Julekake or Julekaka/ Julekaga is a rich holiday bread flavoured with cardamom which is traditionally served at Christmas in many Scandinavian countries. It is particularly popular in Norway and Denmark.Julekake means “Yule Bread” in Norwegian.
Ingredients:
2tsp Active dry yeast
1/4cup Lukewarm water
1/2cup Lukewarm milk
1no Egg
50gm Butter(room temperature)
1/2cup Sugar
1/4tsp Salt
5 pods Cardamom(powdered)
2 +1/2 cups All-purpose flour
1/2cup Golden or dark raisins
1 tbsp milk
Pearl sugar or chopped almonds
Method:
Take the water, milk and 1 tsp sugar (from the 1/2cup) in a small bowl and add the yeast to it.
Mix well and keep aside for 5 to 10 minutes till it becomes “frothy”.
Take this yeast mixture, the egg, butter and sugar and salt in a larger bowl.Mix well, and then add the flour and the powdered cardamom. Knead well until you have a dough that is soft, smooth and elastic.
Take the dough out and flatten it as a circle. Sprinkle the raisins evenly and then roll it up, swiss roll style. Then just knead the dough lightly by hand and roll it up into a ball.
Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover loosely and let it rise till double in volume, for about an hour .
Lightly knead the dough to deflate slightly and shape it into a ball.
Place it on a greased baking round pan, let it rise for about 45 minutes.
Brush it with milk and sprinkle it with sugar pearls or chopped almonds.
Bake at 180C/350F for about 30 minutes till the bread is golden brown and done.
If you find the bread browning too quickly, cover it with foil after about 15 minutes in the oven to avoid further browning.
Let it cool completely before you slice it.
Read full post: Julekake – A Norwegian Christmas Bread