Uppáhaldskanilsnúðar mínir

My favorite cinnamon rolls

Do you also know that some recipes change somehow over time? I've tried many different Icelandic cinnamon roll recipes in my life, but somehow I stuck with a basic recipe that I've been baking for (what feels like) 15 years at every school or kindergarten party where I have to bring something - and for family birthdays anyway. Cinnamon rolls always work!

But this basic recipe has also undergone some changes over the last 10 years, some of which I have picked up and adopted from other cinnamon roll recipes. I'm also baking vegan more and more often, especially for parties, simply because most people can eat it - and here I think the vegan version tastes perfect!

The recipe was originally made with wheat flour and milk. I quickly replaced the wheat flour with spelled flour. Instead of cow's milk, I now use soy-based vanilla milk (after first using oat milk, then almond milk and finally almond-vanilla milk). And compared to the original basic recipe, there is more melted margarine here, which makes the dough much smoother, easier to work with and also becomes wonderfully crispy when baked.

I baked these cinnamon rolls for child 4's school class this week - and they were really well received by everyone. We saved some for the rest of the family - and Child 2 and his girlfriend in particular really raved about this cinnamon roll version.

Ingredients

850 g spelled flour (type 650)

1/2 tsp salt

150 g brown sugar

1 packet of dry yeast

500 ml lukewarm vanilla soy milk

180 g melted margarine

80 g brown sugar

20 g cinnamon

1/2 tsp cardamom

Preparation

In a large bowl, mix the flour with the salt, brown sugar and dry yeast.

First stir in the lukewarm vanilla milk and then knead the melted margarine into the dough.

Then cover the dough and let it rise for at least half an hour.

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) upper/lower heat.

In a small bowl, mix the sugar with the cinnamon and cardamom.

Then divide the yeast dough into three portions and roll each out thinly between two sheets of baking paper (rectangular, approx. 25 x 40 cm).

Spread 1/3 of the sugar-cinnamon-cardamom mixture onto the rolled out dough and then carefully roll up the dough over the long side.

Then use a sharp knife to cut the roll into slices approx. 1 cm thick.

Then place the cinnamon rolls on a baking tray lined with baking paper and bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) for about 10 - 15 minutes until they have turned golden brown.

Let it cool down a bit and then enjoy!

PS:

I like to bake my cinnamon rolls relatively small so that you can snack on them alongside other cakes without being completely full. Or sometimes you can eat more than one cinnamon roll. The baking time of course depends on the size - my small cinnamon rolls here need about 10 minutes in the oven, larger ones around 15 to 20 minutes or even more (of course it also depends on the oven). So it's best to start with 10 minutes of baking time and then see whether the rolls are already deliciously browned or can use a little more time in the oven.

[Translated from here.]

Vegan kryddbrauð

Vegan spice bread

When it's wet and cold and disgusting outside - what could be better than making yourself comfortable at home with a nice piece of freshly baked spiced bread, still warm and spread with butter or margarine..?!?

Many Icelandic families bake their spiced bread according to a special family recipe. This recipe is a vegan version - and the Kryddbrauð really tastes as good as it smells!

Ingredients

180 g flour

100 g oat flakes

4 tsp baking cocoa

1 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground cloves

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tsp baking soda

175 g brown sugar

300 g oat milk

1 tsp oat flakes for sprinkling

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) upper/lower heat.

Place all ingredients in a large bowl...

...and mix thoroughly into a nice dough.

Grease a loaf tin or line it with baking paper.

Pour the dough into the mold, sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of oat flakes...

...and bake in the preheated oven in the lower third at 350 °F (180 °C) upper/lower heat for about 50 minutes (test with a toothpick!).

Allow the spiced bread to cool slightly, then carefully remove it from the mold.

Cut the bread into slices and spread with margarine if you like.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Vegan kleinur

Vegan Kleinur

When I present a vegan version of a typical Icelandic dish, a pastry is of course an absolute must - Kleinur .

A Kleina is a small particle fried in fat that probably originally comes from Denmark, but has been very common and popular in Iceland for a long time. In English, the Kleinur here are often referred to as " Icelandic twisted donuts ". (It's said that back in the day people even occasionally fried their Kleinur in fish oil, but that didn't catch on in Iceland either - for good reasons if you ask me!)

Traditionally Kleinur are prepared with milk, Skyr or sour milk, often with an egg - this vegan version replaces the egg with ground linseed and apple cider vinegar, instead of milk / Skyr / sour milk I used almond milk.

I admit, this vegan version tastes a little bit different than “traditional” Kleinur, but it comes close to the feeling of the classic Kleinur - and the vegan Kleinur are really extremely tasty!

Ingredients

1 Tbsp ground flaxseed

50ml water

500 g kg flour

180 g brown sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baker's ammonia

1 tsp cinnamon

1 pinch of ginger

1 pinch of cloves

1/4 tsp cardamom

1 pinch of ground vanilla

50 g vegan margarine

250 ml plant milk

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 kg frying fat

2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preparation

Mix the linseed with the water and let stand briefly.

In a large bowl, mix the flour with the sugar, baking powder, staghorn salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, cardamom and ground vanilla.

