Almond twists

feat

Gaba was sick all week and I had some medical tests all week long so I decided we should make some sweet buns for ourselves. I have not baked those ones before but all baked goods from “Nordic Bakery” book always turn out so yummy I just went for the recipe that “spoke” to me from the book. I want to bake and cook more with my girl. I was about her age when I started cooking. Plus it is so much fun doing things together and me learning to be less bossy in the kitchen and letting others do things other than washing the dishes. Not easy I tell ya!

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The buns/twists are amazing- light, buttery,full of cardamom, then that sugar /almond filling. OMG! We ate almost all hot from the oven, I saved three for pictures since we baked them in the evening. Make them ASAP!

RECIPE – ALMOND TWISTS

250 ml lukewarm milk
1 egg, lightly beaten
85g sugar
1tsp salt
2 tsp cardamom seeds, crushed with a pestle and mortar
7g instant yeast or 25g fresh yeast
500g 00/manitoba flour
75g unsalted butter, softened
20g almond flakes
Filling and glazing
25g almond powder
30g caster sugar
50g unsalted butter, softened
1 egg, lightly beaten

Heat the milk in a large saucepan until lukewarm. Whisk the egg in the bowl with a little of the warm milk, then pour the milk into the bowl and whisk. Add the sugar, salt and cardamom to the bowl and mix well.
Mix the yeast and flour together. Add a little of the flour mixture to the bowl and whisk well to introduce lots of air into the dough. Continue to add the flour mixture, first by whisking and then, when the mixture gets too stiff, with a wooden spoon.

Add the butter and knead it into the dough with your hands until thoroughly incorporated.
Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes, or until the dough is elastic and no longer sticky. Add a little more flour, if necessary. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.

Meanwhile, to make the filling, mix the almonds and sugar together.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) Gas 6.

After 1 hour, punch down the dough. Using a rolling pin, roll it out until it is about 30 x 50 cm.
For the filling, spread the butter over the dough. Scatter the almond mixture over one half of the rectangle an area of 30 x 25 cm on one side). Fold the bare pastry half over the filling and press gently together. Place the rectangle now measuring 30 x 25 cm in front of you. Using a sharp knife, cut the pastry into 25-cm-long and 2-cm-wide strips. Hold a strip between your fingers and twist in opposite directions, then roughly coil it in on itself like a snail and press the ends together underneath.

Arrange on the prepared baking trays, cover with tea towels again and leave to prove in a warm place for another 10 minutes.
Brush the beaten egg over the top and sprinkle with the flaked almonds. Bake in the preheated oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

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