I love the pistachio snurre that the best baker in Skagen makes. A dream of yeast pastry: fluffy, filled with delicious pistachios, a little sticky, and that cardamom scent that instantly means a little break for me. But today I simply didn't have time to drive the 40 km to Skagen. So I ventured into the kitchen to recreate this delicacy myself.
Since the classic snurre are often very large and hefty, I had an idea: why not bring these Scandinavian flavors into the shape of a braid? A classic nut braid, but in a Nordic way, where cardamom is absolutely essential. The result? The whole house smells of yeast and spices after baking.
And after the first slice, I have to say: it's not a bit worse than the "dough lumps" from Skagen. A delicacy made in Denmark, baked with lots of love and a pinch of German baking tradition. Ingredients For the yeast dough
- 400 g wheat flour
- 21 g fresh yeast (½ cube)
- 150 ml milk
- 80 g butter
- 40 g sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 pinch of salt (omit if using salted butter)
- 1 generous teaspoon cardamom, ground
- For the filling
- 1 jar high-quality pistachio cream
- 120-150 g pistachio kernels, ground
- For brushing & glazing
- 1 egg + 2 tbsp milk (for shine)
- 60 g powdered sugar + 1 tbsp lemon juice (for the glaze)
- Instructions
- 1. Prepare the dough
- Warm the milk to lukewarm and dissolve the yeast, butter, and sugar in it.
- Add the flour, salt, cardamom, and egg to a bowl. Pour in the yeast milk and knead everything into a smooth, supple dough.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and let it rise covered in a warm place for 1 hour until it has noticeably increased in volume.
- 2. Fill and shape
- Roll out the yeast dough on a lightly floured work surface into a large rectangle. Spread the pistachio cream generously over the surface and sprinkle the ground pistachios evenly on top.
- 3. Braid the dough
- Roll up the dough tightly from the long side. Cut the roll lengthwise down the middle with a sharp knife (or pizza cutter), but leave about 2 cm connected at the top. Carefully braid the two strands together so the filling shows on top. Press the ends together firmly and tuck them slightly downward.
- 4. Second rise & baking
- Place the braid on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let it rest for another 30 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 190°C with top and bottom heat. Whisk the egg with the milk and brush the braid with it. Bake on the middle shelf for about 30 minutes until it's a golden brown.
- 5. The finish
- Whisk the powdered sugar with the lemon juice into a smooth glaze. Drizzle the glaze over the still-warm pistachio braid and let it cool on a wire rack.
- Connoisseur's tip: The braid tastes best when still slightly warm with a cup of coffee — just like in Skagen!
