Almond Ring Coffee Cake

Make the filling by mixing the almond paste, cream cheese, and sugar on medium speed until smooth. Transfer to a bowl and refrigerate until ready.

Whisk the flour, yeast and salt in a clean bowl. Whisk the milk, butter, honey, egg yolks and vanilla in a 4-cup measuring cup until honey is dissolved. Slowly add the milk mixture to the flour and mix until a cohesive dough forms. Increase speed to medium-low and knead until dough is smooth and elastic and clears the sides of the bowl but sticks to the bottom, 8 min.

Transfer to a lightly floured counter and knead for 30s to form a smooth ball. Place dough in an oiled bowl and let rise until doubled, 1.5-2 hours.

Line 2 sheet pans with parchment paper. Transfer dough to a lightly floured counter and divide in half. Press and roll each into an 18x9" rectangle with the long side parallel to the counter.

Spread half the filling into a 1"-wide strip above the bottom edge of the dough, leaving a 1"-border at the bottom. Roll the dough away from you into a firm cylinder, keeping the roll taut by tucking it under itself as rolled. Pinch seam closed.

Transfer cylinder seam side down to sheet. Bring ends snug together to form a ring and pinch the seam closed. Repeat with second bowl.

Using kitchen shears, make 10 cuts around the outside of the dough, nearly all the way through the dough, spaced 1.5"-apart. Twist each section cut side up. Loosely cover with plastic and let rise until nearly doubled in size, 1-1.5 hours.

Adjust oven racks to upper-middle and lower middle positions. Heat to 375. Gently brush dough with egg mixture and sprinkle with almonds. Bake until deep golden brown, ~25 min, switching and rotating doughs halfway through. Let cakes cool for 1 hour. Meanwhile, whisk sugar, cream cheese, milk and vanilla in a bowl until smooth. Drizzle over cakes and serve warm or at room temp.