Ingredients
Dough
- 500 gplain flour
- 250 mlmilk, lukewarm
- 25 gfresh yeast or 7 g dried
- 80 gcaster sugar
- 100 gbutter, softened
- 1egg
- 1 teaspoonsalt
- 1 teaspoonground cardamom, optional
Topping
- 200 gbutter
- 300 gdark brown sugar
- 2 tablespoonsgolden syrup or treacle
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoonvanilla, optional
To serve
- strong coffee
- cold milk
Directions
- Brown sugar butter is poured into those dents. Butter, sugar and egg make it soft and rich. It is not sweet enough on its own to be a cake. Warm the milk to just above body temperature. It should feel barely warm to a clean finger. Crumble the fresh yeast into the milk and stir it. Let it stand for five minutes until it foams.
- Put the flour, sugar, salt and cardamom in a bowl. Add the yeasted milk and the beaten egg. Bring it together into a rough dough. Knead it on a lightly floured surface. Work it for a good eight minutes. Knead each piece in before adding the next.
- Keep working and it comes back together. Give it another eight minutes after the butter. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover it. Leave it somewhere warm for about an hour. It should roughly double in size. Butter a large shallow baking tray.
- Press it out to fill the whole tray. It should be about two centimetres thick. Cover it with a cloth and let it rise again. Give it about thirty minutes for the second proof.
- Melt the butter in a pan over a low heat. Add the dark brown sugar and the syrup. Add a pinch of salt and the vanilla. Stir it until the sugar has dissolved. Do not let it boil hard at any point. Let it cool for a few minutes before using it. Boiling hot topping tears the risen dough.
- Press your fingertips deep into the risen dough. Make dents all over the whole surface. Topping it is done immediately before baking. Pour the warm topping evenly over the dented dough. Spread it gently to the edges with a spatula. Do not press it in or you deflate the dough. Heat the oven to 200C while it proves.
- Bake it for about eighteen minutes. The dough should be cooked through and golden underneath. Lift a corner with a knife to check. Do not overbake it or the topping turns hard. Leave it in the tray as it cools down. It burns badly, so keep children away from it.
- Let it cool for at least twenty minutes. It sets to a soft sticky caramel as it cools. Cut it into squares straight in the tray. Cold milk is what children drink with it.
Technique
- Brunsviger is a speciality of Funen and is baked for birthdays, often with a figure or number drawn into the topping.
- The dough is only lightly sweetened, since nearly all the sweetness comes from the brown sugar topping.
Substitutions
- Dried yeast works in place of fresh, using about seven grams for this quantity.
- Golden syrup, treacle or dark corn syrup all work in the topping.
Variations
- Some bakers press a face or a number into the dough for birthdays.
- A version with chopped almonds scattered over the topping is made.
- Similar sugar-topped yeast cakes are baked across northern Europe.
History
A speciality of Funen baked for birthdays, often with a figure drawn into the topping.
Frequently asked questions
What is Brunsviger?
Brunsviger is a bread & pastry from Denmark: sheet of sweet yeast dough dented and flooded with brown sugar butter. A speciality of Funen baked for birthdays, often with a figure drawn into the topping.
How long does Brunsviger take to make?
Brunsviger takes 30 minutes plus rising of preparation and 20 minutes of cooking. The recipe makes one large tray, 15 pieces. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Brunsviger?
Yes, within limits. Dried yeast works in place of fresh, using about seven grams for this quantity. Golden syrup, treacle or dark corn syrup all work in the topping.
What is the most important thing to get right in Brunsviger?
Press it out to fill the whole tray. It should be about two centimetres thick. Cover it with a cloth and let it rise again. Give it about thirty minutes for the second proof.
