Traditional recipe for Danish Cinnamon Twist also known as Kanelstang. This recipe is is an old fashion recipe which has been made in Denmark for many years. Simple, easy-to-make and very delicious.
Start by making a portion of vanilla cream. You can use the powder vanilla cream from the super market which only needs to be mixed with milk. However, I strongly recommend to make your own and homemade vanilla cream. You can follow my recipe for vanilla cream which is super easy. You can find the recipe on NordicFoodLiving.com
Dough:
Warm the milk and pour it in a large bowl. Dissolve the yeast in the lukewarm milk. If you are using dry/active yeast, add this later together with the flour.
In the milk; add sugar, salt, cardamom, and the eggs. Stir well.
Add the flour stepwise and knead well. Continue adding flour until the dough does not stick to your fingers anymore. The same applied to dough mixed using a stand mixer.
Cover the bowl with a clean dishcloth and set aside some place warm. Let it rise for about 30 minutes.
Filling:
While the dough is rising; In a bowl, mix together all the ingredients for the filling. Set aside.
The Danish Cinnamon Twist (Kanelstang):
Knead the risen dough a little and divide it into two equally sized pieces.
Using a rolling pin; roll out the two dough pieces into two rectangles (35x45 cm - 14x18 inch).
Equally distribute the filling and the vanilla cream on the two rectangles. Start with the filling.
Roll the dough together into two logs.
Use a pair of scissors; snip half way through the logs and fold the dough to one side. Continue snipping and folding the dough with a distances between each snip of about 2 cm (3/4 inch). See the picture in this recipe for better understanding.
Beat an egg and brush the cinnamon twists with it. Sprinkle the twists with chopped hazelnuts.
Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F) and bake the twists one-by-one for about 20 minutes.
When the twists are baked and cooled off; decorate them with icing.