Passport & Plate - Kanelsnegle - Cinnamon Snails
Denmark | Thursday, February 12, 2015 | 5 photos
Ingredients
DOUGH
100ml warm water
7g instant dry yeast (1 packet)
2 eggs (mine are home grown, on the small side ~50g)
150g butter, diced and softened to room temperature
20g sugar
375g plain flour
FILLING
90g butter, softened
100g brown sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
EGG WASH
1 egg
1 tbsp. milk
ICING
3 tsp hot water
1/2 tsp instant coffee powder (optional)
6 tbsp. icing sugar
How to prepare this recipe1. In a medium bowl, whisk together water, yeast, eggs, butter and sugar. Rest in a warm spot for 20 minutes, until frothy.
2. Sift flour into a separate bowl. Make a well in the centre and add yeast mixture. Combine with a wooden spoon. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured bench and knead by hand for approximately 10 minutes, or until a smooth, elastic dough has developed. The dough will be very soft, but feel free to add a little extra flour if your dough is too sticky. Cover with cling wrap and rest for 30 minutes.
3. For the filling, cream the butter, sugar and cinnamon together using an electric mixer. Preheat your oven to 225°C.
4. Roll the dough out into a rectangle approximately 1cm thick, or slightly thinner. Spread the cinnamon mixture evenly over the dough and roll it up, like a sponge roll. Cut into 12 even slices and place onto a papered baking tray. If your slices are too tall and not round enough, squash them down a little. Rest in a warm spot for 15 minutes.
5. Whisk egg and milk together thoroughly and coat the top of your buns using a pastry brush.
6. Bake on 225°C for 4 minutes, then reduce heat to 200°C and bake for a further 10 minutes, or until golden. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.
7. For the icing, dissolve the coffee powder (if using) in the hot water. Add the icing sugar and whisk together. Top each cooled bun with a generous blob of icing.
The story behind this recipeMine is a life of isolation and loneliness, when it's an hour in to town for groceries and I've forgotten the sugar. A life of hard work and heartbreak, when there's no rain at all or far too much. A life of responsibility and sacrifice, when I want to travel the world, but I have to stay home to care for the animals. But every day I get to watch the sun rise over the most beautiful country I could imagine, and I know I couldn't live any other way. And that is why, in 2014, we opened our house to strangers, gave them Outback Queensland and asked them to bring the world to us.
In October, we welcomed a lovely young Danish lady into our lives and into our hearts. She epitomized everything I've noticed about every Danish person I have ever met. They are all very happy and enthusiastic individuals, but above all, they are immensely proud to be Danish. There is something much more to it than the National Pride you would ordinarily find in people from elsewhere. This is the thing that has fuelled my interest in Denmark and its culture for a very long time. On the very long list of places I simply must see, this, 'the happiest country in the world,' has pride of place at the top.
In the 5 weeks that Marie was with us, I became a sponge, learning all I could about her esteemed homeland, the language, the traditions, the food - and of course, above all, my only true love - the pastries. Now, I have always been the number one fan of the Danish, (which, by the way, is called Vienna Bread (Wienerbrød) in Denmark, owing to its actual origin in Austria. The Danish didn't invent it, they just added more butter, therefore making it ever so much better and that's all anyone needs to remember!) but when Marie introduced me to her family recipe for an old Danish favourite, I was won over. The Kanelsnegle (Cinnamon Snail) is a delightful, buttery bun of amazingness and Marie assures me that it 'tastes like home.' And I'll tell you what - any where that tastes like that is where I want to be.
