Danish Easter Cake Paaske Kage Recipes

DANISH EASTER CAKE (PAASKE KAGE)

Steps:

• Stir the yeast into the luke warm milk.
• Add sugar, egg, margarine in small bits.
• Add 3/4 of the flour.
• Work the dough with a wooden spoon, until it has combined.
• Then work the rest of the flour into the dough with the hands, but not more than just combined.
• Don't over work it.
• Let the dough rise with a small amount of flour dusting on top, cover with a clean dish-towel about 30 minutes in a normal kitchen temperature.
• Fill: Combine the butter, sugar, cinnamon, raisins, and candied fruit.
• Roll the dough out on the table to oblong.
• Use a light hand in the soft dough.
• Spread the fill onto the dough, but not quite to the edges.
• Fold over the ends so the fill doesn't run out.
• Fold over the short part, so you now have 3 layers.
• Set the cake to rise again with a thin dish-towel to cover for another 30 minutes.
• Then brush carefully with cold coffee, or an whisked together egg, and sprinkle with sugar (not the fine kind) and 1/4 cup slivered blanched almonds.
• Bake in the middle part of oven at 400 degrees F about 30 minutes.
• Note: The cake will rise quite a bit and becomes surprisingly large.
• You can actually easily make two cakes instead of one if you wish.
• You can freeze the one, then thaw and reheat in the oven when needed.

CROATIAN EASTER CAKE ("PINCA")

Steps:

• Put into flour yeast package, sugar, salt, yolks, warm butter (about 35°C), and the same warm milk.
• Make dough out of it using hand first, and than hand mixer. At the very last add orange and lemon zest.
• Cover with cloth and put into warm place for about 90 minutes or until doubles in size.
• Take dough and put on board and knead dough ready for baking. Make 4 balls and put them together (2x2). Make cross on each ball with sharp knife.
• Put on warm place again and wait until doubles in size (about 45 minutes).
• Put dough into oven. Bake 45 minutes on 180°C
• After 25 minutes of baking put some scrambled raw eggs over dough and sprinkle crystal white sugar over dough.

SAND KAGE

Steps:

• Let the butter soften to room temperature.
• Separate the eggs and let them come to room temperature.
• Cream sugar and butter well.
• Add egg yolks one at a time, beat well in between.
• Add sifted flour and vanilla, keep on mixing well. You can use cornstarch if you can't find potato flour.
• Last, add the stiff beaten egg whites.
• Bake 50-60 minutes in a 350 degree F oven.
• This is one of the most used cakes on the Danish coffee table. Enjoy!