Add the margarine in small flakes to the dry ingredients and knead.

Then add the lei seed mixture, the almond milk and the apple cider vinegar to the bowl...

...and knead thoroughly until you have a nice, uniform dough. If necessary, add a little more flour if the dough is still sticky.

Heat the fat in a large pot.

While the fat is getting hot, roll out the dough in portions on a floured work surface to a thickness of approx. 1 cm and cut into diamonds.

Make a cut in the middle of each diamond and pull one end through the hole to "twist" the dough.

When the oil is hot enough (small bubbles will form if you hold a wooden stick in it), carefully add about 5 - 6 Kleinur at a time to the hot fat with a spoon and fry for about 2 minutes on each side until the Kleinur are pleasantly browned on the outside.

Then lift the Kleinur out of the fat and let it drain briefly on kitchen paper.

Mix approx. 2 tablespoons of brown sugar and a teaspoon of cinnamon in a soup bowl or similar and roll the freshly baked Kleinur in the sugar-cinnamon mixture immediately after draining.

For me, the perfect staple when traveling in Iceland!

[Translated from here.]

Flatbrauð

Icelandic flatbread

And - haven't I reached deep into the Viking cliché box here...?!? I also didn't miss little Þór with his hammer Mjölnir.

But basically it's true - the people of Iceland have probably been eating a flatbread made only from flour, water and sea salt since the time of the conquest. So it's also a recipe from the "always vegan" category. I just added a bit of baking powder to the flour.

The bread is traditionally still baked directly on the hot stove, of course completely without fat. But before I slapped the dough directly onto my ceramic hob, I preferred to use my good cast iron pan.

Ingredients for approx. 10 pieces

200 g wheat flour

200 g whole wheat flour

200 g rye flour

4 Tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

500 ml boiling water

Preparation

In a large bowl, mix the different types of flour with the baking powder and salt.

Pour in the boiling water and knead everything into a smooth dough.

Knead the dough well and divide into 10 roughly equal portions.

Form each portion into a small ball, if necessary on a floured work surface...

...and then roll it out into a circle about 0.5 cm thick.

Then bake the dough flatbreads one after the other without fat in a cast iron pan.

Then enjoy the finished Flatbrauð straight away or store it in an airtight container. It will keep for a few days.

Bon appetit!

[Translated from here.]

Hjónabandssæla

"Happy Marriage" Cake

This cake has the beautiful name "hjónabandssæla", meaning "happy marriage". It is baked with oatmeal and rhubarb jam and is actually one of the most popular everyday cakes in Iceland - probably also because it is so wonderfully easy to bake!

There are many different recipes for a "happy marriage". Some are with butter and eggs - but there are also vegan variants with margarine and without eggs. This one is actually a traditional, unchanged recipe which has always been vegan. 

Traditionally, "Happy Marriage" cake is served with whipped cream. For this vegan variant we, of course, used plant-based whipped cream instead.

Ingredients

200 g soft margarine

180 g oat flakes

180 g flour

100 g brown sugar

1 tsp baking soda

3 - 4 Tbsp rhubarb jam

Preparation 

Preheat the oven to 350 °F (180 °C) upper/lower heat.

In a bowl, knead the soft margarine with the oatmeal, flour, brown sugar and baking soda. 

Line the cake tin with baking paper, put a good half of the dough in the tin and press firmly.

Brush with rhubarb jam. 

Knead the remaining dough into sprinkles and sprinkle over the rhubarb jam.

Bake in a preheated oven at 350 °F (180 °C) upper and lower heat on the middle shelf for about 25 to 30 minutes.

Let the finished cake cool down well and serve traditionally with whipped cream (here, of course, with vegan whipped cream).

[Translated from here.]

Kjötlaus kjötsúpa

Meatless meat soup

Kjötsúpa, meat soup traditionally made with lamb, is one of the most famous dishes in Icelandic cuisine.

Here I found a vegan version of this soup, instead of lamb with lentils.

But the taste - it really fits!

Ingredients

1 onion

1 stalk of leek

2 Tbsp rapeseed oil

1 tsp ground cumin

300 g carrots

1/2 celery bulb

150 g potatoes

1/2 head white cabbage

150 g red lentils

6 Tbsp oat flakes

1 cube of vegetable broth (vegan)

2 liters of water

2 - 3 bay leaves

1 tsp coarse sea salt

1 bunch of parsley

Preparation

Heat the oil in a large pot.

Peel the onion and leek and chop roughly...

...and fry in the hot oil.

Sprinkle with the cumin and toast carefully.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the carrots, celery root and potatoes.

Add carrots, celery and potatoes to the pot.

Clean the white cabbage, chop it up and cut it into thin strips, then add the cabbage to the pot too...

...as well as the lentils and the cube of vegetable broth.

Add the oat flakes, pour in 2 liters of hot water, season with salt, add the bay leaves and let the whole thing cook for about 3/4 hour.

Then remove the bay leaves.

Wash, pick and chop the parsley and add it to the soup.

Then serve the hot soup with rye bread and vegan margarine to taste.

[Translated from here.]