Thursday, December 18, 2008

Festive Julekage

Julekage (yoo-leh-key-yeh) is a Scandinavian Christmas Bread particularly popular in Denmark and Norway and 'julekage' means 'Yule(Christmas) Bread'.It is a rich and sweet bread filled with spices-mostly cardamom,raisins,candied fruits and nuts.It can also be frosted like a cake due to its richness and to enliven the festive season.I found a simple recipe for Julekage from here and with little adjustments made a very sweet bread and enjoyed it.

Ingredients:
All Purpose Flour: 3-3 3/4 cups
Slivered/Chopped Almonds: 1/3 cup
Candied Fruits: 2/3 cup +/-
Raisins: 1/4 cup+
Cardamom Powder: 1 tsp+
Lemon zest:1/2 tsp
Sugar: 1/4 cup
Salt: 1/2 tsp

Active Dry Yeast: 1 pkt or 1/4 ounce
Warm water: 1/4
Little warm Milk: 3/4cup
Unsalted Butter: 4 tbsp or 1/4 cup softened
Tofu : blend to a paste with water: 4 tbsp or 1/4 cup OR 1 single egg

Preparation:
Dissolve yeast in warm water and mix well.Add other wet ingredients-milk,butter,egg/tofu and mix.Add the dry ingredients of 2 cups of flour,sugar,salt,raisins,almonds,candied fruits,cardamom powder,lemon zest and mix well.Add the rest of the flour little by little and work with hands to form a smooth dough.Do not add more flour to it once you feel it is easy to handle.The recipe mentioned 3.25 cups but I added a little less than that.It can also go upto to 3.45 cups as per the recipe.

I used candied cranberries -made from here and store brought candied cherries.The recipe called for milk only whereas I added a bit warm milk.Also I added tofu pasted with water to replace the single egg.Now while blending with other wet ingredients and especially softened butter,it gave a curdled texture/look ,but I continued with it to obtain a very good dough.Some recipe for julekage use melted butter,though this recipe which I used goes for softened butter.Softened/creamed butter when mixed with tofu paste makes it look curdled,but does not affect the end result at all.Also you can vary the quantities of nuts,raisins and candied fruits as per taste and also add other spices of cinnamon,nutmeg etc.I only added 1 tsp of cardamom. The dough looks like....


Once the dough is formed and is manageable,turn it into a floured surface and knead for 5-8 minutes until it is smooth and elastic.Place it in a greased/oiled bowl,and turn it once so that it gets coated as well and let it rest covered with a plastic wrap in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until it is doubled in volume.Then dough is ready when you touch it and the indentation remains -it does not spring back. The dough after doubling is...


(To be honest I took the pic after giving it a small punch-then only I remembered :D)

Punch down the dough and then shape it.You can go for a round shape as specified by the recipe.For easyness,I divided the dough into 3 parts and shaped each into a ball and then placed it in a greased/lined baking sheet and also brush the top with melted butter(I did not).

Let the dough rise again on the baking sheet,loosely covered with a plastic wrap and in a warm area for 45 minutes-1 hr and then bake it in a pre-heated oven at 350F for 35-45 minutes(Mine took 32-35 minutes only) and let it cool completely for 1 hour before frosting(optional),slicing and serving.I first baked two of three dough balls -they came out tasty but not perfect round.So I gave a 1/4 inch cut/cross on top the third and it came out almost perfectly.



Glazing/Frosting


Powdered Sugar: 1/2 cup
Milk: 3/4 tbsp

Mix these and drizzle over the loaf.


I glazed only 1 bread loaf/ball.




The bread was a little denser with a normal-bread-like crust as expected and chewy interiors.I believe the bread can be shaped into a braid as well.



It is a simple bread recipe or a normal bread recipe that has been spiced up with cardamom and enriched with butter and tofu/eggs and the cardamom aroma while baking makes it perfect for Christmas or anyother festival.


This simple yet festive Julekage is also going to spice up Annarasa's Kitchen where she is celebrating the festive season with BBD#15: Festive Breads,an event started by Zorra and also to Susan for Yeastspotting

Update on Dec 20,2008: The cake like Julekage is also on its way to Purva's Christmas Feast Event as a lovely dessert.Thanks Purva for accepting.

A simple sweet and spicy bread for any occasion is Julekage and I very much enjoyed this bread with or without icing.

28 Comments:

notyet100 said...

bread looks really festive nd so warm too,..;-)

Sunshinemom said...

Very festive, and so beautiful to look at too! You say it was dense but looks so crumbly to me - I am getting bloated just looking at the no. of breads and cookies today:)

soma said...

So beautiful. I love the candied fruits in them. & I love the way u decorated the bread. Baking has become sinful to me:-) I am growing in my waistline, esp. during this season:-)
Soma(www.ecurry.com)

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

oh such a nutty fruity bread.. i want a piece!

PG said...

this one looks so good! yum yum yum!
love all the pictures, especially the last ones of the baked breads.

Yasmeen said...

Gorgeous festive bread:)

anudivya said...

Seriously now, that is something I have never heard of! Wonder how I missed something this festive and those yummy ingredients! Got to make these.

Cham said...

OMG that is really yummy and i never tasted one :)

Priya Suresh said...

Bread looks gorgeous n fruity CL...real festive bread..

Deepthi Shankar said...

wow .. thatz soo cool .. yu've been making such amazing dishes these days .. way to go girl

Uj said...

The name itself was sounded so complex..Was wondering as to what it was. Looks yummy and beautiful. I loved the sliced pic a lot. Candies fruits must have tasted great in them. Good one

Unknown said...

omg sweatha some magic is there in ur hands dear. what ever u bake i think came out very well this bread looks awesome woooooooow. every time u tempt me alot yaar he he he

lubnakarim06 said...

Wow awesome bread recipe. Name sounds as a tonguetwister. Looks gr8.

Malar Gandhi said...

Quite diff' I got to say....the size looks interesting....love it. Must be great tasting one!!!

Suganya said...

It looks like a fruit cake. Nice recipe. Looks so good. YUM!

Anonymous said...

Just looking at your bread puts me in Christmas spirit. Lovely

Vanamala Hebbar said...

woww...really yummmy

Purva Desai said...

Bread looks apt for the festive and frosting looks tempting....
You can sent this post for Christmas Feast Event as well

Beyond Curries said...

You are on a baking spree, girl! Bread looks very good.

Unknown said...

Never heard ofthis kind of cookies..Looks very festive and perfect for christmas.Nice pics

Purva Desai said...

No problem dear, u can email it together, just link the post with the event announcement the way you have done earlier

Anonymous said...

Flour and Candied fruits: ) I am in heaven!

Mary Bergfeld said...

Looks perfect to me! Very nice job.

Cynthia said...

This looks so good. Have bookmarked it to try one day.

vandana rajesh said...

The bread looks gr8 and liked ur step by step guide to making it.

Jude said...

Looks so pretty-- almost like a cute little snowball. Love spiced breads like this.

Susan said...

All are lovely but I think I like the glazed one best. Thanks for submitting these festive breads to YeastSpotting!

Mary Bergfeld said...

How very festive looking! Very nice work.

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