Kanel Snegle (cinnamon swirls)

Kanel Snegle

Kanel snegle – what I always picked when I, as a child, was lucky enough to get free choice at the bakery on a Sunday morning.

It is one of many traditional Danish pastries – butter filled, crisp on the outside and soft, sweet and cinnamony on the inside.

Irresistible to be honest and still my first choice today when I am lucky enough to be in Denmark….

Recipe is from Froeken Jensen’s Bagebog – classic Danish cookbook based on recipes from the 1900’s.

Kanel Snegle

250g flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground cardamom

2 tbs sugar

150g butter

75ml milk

25g fresh yeast (or 2 sachets dry yeast)

Butter/Cinnamon Spread

75g butter

50g icing sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

To make the dough

• Mix flour, salt, cardamom and sugar together
• Add the butter to the floury mix – and combine until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs
• In a small saucepan heat the milk gently until it is luke warm then remove from heat source
• Dissolve the fresh yeast in the luke warm milk with a wooden spoon
• Add the milk to the flour and combine the two; knead until the dough forms a soft ball – slightly sticky and shiny
• Place the kneaded dough ball in a clean bowl and cover with a tea towel
• Leave the bowl in a warm place to rise for 20-30 minutes
• Pre-heat oven to 225C

To make the spread

• Ensure butter is room temperature
• In a bowl, combine butter, cinnamon and icing sugar and keep stirring until a sweet, cinnamon butter is created

Creating the swirls

• Once the dough has risen, roll it into a rectangular shape on a floured surface
• With a big spoon, a spatula or other easy tool, cover the dough with the cinnamon spread
• Loosely roll the dough into a sausage shape – roll it by length
• With a sharp knife, cut slices of the dough (about two cm thick), and place these on a lined baking tray
• Once the tray is full, cover with a tea towel and place in a warm place for 15 minutes
• Once completely risen, brush with egg or cream to create a golden colour, and place in the pre-heated oven
• Bake for about 12 minutes
• Once brown and cooked remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack
• When cooler, decorate with icing (icing sugar and a little water mixed together)
• Enjoy them when still slightly warm – that is when they are at their best!

Kanel Snegle