Syskonkaka: Sibling Cake
Syskonkaka: Sibling Cake is not really a cake. It’s actually a bunch of buns all squished up next to each other like one big happy family. Each piece is filled with orange marmalade and coated in butter, sugar and almond.
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Origin
Syskonkaka is not very common in Sweden, or anywhere. You’ll never see it at a bakery and even if you google it none of the results are similar to mine. The recipe comes from my Swedish grandmother. She baked this every single Christmas and we would always have it for breakfast.
Dipping and Rolling
The trickiest part of making Syskonkaka: Sibling Cake is the dipping and rolling. Each individual bun gets covered in melted butter and then rolled in a mixture of almond flour and sugar. Doing this gives the buns their distinctive coating but it can be kinda a pain.
I have found the best way is to plop a bun in the butter, spoon more butter over the top so it’s completely covered and then use a fork to transfer it to the bowl of almond and sugar. From there you can sprinkle more of the mixture on top and then just gently pick it up and place it in the pan. This way your hands dont get super sticky and covered in butter and sugar. I hate being sticky and don’t want to wash my hands between every single bun.
A lot of Buns
This recipe makes two pans of Syskonkaka: Sibling Cake. You can cut the recipe in half but it can be difficult to get enough gluten worked up in the dough when making such a small amount.
Freezing
If you don’t want to bake off both pans at once you can freeze them before or after baking.
If freezing before baking make sure you dont proof the buns at all. As soon as the pan is made, stick in the freezer. Once frozen, wrap the whole pan in plastic wrap. The buns will alst in the freezer for about a week. After that the yeast starts to die and you wont get a good puff on the buns. To bake them off simply take them out of the freezer, defrost in either the fridge or on the counter then let proof at room temperature until doubled in size.
If freezing after baking make sure they are well wrapped in plastic when they go in the freezer. Take them out, let them defrost and then heat in a 190C (375F) oven for 10-20 minutes or until warm through. Don’t rebake them for too long. The only downside to freezing after baking is they will dry out a bit. This is ok, just serve alongside extra marmalade and some coffee or tea. Problem solved!
For more information on freezing, reheating, etc, check out this blog post: Tips and Tricks for Swedish Cardamom Buns
Syskonkaka: Sibling Cake
Ingredients
Dough
- 275 g milk
- 100 g butter softened
- 550 g all-purpose flour
- 100 g sugar
- 7 g salt
- 35 g fresh yeast OR 11g dry yeast
Filling and Coating
- 1 jar orange marmalade
- 100 g almond flour
- 100 g sugar
- 150 g butter melted
Instructions
- Pour in the milk, flour, sugar, salt, butter, and yeast into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Using the hook attachment, knead the ingredients on low speed for 5 minutes.
- Scrape down the sides of the bowl, increase the speed to medium-fast and continue kneading for 25-30 minutes.
- To check if the dough is ready, do a “windowpane” test. Dip your fingers in water, pull off a piece of dough and stretch it. If it doesn’t rip and you can see your fingers through it, the dough is ready. If it does rip, keep kneading for 5 minutes then test again.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and shape it into a flat rectangle. Wrap tightly in plastic and refrigerate for at least one hour to chill and relax.
- Grease two 23cm(9in) springform pans.
- Mix the almond flour and sugar together.
- Melt the butter in a shallow bowl.
- Divide the dough into 60g pieces.
- Roll each piece into a smooth ball, using minimal flour on the counter.
- On the side of the ball where the dough comes together, make a deep indent, and put 1/2 teaspoon of marmalade in the middle.
- Pinch the dough closed around the marmalade.
- Roll in melted butter and then in the almond/sugar mixture, then place in the pan.
- Repeat the process with all of the dough until the pans have been filled.
- Cover the pans with a towel and allow the dough to rise until it’s double in size and holds a dimple when gently poked.
- Bake at 190C(375F) for about 30-40 minutes, or until it’s golden brown.