Friday, March 21, 2014

Coconut wreath


It is just a month or so and we will be busy coloring eggs, baking cookies and cooking/baking large hams to eat with friends and family while getting soaked in water, or perfume, on Easter Monday.
With Easter knocking on the door, I was thinking to try Easter wreath varieties well in advance, so I can experiment, and others have time to experiment as well.
This recipe is almost a nobrainer, destined to be a success due to the "pulla" (cardamom bread) dough, flavorful brown sugar and coconut. OK, waistline damage alert for today, but sigh...

Ingredients
1/2 portion pulla dough

Filling
~4 tbsp coconut flour (finely grated coconut)
~4 tbsp brown sugar
2-3 tbsp lemon juice
1 lemon zest
25 g butter (quarter stick), melted

1 egg and 1-2 tbsp water, for the egg wash

Prepare the dough, let it rest as it is given in the dough recipe.
Preheat the oven to 225 C or 430F.
Roll out the dough to about 30 cm x 60 cm long.
Spread a thin layer of melted butter on the dough, sprinkle with the coconut and the brown sugar evenly, so that the coconut and sugar soaks in the butter. This will make sure your filling is not going to fall out when you cut the slices. Grate the lemon zest evenly on top of the filling and sprinkle with the lemon juice.
Roll it up along the longer edge evenly, pull towards the ends if needed while rolling. Cut ~2 cm thick slices, not thicker though or it will grow out of hands.
Pull them towards the sides, one to the left, the other to the right, laying them evenly on top of each other.

                       


This is how it looked at the end, and this is how I actually planned to bake it. To my biggest disappointment however, my large tray wasn't clean, and laziness kicked in, ending in making a round wreath by curling up my braid on the smaller tray.
You should just place it on a baking tray (need a larger one)
Brush the top with the egg wash all over the sides and the top, and sprinkle lightly with brown sugar (or for an even more sophisticated look with pearl sugar).
This is how mine actually ended up, looking not so bad either, but next time I'm gonna make the straight version, too.
The taste was delicious, with the brown sugar and coconut taste blended with the cardamom.., and it will definitely be one of the family's favorite filling.
Bake in the preheated oven on the middle shelf for 18-2ö minutes. Let is cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting it in slices and serving.


Happy baking and Easter preparations :).

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