Another Long-Awaited Pastry Recipe!
It has been a while since we have posted a pastry recipe on the blog. This is mostly because we have done a lot of the Scandi classics, and it takes a bit longer to come up some more innovative ideas. However, we do love creating new recipes that are unique to this blog, because it is so much fun! We really enjoy the process of coming up with the idea and then executing it. Pastries are one of our favorites as well, because it is so fun to come up with a combination of flavors and figure out how we can condense it into one pastry. Of course, you can’t go wrong with a lot of classic Danish pastries, like kanelsnegle (cinnamon snails) and spandauer. So that’s why we have chosen to use these pastries as a base for our recipes but incorporate new flavors!
Today’s Recipe
Today’s recipe is a twist on kanelsnegle (cinnamon snails). Although, I’m not really sure I can call it a twist, since it is pretty different from the original! Basically, we wanted to do a chocolate version but more chocolatey than our chokoladesnegle recipe that we already have up on the blog. Plus, our other recipe uses Danish pastry dough, and we wanted to develop one that uses enriched yeast dough, as it is a lot easier to work with for home bakers like us. By the way, we posted that recipe two entire years ago, which is absolutely crazy! Anyway, we decided to incorporate chocolate in three ways in this recipe: chocolate in the dough, chocolate in the filling, and chocolate in the icing on top. That ensures that these pastries really scream chocolate! Needless to say, if you’re a chocolate lover, these are for you. If you’re not, give our original kanelsnegle recipe a go instead, or even our lagkagesnegle (raspberry and vanilla swirls).
How to Make Triple Choc Snails
The process for these pastries is just like our regular cinnamon buns. Like I mentioned, they are made with an enriched yeasted dough, which results in a lovely soft and fluffy pastry when baked. To make the dough, simply combine the ingredients and knead together until smooth and elastic. If using activated dry yeast or fresh yeast, make sure to dissolve the yeast in the warm milk first. If using instant yeast, you can just add the ingredients all at once. Let this rise once, then roll into a large rectangle. Spread the filling on top and roll up into a log. Cut the log into equal pieces and place (swirl side up) on baking sheets. Let these rise again until nice and puffy, then egg wash and bake. Top with icing and enjoy! We can promise that these are a showstopper on any brunch or dessert table.
Chokoladesnegle med Gærdej (Triple Chocolate Swirls)
Ingredients
Dough
- 120 ml (1/2 cup) milk
- 30 ml (~1 shot) of espresso
- 2 tsp instant yeast (2.25 tsp active-dry yeast, 17.5g fresh yeast)
- 1 large egg
- 1 egg yolk
- 50 grams (1/4 cup) sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract (or vaniljesukker, if you happen to have it!)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 325 grams (2 & 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
- 50 grams (~1/2 cup) cocoa powder, unsweetened
- 57 grams (4 tbsp) unsalted butter, softened
- 1 egg for egg wash
Remonce (Filling)
- 113 grams ( 8 tbsp/1/2 cup/one stick) unsalted or salted butter, softened
- 75 grams (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) brown sugar
- 75 grams (1/3 cup + 1 tbsp) granulated sugar
- 20 grams (~3 tbsp) cocoa powder, unsweetened
- Pinch of salt (if using salted butter, don't add this)
- ~100-150 grams (~3/4-1 cup) chocolate chips (you can also chop up a chocolate bar for this; we've left a range for this because you can add more to make it super chocolatey!)
Icing
- 113 grams (1 cup) Powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder, unsweetened
- Water or milk
Instructions
- 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! If using active dry or fresh yeast, add the yeast along with one teaspoon of the sugar in this recipe, 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!) If using instant yeast, you don't need to activate it, and you can add the milk and yeast directly to the egg mixture in the next step.
- Combine the egg, egg yolk, remaining sugar, vanilla extract, and salt in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix together until you have a homogenous mixture.
- Add the milk and yeast mixture to the egg mixture and whisk to combine. Add in one shot of espresso as well, and mix to combine.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour and cocoa powder to get rid of any large lumps.
- Slowly add the flour and cocoa powder mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring with a wooden spoon, or using the dough hook on your stand mixer. Once the dough starts to come together, you can start kneading. Note: you may not need to add all of the flour, which is why we recommend adding it slowly and gauging how dry the dough appears. You can always add more flour as you knead, but it's very difficult to get moisture back into the dough once it is too dry.
- 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, you can knead the dough with a dough hook attachment in a stand mixer.
- 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. You can use the "poke" test to check whether your dough is done rising; if you poke the dough and it leaves an indentation and doesn't spring back immediately, it should be ready!
- For the filling, combine softened butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, cocoa powder, and a pinch of 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 (should be about 11" by 16" or 12" by 17" in size).
- Spread your filling evenly on top using a knife or offset spatula.
- Sprinkle chocolate chips or chopped chocolate in an even layer across the top of the filling.
- Roll the dough up into a log. You'll want to roll from the shorter edge of the rectangle, so that your buns have more swirls.
- Cut the log into 1-1.5 inch (3cm) thick pieces; we cut ours into 12 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 buns, or separate them (plenty of space in between!) on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper for more of a crispy, Danish-style 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).
- You can use the "poke" test to check whether your dough is done rising; if you poke the dough and it leaves an indentation and doesn't spring back immediately, it should be ready!
- 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. We bake two baking trays at once, but if you find your oven heats unevenly, you can always bake one tray at a a time on the center rack.
- Once they are done, let them cool on a wire rack.
- Combine powdered sugar, cocoa powder, 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! You can always make more icing if needed as well. You also don't need to add icing if you don't want to! Pour or drizzle over the chocolate swirls and enjoy!
