit like focaccia. Spread each piece into a rectangular shape, and spread the cream on top of it. Now, roll the pieces, to seal the filling inside. For the next bit you will have to carefully braid the two rolls, one on top of each other. Two braids are enough for a beautiful cozonac. If you manage three, you are an expert.
Because I worked directly on the baking paper, it was easy to transfer the cozonac into the rectangular tray. I left it to rest for another 20 minutes, covered and next to a source of heat, before I brushed it with egg wash and decorated it with sugar crystals and half walnuts.
The cozonac needs to be baked slowly, at a lower temperature so that it doesn’t burn on the outside or on the bottom. Mine took 50 minutes to bake, at 180 degrees, time in which it grew beautifully over the edge of the tray.
Make sure you take time to cool the cozonac properly, to avoid it collapsing. After you take it out of the oven, leave it for another 10 minutes before you remove it from the tray. Then, let it cool on its side, rotating it from time to time, to avoid it collapsing.
Recipe Notes and Tips:
- Before you start making the cozonac, make sure that the temperature in your kitchen is above 25 degrees. The dough needs to rise in a warm place. I set my bowl right next to the heater.
- The classic filling for the Romanian cozonac is walnuts and cocoa. You can however fill it with whatever you like best. I love the combination of cocoa, walnuts, Turkish delight, rum and raisins, so I’ve put all of them in my cozonac. These days, there are modern cozonac recipes in which the filling is chocolate or orange jam, but I’m a fan of the classic versions.
- Do not open the door of the oven for the first half an hour of the cozonac baking. Opening the door can lead to the beautiful raised top to collapse.
Romanian Cozonac Recipe
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 500 gr flour
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 125 gr sugar
- 7 gr instant yeast
- 65 gr soft butter
- 170 ml milk
- 1 tsp vanilla essence
- vegetable oil
- pinch of salt
For the Filling:
- 150 gr chopped walnuts
- 3 tbsp cocoa
- 4 tbsp hot milk
- 75 gr sugar
- 1 egg white
- 1 tbsp rum essence
- pinch of salt
Optional for the filling:
- 100 gr raisins
- 100 gr Turkish delight
For the Baking:
- 1 egg
- sugar
- walnuts
Instructions
- Start by sifting the flour into a big bowl.
- Activate the yeast according to the package. If you are using instant yeast, mix it with the flour as it doesn’t need activating.
- Add the salt and mix well to incorporate all dry ingredients.
- In a small pot add the milk, sugar and eggs, and heat up until everything dissolves. You shouldn’t boil the mixture, just warm it up. Once the butter and sugar have dissolved add the vanilla essence.
- In another bowl add the two eggs and the extra yolk, lightly mix.
- Add the wet ingredients over the dry ones and mix well using your hands, until everything blends together to form a dough.
- Knead a little, brush the mixture with a little oil on all sides, and cover the bowl with cling film or a tea towel. Leave the bowl next to a source of heat until the dough raises and doubles in size.
- Meanwhile make the filling.
- Mix the chopped walnuts with the cocoa, the sugar and a pinch of salt. Add the hot milk and the rum essence and mix well until you have a smooth mix.
- Whip the egg whites until it gets stiff. Then fold it in the walnut and cocoa mix, to form an even smoother cream.
- After the dough has doubled in size, take it out of the bowl and divide it into two same size pieces.
- Brush some baking paper with a tiny bit of oil to prevent sticking, and stretch the pieces of dough into a rectangular shape.
- Spread the walnut and cocoa cream on top, covering the dough entirely. If you want, sprinkle small cubes of Turkish delight and raisins over the cream.
- Roll the dough until you seal the filling inside.
- Carefully, braid the two pieces of dough to form one big roll.
- Put the cozonac into a rectangular baking tin, cover with a tea towel, and leave it for another 20 minutes or so to rest near a source of heat. After 20 minutes you will see that the volume has risen.
- Preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
- Brush the top of the cozonac with egg wash.
- Decorate with extra walnuts, and sprinkle some sugar on top, for an extra layer of texture.
- Bake in the oven for 50-60 minutes, until the cozonac is done. You can check if it’s cooked by inserting a toothpick into the centre of the sweet bread. If it comes out clean, it is cooked.
- Once the cozonac has cooked, take it out of the oven and let it rest for 10 minutes, before taking it out of the tray.
- Lay a griddle on the table and take the cozonac out of the tray. Leave it on one side on the griddle.
- After 10 more minutes, change it on the other side. Continue to do so until it cools down.
- You have to wait until the cozonac is fully cooled down before you can cut into it.
- Serve at the end of the meal as a dessert, or alongside a cup of coffee in the morning.
FAQ
How to store the Romanian cozonac?
Traditionally, the cozonac is stored wrapped in paper, under a kitchen towel, to maintain its softness and prevent the interior from drying out. This is important especially if you have already cut a slice of it. Keep it in a dark and cold place, but not in the fridge.
How long will the cozonac last?
If stored correctly, a cozonac will last up to one week. However, I would rather make a smaller quantity than store them for so long. No matter how good you store them, after a week they will have a dry texture. In my household, a cozonac will probably last for 3 to 4 days maximum.
For more traditional Romanian cakes, check out the recipes below:
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What size baking tin do you need for this recipe?
I used a 24cm loaf pan.
How many eggs in total do you use for the recipe ?
4 eggs in total: 2 full eggs + an egg yolk for the dough, 1 egg white for the filling + another egg for the egg wash before baking.
What flour do you use
I use self rising white flour