In some bakeries, they are also known as “onsdagssnegle.” This translates to “Wednesday snails”, which are sold primarily on Wednesdays. The reasoning behind this is interesting but not surprising at all. If you know anything about Danes, you know how much they love their fodboldlandshold (national soccer team). In the ’90s, back when the Danish team was extremely popular and had what can only be described as a cult following, their games were played mostly on Wednesdays. And since the Danes love to eat cake for pretty much any reason, the bakers took this opportunity to popularize the onsdagssnegl.

A few important things about this recipe – the cardamom is optional, but recommended; you can replace the brown sugar in the filling with white or a combination of both sugars; and make sure your milk is warm enough to dissolve the yeast but not too hot! In Danish, we call this “fingervarm,” meaning when you dip your finger in the milk it doesn’t hurt or burn it, but just feels warm to the touch.

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup (150 ml, 1.5 dl) milk
• 2.25 tsp active dry yeast (2 tsp instant yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
• 1 large egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (or vaniljesukker, if you happen to have it!)
• 1/2 tsp cardamom (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 cups (375g) all-purpose flour
• 4 tbsp (57g) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg for egg wash
  Remonce (Filling)
• One stick (113g) unsalted or salted butter, softened
• 3/4 cup (150g) brown sugar (or white sugar)
• 1.5 tbsp cinnamon
• Pinch of salt (if using salted butter, don’t add this)
  Icing
• Powdered sugar
• Water or milk

Procedure

Heat up the milk, either in the microwave or in a saucepan, until it is “fingervarm” (finger warm), meaning it should feel warm to the touch but not hot. You don’t want to kill the yeast! Add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Let it rest 5-10 minutes until it begins to froth and bubble a little bit. (If your yeast doesn’t do anything, it may be expired. Check the expiration date on the package and start over with new yeast!)

Combine the egg, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla extract, cardamom, and salt in a large bowl. Mix well.

Add the milk and yeast mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine.

Slowly add the flour, stirring with a wooden spoon. Once the dough starts to come together, you can start kneading.

Add the softened butter and knead until smooth and elastic, probably around 5-10 minutes. Add a bit of flour if the dough sticks to your hands or the surface. If you prefer not to get your hands messy and covered in butter, feel free to use a stand mixer for this step. The texture of your dough before its first rise should be soft and smooth, not sticky and not too dry.

Cover and let your dough rise for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

For the filling, combine softened butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt and stir together until you get a smooth paste.

Once your dough has doubled in size, roll it out into a rectangle that is about a quarter of an inch (0.5cm) thick. Spread your filling evenly on top and roll it up into a log. You’ll want to roll from the shorter edge of the rectangle, so that your buns have more swirls. (TO MAKE TWISTS: Instead of rolling up your dough, fold it in half from the bottom – then cut into about 12 equal sized strips. Start twisting the strips, then wrap around itself twice and tuck the end of the strip through the middle.)

Cut the log into 1-1.5 inch (3cm) thick pieces. Here is where you can customize the recipe: place the pieces (swirl side up!) close together in a buttered baking dish for gooey, American-style cinnamon buns, or separate them (plenty of space in between!) on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper for more of a crispy, Danish-style cinnamon snail.

Cover the buns loosely with cling film or a clean dishtowel and let them rise another 45 minutes. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

Make your egg wash (1 egg whisked together with a splash of water until there are no more gloopy streaks of egg white), then brush over the buns and bake for about 15 minutes. Once they are done, let them cool.

Combine powdered sugar and water/milk until you reach your desired icing consistency. Remember, a little bit of liquid goes a long way, so start with a cup of powdered sugar and a tiny bit of water or milk! Pour or drizzle over the kanelsnegle and enjoy!

This recipe is from skandibaking.com

https://skandibaking.com/kanelsnegle-danish-cinnamon-buns/