Danish Filbert-Butter Ring (Smorkage)

By norsegal8

First a ring mold is lined with pastry, then the remainder of the dough is filled with filbert cream, rolled up, sliced, and placed in the pastry-lined pan. The baked ring is decorated with a thin rum icing.

Ingredients

• DOUGH:
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 4 tablespoons sugar
• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, firm
• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• FILLING:
• 1 egg
• 1/4 sugar
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• pinch salt
• 1 cup half and half
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup filberts, toasted and pulverized
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• ICING:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 about 2 tablespoons rum

Details

Servings 12

Preparation

Step 1

In a large bowl, mix the flour and 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In a small bowl, mix 1 tablespoon sugar, the yeast and the warm water. Stir until the yeast dissolves. Let stand for 5 minutes until the yeast becomes foamy. Beat the eggs into the yeast and then stir the liquid mixture into the flour mixture. Toss with a spatula until the mixture holds together in a ball. Cover and let rise until the mixture is not quite doubled, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare the filling. In a heavy saucepan, beat the egg with sugar until foamy; add the flour, salt cream and milk. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture is very thick. Cover and cool to room temperature. Add the vanilla, filberts and cinnamon.

Butter a 7- to 8-cup ring mold. Roll 1/3 of the pastry out to make a round 16 inches in diameter. Make a small hole in the center of the pastry and lay it over the top of the buttered ring mold. Carefully fit and drape the pastry into the ring mold, stretching the center out to the size of the center of the ring. Pastry will stretch and should hang over the edges by about 1 1/2 inches.

Roll out the remaining dough to make a 16-inch square. Spread with the filling evenly (it will be a thick coating). Roll up jelly-roll fashion. Cut into 12 parts and place the pieces cut side down in the pastry-lined ring mold. Lap the pastry lining over the rolls to enclose them. Let rise for 1 hour or until the pastry rises about 1 inch.

Prehat the oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden.

Cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then invert onto a rack. Mix the one cup powdered sugar with enough rum to make a smooth icing. Drizzle over the cooled cake.