Danish Brunsviger Cake: A Tantalizing Yeast Dough with Caramel Swirls
The Danish Brunsviger cake is a buttery, sweet yeast dough baked with swirls of rich, buttery brown sugar caramel sauce. The bread is very light and airy with a soft caramel interior and toffee crunch on the top and edges. While called a cake, it resembles more of an American coffee cake, monkey bread (pull-apart bread), or another version of cinnamon rolls.
Servings: 12
Ingredients
Dough:
- 295 ml (1¼ cup) milk whole preferred (heated to 100˚F-110˚F (38˚C-43˚C)
- 50 g (¼ cup) granulated sugar
- 14 g (4½ tsp / 2 pkg) active dry yeast
- 480 g (4 cups) all-purpose flour fluff, scoop, and level off is using a measuring cup
- 3 g (½ tsp) salt (if using salted butter) 4.5 g (¾ tsp) salt (if using unsalted butter)
- 113 g (8 tbsp / 1 stick) butter diced
Caramel Sauce:
- 113 g (8 tbsp / 1 stick) butter diced
- 255 g (1⅓ cups packed) brown sugar
- 60 ml (¼ cup) milk whole milk preferred
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
Optional Caramel Sauce Additions: Spice is not traditional in this dish.
- 1 tbsp ground cinnamon pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice, or British mixed spice (recipe in Notes below)
Instructions
Activate the Yeast: 10 minutes
- Pour milk into a measuring cup. Heat in the microwave 30 -60 seconds until it reaches 100˚F-110˚F (38˚C-43˚C).TIP: Whole milk is preferred as it provides richness, softness, and chewiness to the bread crumb.
- Measure out the sugar. In a small bowl, add yeast. Take 1 tbsp from the measured-out sugar and mix it with the yeast.
- Pour in ~59 ml (~ ¼ cup) of the warmed milk. Stir until well combined. Set the mixture aside for 10 minutes to become bubbly and frothy.TIP: If the yeast doesn’t activate (bubbly and frothy), the yeast might be old or the milk may not be warm enough. Allow a few more minutes if after 15 minutes, you don’t see any changes, it’s time to start over with a fresh batch of yeast.
Make the Dough: 15 minutes
- In the bowl of stand mixer (or large bowl), add the flour, remaining sugar, and salt. Whisk to combine.TIP: If not using a stand mixer, simply use a large mixing bowl and spoon to stir the ingredients.
- Add diced butter to the remaining milk and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds or just until melted. Add another 10 seconds, if needed. Allow to cool down to 100˚F-110˚F (38˚C-43˚C) if needed.TIPS: Diced butter melts more quickly as each small piece has less mass to melt. Stir the butter in the milk after 30 seconds as any remaining small pieces should melt while stirring.
- With the dough hook attached and the machine on low, slowly pour in the activated yeast mixture. Pour in the warm milk and butter mixture. Use a spatula to scrape down the bowl edges as needed.
- Knead on low to medium speed for 10 minutes. The dough should be tacky and pull away from the bowl edges but not sticky. Add flour or water, 1 tbsp at a time, as needed to reach a tacky consistency.
- Mound the dough in a ball and place it in the bottom of the bowl. Oil the top and sides with cooking spray or a neutral oil. Cover the bowl with a towel or plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise in a warm area for 30 minutes to 1 hour or until doubled in size.TIP: Oil prevents a crust from forming on the dough as it sits.
Shape Dough in Pan: 5 minutes
- Grease two 8-x8- inch square pans or one 9-x13- inch pan. Place parchment paper in each pan and use scissors to cut the paper down vertically in each corner. Overlap the flaps so the paper sits flush. Trim off excess flaps if desired.TIP: This cake is traditionally baked in a square pan, hence the two small square pans. However, you can use a larger square pan like a 16x16. A 9- x 13- inch pan may yield a taller cake since it's a little smaller than the other suggested pan sizes.
- Deflate the dough and remove it from the bowl. If using two pans, divide the dough in half (940 g total = 470 g per half) and flatten each out to reach the edges and corners of each pan. If using one large pan, place the entire dough in the pan and flatten it out to reach the edges and corners of the pan.TIP: Dust your hands with flour to push out the dough if it’s sticky.
- Cover the pan(s) with a towel or plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes in a warm area to rise.
Make Caramel Sauce: 10 minutes
- In a small saucepan, add the butter (cut into chunks) and brown sugar. Heat on low until melted stirring frequently. The mixture should be very hot, but careful not to boil the mixture.TIP: If you want more of a breakfast coffee cake or a sweet yeast bread with holiday flavors, add 1 tbsp of cinnamon, mixed spice (British spice recipe in Notes section below), pumpkin pie spice, or apple pie spice.
- Stir in milk and continue stirring until heated through and the sugar is dissolved (5 minutes or so).
- Remove the caramel sauce from the heat and stir in vanilla.
- Set the sauce aside for about 5 minutes to cool slightly.TIP: To cool a little quicker, pour the sauce into another bowl.
Add Sauce & Bake: 10 minutes + 35 more for baking
- Preheat the oven to 400˚F (204˚C).
- While the topping cools slightly (5-10 minutes), remove the covering from the pan(s) of rising dough. Use your fingers to make deep dimples all over the dough like making focaccia bread. Add dimples along the edges of the pan so the caramel sauce bakes into the edges as well.TIP: The dimples will hold the butter and brown sugar caramel sauce and they should be deep enough to almost reach the bottom of the pan without exposing the pan.
- Spoon the caramel sauce all over the top of the dough dividing the mixture evenly between the two pans, if using two. Ensure to get the mixture into each dimple including the edges.TIPS: If using 2 pans, use a ladle to spoon the sauce over the dough (1 ladle per pan at a time) to ensure equal division of the sauce. If the sauce isn’t oozing down into the dimples, while super messy, use your fingers to make more or deeper holes. Much of the sauce will sit on top.
- Place the pan(s) in the preheated oven and bake 35-40 minutes until golden brown and bubbly on top. After cooling, lift the parchment paper to remove the cake and place on a serving platter. Serve warm and enjoy!TIP: Bake 5-10 minutes longer if baking in 1 large pan.
Video
Notes
Storage Suggestion:
Store slices covered at room temperature for several days. For longer storage, place slices in a freezer bag or sealed container in the freezer for up to several months. Remove desired amount and heat until warm.
British Mixed Spice Recipe (makes 1 tbsp):
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground allspice
¾ tsp ground mace
¼ ground cloves
¼ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground coriander
Combine all ingredients. Sift through a mesh sifter. Store in a sealed container for up to 6 months.