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Kanelstang, a Danish cinnamon twist, is a true coffee mate

Me, texting 14-year-old: That coffee thing is so good!

14-year-old (telling me she’s 14 without telling me she’s 14): It’s not a coffee thing.

Okay, fine. It wasn’t a coffee thing.

But man, does this thing go beautifully with coffee.

And the cinnamon filling — sweet, spice-laden perfection with just the right amount of custard-imbued moisture — was reminiscent of a delight the Publix bakery used to call a “coffee ring.” It wasn’t the same as the prevalent pecan ring, which I still see, but I’m getting off-topic here.

The point is the thing was freaking delicious. And so is this. And I’m not hinging my enjoyment of it on the odds of a teenager simply saying “thanks” upon receiving a compliment. And nor should you.

You should just make it, as she/we did.

The craving came to her based on the same Ole & Steen pastry you’ll read about where she found the recipe — at ScottCanEat.com. She and her sister enjoyed it immensely on a trip to New York and like Scott, she got the bug to recreate the magic.

I haven’t partaken of this Danish bakery’s danish, so I can’t say how close this is to the mark, but when two extremely amateur bakers can execute something like the kanelstang and make it this delicious on the first try, I can certainly endorse this website as one I’d trust with wild recipe stabs on the Internet.

Regarding ingredients, we made two subs, using conventional granulated sugar instead of the slightly finer and harder-to-find caster sugar, and replacing custard powder with corn starch. For the latter, we followed the ratio 1:1 of cornstarch to what the recipe required. You will want to additionally include one teaspoon of vanilla extract and a pinch of salt in the mix.

The custard came together creamy-perfect, but we left it in the fridge to cool a tad longer than we should have. Hence, it jelled up a bit. My baking partner was skeptical and so used it far more sparingly than the recipe called for. The pastry turned out beautifully, anyway, so I’d be curious to try it again — this time allowing the custard to cool in the fridge for perhaps 10 minutes, then just leaving it out on the counter while prepping the rest of the recipe, looking in on it from time to time.

We also rushed the glaze a bit, drizzling when the cake was still too warm. The end result was scrumptious, but it didn’t create the solid white streaks it would have had we let it cool sufficiently. I dressed it with a light blast of cinnamon. It still looked pretty.

If you watch Scott’s YouTube video — which you’ll find embedded into the recipe — you’ll see that his didn’t turn out flawless, either. His eggwash attempt was a failure. And yet, still scrumptious. The recipe might be magic.

(Having watched the video beforehand, always a great idea when you’ve got one, we simply skipped the egg wash altogether.)

What’s more, this butter-laden thing can be wrapped in foil and left out on the counter for days — I am not exaggerating — and remain moist and delicious. You will tear off a piece each time you return to the kitchen. Which you’ll do repeatedly. Until you realize it also will freeze beautifully.

At this point, you can break it up into a few packages with the confidence of someone who won’t have to write a story about it sometime later and remember there’s kanelstang in the damn freezer on Day Two of her journey back to bathing suit season.

Just remember, it’s not a coffee thing. It’s a Cinnamon Social, which I just noted on the Ole & Steen menu is trademarked, so I’m changing the name just in case.

Find me on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram @amydroo or on the OSFoodie Instagram account @orlando.foodie. Email: amthompson@orlandosentinel.com. For more fun, join the Let’s Eat, Orlando Facebook group.

CINNAMON FAUX-SHUL (KANELSTANG)

Based on Ole & Steen’s recipe

Recipe courtesy of ScottCanEat.com

Makes two “loaves” (scottcaneat.com/ole-steen-cinnamon-social-recipe)

Ingredients

• Dough
• 150 milliliters whole milk
• 18 grams yeast
• 200 grams butter (melted and cooled)
• 2 eggs
• 75 grams caster sugar
• 500 grams plain flour
• 1/2 teaspoon of salt
• 1 egg beaten (for wash)

Cinnamon Filling

• 200 grams butter
• 200 grams caster sugar
• 4 tablespoons cinnamon
• Pinch of sea salt

Cheat Pastry Cream 

• 70 grams Birds Custard Powder
• 75 grams caster sugar
• 500 milliliters whole milk (corrected quantity)

Sugar Syrup

• 150 grams caster sugar
• 75 milliliters water

Glaze

• 300 grams icing sugar
• 40 milliliters milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

Cheat’s Pastry Cream

1. Put custard powder and sugar in microwave-safe bowl.
2. Mix into smooth paste with a little (approx. 2 tablespoons) milk taken from 1000ml.
3. Add remaining milk and cook on full power for 6 minutes, stirring halfway through.
4. Pop in the fridge until ready to assemble

The Dough

1. Warm milk in the microwave for 30 seconds. (We are looking for bath temp warm milk.  Any warmer and it will kill the yeast.)
2. Add yeast. Stir to dissolve. Let yeast sit for about 10 minutes to come alive. You will be looking for a thick foam on top of your milk.
3. Once you see action in yeast, add cooled, melted butter, 2 eggs and caster sugar. Mix and set aside.
4. Place flour in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook. With machine running on low, slowly stream in the yeast/milk/egg mixture to combine.
5. Once all liquid has combined, turn up power to low-medium and let dough knead about 6-7 minutes until smooth and elastic. (Add salt at 6-minute mark and mix to combine.)
6. Remove dough, place in a buttered bowl and cover with cling film. Leave in warm place till doubled in size.

Cinnamon Filling

• Combine softened butter, sugar and cinnamon with a pinch or two of sea salt.  Set aside.

Glaze

• Mix all ingredients to make glaze. You may need to add a touch more sugar or milk. You want a double cream consistency.

Sugar Syrup

• Dissolve caster sugar in water over low heat. Allow to cool.

To assemble and bake

1. Divide risen dough in half.  Using rolling pin, roll out dough pieces into two rectangles (35×45 cm – 14×18 inch) on lightly floured surface.
2. Equally distribute the half the cinnamon filling on top of dough pieces. Repeat this with pastry cream over the cinnamon filling.
3. Roll the dough pieces into two tight logs. Place on parchment-lined baking trays.
4. Using sharp knife, cut through the logs — but not all the way. Repeat cuts, about an inch apart, over length of logs. Now take each section and pull it into the opposite direction. This is where the video comes in handy.
5. Cover dough with cling film and let proof again for 30-45 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 F at about 25-30-minute mark.
6. Beat an egg and brush logs with it. Bake about 20 minutes. Once out of the oven, brush with sugar syrup. Add glaze when cool.